Sam Nichols is a Fire Captain with the Contra Costa County Frie Protection District, currently assigned as a Shift Safety Officer. He has been serving the citizens of Contra Costa since 2007. Sam has a Bachelor of Science in Fire Administration from Columbia Southern University. Sam is married to his wife, Ami and they have two high-school aged children. Sam and Ami enjoy spending time with their children and going to their cabin in the Sierra Nevada foothills. Sam is an eMMissary graduate of Cohort 8 and has been recognized as an eMMissary Mentor. Sam and current eMMissary Vito co-host "Between Two Hydrants" podcast which is your information hub for all things ConFire, leadership and mentorship.
At some point in our careers in the service that we love, we start to think about leaving it better than we found it. This typically happens when we begin to get closer to retirement. Leaving it better than we found is based on the principle that we want to impact our surroundings positively. Put simply, it means that organizationally, we don’t always have to continue doing things the same way they have always been done, just for the sake of tradition. If you are reading this, you will likely work in a mission-driven organization. We must all be good stewards of the mission by planting trees we will never rest in the shade of. Let us explore some concepts of how we can start to be intentional about leaving it better than we found it.
Organizations are encouraged to support individuals in innovating and enhancing conditions to benefit the organization and the communities they serve. Furthermore, personal and professional development plays a role for up-and-coming leaders looking to hone their skills. To ensure the success of these ideas, established leaders need to be open to providing platforms for emerging leaders to share their thoughts and visions, fostering a lively atmosphere that nurtures growth and creativity.
Next, let's look at putting these concepts into action. One of the best things we can do is get to know the emerging leaders in our organizations. Usually, this begins with a conversation that develops into a relationship over time. One of the best ways to build a relationship is through mentorship. Mentorship can be formal and informal, as well as in an individual or group setting. Some of my most successful moments have been informal regarding building relationships and offering mentoring. Being informal allows us to spark a conversation that typically leads to lessons learned and various topics. It’s also a chance to show junior members what right looks like. I’m not always the greatest about this, but at times, it’s also a chance to put the cell phones away and have some good old-fashioned human connection. Once relationships are established, we need to identify what junior and emerging leaders are passionate about and, more importantly, identify the organizational friction points holding them back from success. Likely, as junior members, they will not be willing to share this with us unless we have taken the time to develop a relationship with them. We also must be willing to listen to them. If we aren’t willing to listen, we may end up stifling their creative process, and we may never know what they are capable of if that is the case. We also have to be willing to share with them how we have overcome organizational friction points.
In some organizations, the mentality remains that junior members are to be seen and not heard. The thought is that they need to gain experience to grasp why things are the way they are. By flipping that assumption on its head, we, as leaders, can explain the why. This is where the idea of allyship comes into play. The definition of allyship is active support for the rights of a minority or marginalized group without being a member of it. What does that mean? It means advocating for them and their ideas. It means utilizing your relationships to put them and their ideas before the right people. It means identifying any friction points and discussing how to overcome them. It means talking with them and asking open-ended questions to help them refine their ideas. It means creating opportunities for them to be successful and recognizing their success. It means letting them figure some things out on their own. At some point, you have to be able to step back and let them run with their ideas. What it doesn’t mean is shutting their ideas down and telling them all the reasons why it won’t work. What it doesn’t mean is leading them down a path that you know will not be successful.
We must be inclusive by encouraging all members to be active participants in their growth and the growth of their respective organizations if we genuinely want to leave our organizations better than we found them. Recently, within my own organization, I have had the pleasure of watching some of our junior members implement successful initiatives that will positively affect our organization. Watching and seeing how their initiative has impacted our organization has been great. They are our future. The concept that we now allow them to leave it better than we found it, is a privilege. Our next great leader might be a part of that group.
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