CO Chap 3 Outline PDF

CO Book Chap 3 ============== - Influencing people to complete a task requires the FO be... a skilled communicator, active listener, and fire-ground commander. - The FO meets the supervisory responsibilities by... making effective decisions, properly assigning tasks, and understanding...

CO Book Chap 3 ============== - Influencing people to complete a task requires the FO be... a skilled communicator, active listener, and fire-ground commander. - The FO meets the supervisory responsibilities by... making effective decisions, properly assigning tasks, and understanding the grievance process. - The FO develops members through... effective skill training, evaluation of competence, and addressing member-related problems. - Effective communication does not occur unless the intended message has been received and... understood in the recipient's own terms. - 5 parts of the communication cycle... Message, Sender, Medium, Receiver, Feedback. - Represents the text of the communication, in the purest form it contains only the information to be conveyed... message. - Do not have to be in written, spoken or verbal reports. - Useful in de-escalating the spread of inaccurate information that can harm an individual, the department, or the fire service. - Person or entity who is sending the message... Sender. - Responsible for the receiver properly understanding the message. - Can profoundly influence the receiver's interpretation... tone of voice or the look accompanying the spoken word. - Body language, mannerisms, and other nonverbal cues may all... affect the interpretation. - Refers to the method used to convey the information from the sender to the receiver... medium. - Before choosing the particular medium to send the message the sender should consider... circumstances, nature of the message, and the available methods. - The medium that is chosen influences... importance that is attached to the message. - When choosing for a personal message remember the guideline... praise in public; counsel, coach or discipline in private. - Physical or sociological condition that interferes with message... Noise. - More subtle and difficult problem... Sociological environment noise - Examples: prejudice and bias. - Minimize environmental noise by... not struggling for power, avoid off hand manner, keep emotions in check, remember that words have meaning, do not assume that the receiver understands the message, immediately seek feedback, provide an appropriate level of detail, watch out for conflicting orders. - Intended to improve communications dealing with administration and supervisory activity. - The person who receives and interprets the message... Receiver. - Their responsibility to capture and interpret the information. - Completes the communication cycle by confirming receipt and verifying the receiver's interpretation of the message... Feedback. - Listening in a face-to-face situation is an active process requiring... good eye contact, alert body posture, and frequent use of verbal engagement. - Techniques that may help improve listening skills... do not assume anything, do not interrupt, try to understand the need, look for the real reason the person wants your attention, do not react too quickly. - Good method to keep a conversation on topic if they start to ramble... direct questioning to bring conversation back on topic. - Emergency incident communications that requires asking precise questions, providing timely and accurate information, and giving clear and specific orders... Direct Approach. - Under the time pressure of an emergency incident, this process can be as important as communicating effectively... management of communications. - Key points for emergency communications are... be direct, speak clearly, use normal ton of voice, hold mic about [2"] from mouth, if using repeater allow for time delay after keying mic, use plain English, common terminology from NIMS, and avoid being in proximity of other noise sources. - Standard method of transmitting an order to a unit or company at the incident scene... Communications Order Model. - Helps the dispatch, chief, and other units understand the situation at hand... calm, concise and complete radio report. - Provides leadership and direction to responding units by implementing the ICS... first arriving officer. - Requires mastery of autocratic leadership, FO must demonstrate the ability to take control of the situation and provide specific direction to all of the units that are operating and arriving. - Good practice for radio use is... think first, position mic, depress key, deep breath, and then send a concise, specific message in a clear tone. - Don Abbott is an ICS expert and was a part of Project Mayday Initiative to improve fire command awareness. - Study found that in [87%] of maydays, major breakdown in communications, orders issued or received, missed messages, walk-over communications, and the worst of problems, missing mayday call the first time ([54%)] occurred. [ ] - Fire officer needs to keep the chief officer informed about three areas... Progress towards performance goals and project objectives, matters that may cause controversy, and attitudes and morale. - Informal communication system that every organization has... grapevine. - Mostly based on incomplete data, partial truths, and sometimes out-right lies. - General supervisory responsibilities for first-line supervisors... set the direction for the