Imagine
for a moment that one day in casual passing, the firefighter, Chief,
or your favorite instructor: the fire service someone you most
admire, tucked a little note into your hand. Wrapped in the note was
a fire department badge. The badge they’d worn for decades, and the
best part of their career.
Now
imagine for a moment, you are the one giving the badge.
There’s
considerable talk these days about the photos in your wallet. The
visual icons of the spouses, kids, significant others, and even pets,
to which we vow to stay safe for and always come home to. Consider in
this same fashion, not just the badge you currently wear, but the one
you thought about above as it was given to you. Consider too, the
badge you'd give someone; and what is it about that person that moves
you to give them your most treasured badge?
As
we go through our careers we make choices and are chosen. Those we
choose to admire, respect, and glean knowledge from will not only
mold us into the firefighters we become, they mature us into our fire
service career. At the start few of us realize, between the giving
and the getting, is an enormous amount of mentoring, leadership, and
a variety of roll models.
Mentors
give us direction and help us learn and refine valuable skills.
Leaders
keep us on track and within boundaries that progress our careers
Roll
models possess the complete set of core values, on and off the fire
ground, that we aspire to.
The
majority of firefighters most likely go through their career never
identifying or considering those who influenced the establishment or
growth of their career. The mentors, leaders, and roll models who
impact us are dynamic. Whether we recognize them or not, they exist.
Some grow and stay with us from the start, others come and go.
The
challenge we most face is knowing who to watch and learn from, who to
follow when and how, and most of all, knowing and honoring when we
ourselves are being watched and followed. The answers come a little
easier when you know who's badge you'd carry in your pocket, and who
you'd be most honored to have carrying yours.