fire company work that carries out the department's mission, vision, and strategic goal; ensure your fire company members deliver high-quality work; manage workload so fire company can deliver work that is on-time and within the department's budget; maintain safe and harassment-free workplace; hold your company members accountable for both outcomes and behavior; and develop your fire company members through leading, supporting, coaching and counseling. - Dispute claim, or complaint that nay employee or group of employees may have about the interpretation, application, or alleged violation of some provision of the labor agreement or personnel regulations... grievance. - Formal structured process that is employed within an organization to resolve a grievance... grievance process. - Grievance process can be resolved at any point by... management accepting the complaint and the corrective action requested by the grievant or both sides reaching a negotiated settlement that is acceptable to each party. - Employee's union rep usually becomes involved at the... first or second step of the process. - Objective of the grievance process is to... always complete at the lowest level and in the shortest amount of time. - Longer grievances are disruptive, time consuming and costly to both sides. - Step 1: complaint made verbally to a supervisor, shortly after the occurrence of the action that gave rise to the grievance. - Three important pieces of information required... article and section of contract or personnel regulation alleged to have been violated, full statement of the grievance, giving facts, dates, timelines, and specific violations, statement of desired remedy or adjustment. - Step 2: written grievance... 10 calendar days for supervisor to reach a decision and provide a written reply. Failure to reply moves to Step 3. - Step 3: Typically handled by administrative fire officer, if denied or no response in 10 calendar days, moves to step 4. - Step 4: presented to fire chief of designee. 10 workdays to respond, if not can go to mediator, personnel board, or civil service board for resolution. - Systematic approach is recommended to ensure high-quality decision making... define the problem, generate alternative solutions, select a solution, implement the solution, and evaluate the result. - Same applies to emergency incidents. - [Training and experience] will prepare you as the FO to... ID the pertinent problem, generate realistic solution, and select the best option quickly. - The first step in solving any problem is... examine the problem closely and to define it carefully. - Best way to prevent major problems is to... deal with minor issues before they reach the crisis stage. - The best people to solve a problem are usually those... who are directly involved in the problem. - Method of shared problem solving in which members of a group spontaneously contribute ideas... Brainstorming. - [A legitimate problem-solving process] has to be... reasonable and based on logic and organizational values. - Quickest way to destroy the FF participation in the decision-making process... going through a process that results in no change or provides no feedback to the FO. - Solution criteria are based on factors important to... the department, work group and fire officer. - Often the most challenging aspect of problem solving, particularly if it requires coordinated involvement of many different people... implementation phase. - One reason for involving as many players as possible in making a decision is to... capture commitment to the plan when it is time to implement. - Depends on the complexity of the problem and the solution; in most cases, an initial evaluation should be performed immediately after implementation, and follow-up evaluations should be performed at regular intervals... Nature of Evaluation. - FO's primary responsibility is to... the team of FF's under their direct supervision. - Responsible for their safety, actions, and performance at the incident scene. - The FO uses a \_\_\_ style of leadership because the emergency scene does not allow for \_\_\_ decision making. Autocratic, participative. - Mayday first obligation is to... maintain radio discipline so command can determine mayday location and situation. - Second obligation is to... maintain company and group integrity. - After every incident the FO should review the event while at the scene or asap returning to quarters giving an opportunity to clarify issues and answer questions. - Can reinforce good practices and immediately identify any unacceptable performance. - 50 years ago FO's used autocratic style of leadership... both on emergency calls and nonemergency duties. - Employees demand to be included in the decision-making process. Consequently, effective FO's provide more participative form of leadership routine activities. - Only acceptable behavior and good safety habits should be incorporated into all activities... safe practices. - Core FO task since the establishment of the first organized FD... training and coaching. - Defined as the process of achieving proficiency through instruction and hands-on practice in the operation of equipment and systems that are expected to be used in the performance of assigned duties... Training. - Method of directing, instructing, and training a person or group of people with the aim of achieving some goal or developing specific skills... Coaching. - NFPA 1041 Standard Fire and Emergency Services Instructor Professional Qualifications... 5 levels of instructor. - Basic responsibility of every officer is to... provide training to subordinate for FD members. - At a minimum FO must be prepared to conduct company-level training exercises and evolutions to ensure that the company is prepared to perform its basic responsibilities effective and efficiently. - 4 step method of skill training... Prepare, Present, Apply, Evaluate. - In WWII updated and renamed [Job Instruction Training] when more that I million received technical skill training during WWII. - Foundation of the work performance at the Fire Instructor I level... four-step method. - Prepare: - For basic skills like catching a hydrant and throwing a ladders, FFs should be... unconsciously competent. - Components of a lesson plan include... break the topic down, show what/ in what order/ and exactly what procedures to teach, use a guide to help accomplish the objective. - The lecture or instructional portion of training... presentation. - Objective is to introduce students to the subject matter, explain the importance of the topic, and create interest in the presentation. - FO should present the skill... one step at a time, delivering perfect demonstration of how it should be performed. - Helps the FF retain more material... increasing the number of senses engaged. - FF's retain information more effectively if they... actually perform the skill in the process of learning. - Application should be done under the FO's supervision. - Good reinforcing technique is have the FF explain it while they are doing it. - Success is achieved when the student can perform the task safely without input from the CO. - Should occur at the end of the lesson or program... evaluation of student's progress. - The FO can be certain that change occurred when... there is an observable change in the FF's performance when responding to real situations where the task or skill are applied. - Noel Burch developed a practical description of how people learn a new skill involving... the 4 levels of understanding a skill. - FF does not know what they do not know... Unconscious Incompetence. - FF knows what they don't know, level where learning starts when they get a sudden awareness of how poorly the evolution or skill is performed... Conscious Incompetence. - The FF knows how to perform the evolution of skill the correct and complete way... Conscious competence. - This is an experience FF who performed enough reps and set of an evolution to be competent on the fire ground. - The FF is experienced with this evolution or skill performance to the point that activity appears natural and easy... Unconscious competence. - Result of a competent and confident FF. - Developmental relationship in which a more experienced person, helps a less experienced person, referred to as protégé... Mentoring. - A one-on-one process in which the more experienced person provides a deliberate learning environment through instructing, coaching, providing experiences, modeling and advising... Mentoring. - The following qualities make for an effective mentor... desire to help, current knowledge, effective coaching, counseling, facilitating, and networking skills. - On occasion, it is required for them to provide the initial training for a new or revised skill set... FO. - Active learning recommends that for a presentation or lecture, no more than... 10 minutes because students lose interest in 15-20minutes of passive learning. - Practicing new skills is facilitated by... encouraging adventure, challenge, and competition. - After team members have learned the basic skills and can appropriately demonstrate them, the coach has to work with them to... build competence and confidence. - The coach must provide the guidance that advances from basic required skills to being able to perform those skills... effectively, efficiently and consistently. - Psychomotor skills can be classified into 4 categories... Initial, Plateau, Latency and Mastery. - To bring the FF up to mastery level, FO must... work every day to reinforce their skills. - At the very first meeting of the new FF trainee, the FO should... explain the procedures when alarm is received, assign to a senior FF to function as mentor, and describe any restrictions that are placed on FF in training. - Federal regulations mandate that 4 topics be covered as part of any emergency service training program... Bloodborne pathogens, Hazmat Awareness/Ops, SCBA Fit testing, NIMS Presidential Directive 5 Managing of Domestic Incidents. - In addition to the federally required training, the FD needs to provide... emergency scene awareness training to reduce the risk that a probationary FF will be injured at the emergency scene. - On-scene activities clearly define the... expected location, activities and behavior of the trainee at an emergency incident. - Once the skills that must be learned immediately are covered, the FO should concentrate on the skills that... the FF needs to know to stay alive. - Developing a specific training plan... Assess Needs, Establish Objectives, Develop the Training Program, Deliver the Training and Evaluate the Training. - Covers the [development of a training program] in more detail... Fire Instructor II. - When assessing needs, the FO must determine if there is a... need for a training program or if the performance problem can be fixed with an engineering solution. - Prior to undertaking the training program, you should identify... the specific behavior you want the FF to exhibit after the training. - Final part of the objective is the... measure of performance. - New programs should be subject to a... pilot course or trial run before finalization. - Good lesson plan satisfies four criteria... Organizes the lesson, ID key points, can be reused, and allows others to teach the program. - A [problem] may be defined as... difference between the current situation and the desired situation. - Requires the application of conventional problem-solving skills and techniques... non-emergency situations. - Include supervisory, management, and administrative activities in which the FO is directly responsible for solving the problem as well as initially processing situations that require resolution from an administrative or executive FO. - Evaluate the ability of FO candidates to exercise good judgement and make sound decisions... Promotional Exams. - Decisions should always be guided by... organizational values, guidelines, policies, and procedures. - Special categories of problems are... complaints, conflicts, and mistakes. - An expression of grief, regret, pain, censure, or resentment; a lamentation; an accusation; or fault... Complaint. - State of opposition between two parties. Complaint is often a manifestation of this... Conflict. - An error or fault resulting from bad judgment, deficient knowledge, or carelessness. Can also be a misconception or misunderstanding... Mistake. - Dealing appropriately with problems and conflicts requires... maturity, patience, determination, and courage. - Types of problems that a FO could be expected to encounter can be classified into four broad categories... In-House Issues, Internal Departmental Issues, External Issues, High-Profile Incidents. - FO is expected to manage problems within the level of authority for a supervising or managing FO. - FO should recognize those problems that need to be handled at a higher level and make the appropriate notifications. - In terms of managing conflict, one thing that separates the FO from the FF is... the responsibility to act as an agent of the formal organization. - One of the most difficult situations for the FO is... interpersonal conflict or grievance within the company or directly involving a company member. - FO has 4 types of internal conflict situations... co-worker, work environment including station/apparatus/equipment, FD policy or procedure, and FO's own behavior/decisions/actions. - Official response to a problem begins when... FO becomes aware that a problem exists. - Basic approach that can be used in situations where interpersonal conflict is the primary problem or a complicating factor... Conflict Resolution. - Listen and Take Detailed Notes. - Conscious process of securing all kinds of information through a combination of listening and observing... Engaged or active listening. - The FO should be aware of non-verbal clues that may indicate... agreement, dissatisfaction, anger, or other emotions. - Provide greater insight into the disposition of the speaker. - Paraphrase and Receive Feedback. - First objective should be to... understand the issue and why the individual is complaining. - Paraphrasing the issue and receiving feedback from the complainant accomplishes two goals: FO finishes the phase with good understanding of the issue from the complainant's perspective and complainant feels that the FO really listened. - Do Not Explain or Excuse. - It is important to listen to the information before deciding on an appropriate response. - Investigate. - A detailed inquiry or systematic examination. - Complete investigative report has 3 objectives... report must first ID and clearly explain the issues, should provide a complete/impartial/factual presentation of the background info and relevant facts, and should be a recommended action plan based on and supported by the information. - Take Action. - Once the investigation is completed, FO present the findings and recommended action to... a supervisor at a higher level. - Four possible responses... Take no further action, recommend action requested by the complainant, suggest an alternate solution and refer the issue to the office or person who can provide a remedy. - Follow-Up - For many conflicts, the FO needs to follow-up with the complainant to see whether the problems is resolved. - Understanding Emotional Confrontations - [Emotional Confrontation] between the FO and FF may be an example of clashing psychological contracts. - Refers to mutual unwritten expectations that exist between employee and employer regarding policies and practices in their organization... Psychological contract. - Influences the attitude and job performance of the employee. - When a decision or situation occurs that is in conflict with our unwritten expectations we often respond... emotionally. - When we get emotional (scared, angry, or euphoric) adrenaline fills up the prefrontal lobes of the neocortex of the brain, creating an "emotional bubble" that interferes with the ability to hear or consider any response to the issues that make up this confrontation. - Michael Taigman 4 steps to conflict resolution when emotions are high... drain the emotional bubble, understand the complainant's viewpoint, help the complainant feel understood, and ID the complainant's expectation for resolution. - Listen deeply, actively and empathetically to... drain emotional bubble. - FO asks questions and encourages responses, draining the emotional bubble by allowing the complainant to express grief, regret, pain, censure, or resentment. - Initial complaint or behavior may be a sign or symptom of a larger problem, draining the emotional bubble through active listening may... identify the root cause or issue of the complaint. - Paraphrase and repeat back, some issues may be more readily resolved if the complainant feels that the FO understands the issue, conflict, or problem. - The FO should now ask... what does the complainant expect the dept to do to resolve the issue. - Since 2017, rate of suicide has exceeded rate of LODD's. - 37% of those surveyed contemplated suicide and almost 7% had attempted it... more than 10 times that of gen pop. - FO should consider the following warning signs of stress related issues in an individual... Isolation from others, disturbed sleep, increased irritability, decreased interest in significant activities, self-destructive or reckless behavior. - FF's are heavier users of alcohol than gen pop, 58% of study had reported binge drinking. - Signs FF may be grappling with substance abuse... mood swings and desire to spend time alone, loss of interest or lack of socialization, increased anxiety and crankiness, missing work or continuous issues at work, change in diet, and lack of care in physical appearance. - The three things that make firefighting different than other professions... exposure to danger, exposure to trauma and 24-hour shift. - Gagliano states that a successful marriage requires 5 essential conversations... reentry time, harshness and gallows humor, handling the tough runs, dealing with the fix-it mentality and keep your family first. - One of the deadliest enemies of marriage is the pursuit of wealth at the cost of family time. - 3 reasons for the struggle to maintain adequate income... greater personal debt, stagnant purchasing power, slow recovery from recent recessions. - The process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, threats, or significant sources of stress, such as family relationship problems, serious health problems, or workplace and financial stressor... Resiliency. - First used to describe soldiers' response to their action in war, represents perpetrating, failing to prevent, and bearing witness to, learning about acts that transgress deeply held moral beliefs and expectations... Moral Injury. - Moral injury occurs with FF when there is... a gap between what they want to do and the conditions that they are confronting. - A person who experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with traumatic event may experience "numbing, reduced awareness, depersonalization, derealization, or amnesia... Acute Stress Disorder (ASD). - To be diagnosed, must last more than 3 days and max of 4 weeks, onset must occur within 4 weeks of event. - May be a precursor to PTSD. - Characterized by symptoms of avoidance and nervous system arousal after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event... PTSD. - A person who experienced, witnessed, or was confronted with... Traumatic Event. - Intrusion or re-experience... intrusive thoughts or memories, nightmares, flashbacks, psychological and physical reactivity to reminders of the traumatic event such as the anniversary. - Avoidant symptoms... avoiding thoughts or feelings connected to the traumatic event, avoiding people or situations connected to the traumatic event. - Negative alterations in mood or cognitions... memory problems that are exclusive to the event, negative thoughts or beliefs about one's self or the world, distorted sense of blame for one's self or others related to the event, being stuck in severe emotions related to the trauma, severely reduced interest in pre-trauma activities, feeling detached, isolated or disconnected. - Increased arousal symptoms, person remains hypervigiliant to threats...difficulty concentrating, irritability, increased temper or anger, difficulty falling or staying asleep, hypervigilance, being easily startled. - Resources for behavioral health issues: NFFF, FF Behavioral Health Alliance, IAFC Safety Health and Survival section, IAFF behavioral Health Program. - Designed to deal with issues such as substance abuse, emotional or mental health issues, marital and family difficulties, or other difficulties that affect job performance... EAP. - Help employees cope with underlying issues that might be affecting workplace performance. - Signs that might be noticed at work include... absenteeism, unexplained fatigue, memory problems, irritability, insomnia, increased use of products with caffeine/nicotine, withdrawal from the crew, resentment toward management/ co-workers, stress-related illnesses, moodiness, or weight gain or loss. - Multiple signs may indicate the FO should ensure the employee is aware of EAP. - Goal of EAP is to... provide counseling and rehabilitation services to get the employee back to full productive duty ASAP. - Successful EAP's place high value on... confidentiality and require that FF's enter program voluntarily. Summary - Communication cycle includes 5 components... message, sender, medium, receiver, and feedback. - To improve listening skills, do not assume, do not interrupt, try to understand the need, and do not react too quickly. - FO should keep their superior officers informed about progress toward goals and projects, potential controversial issues, FF attitude, and morale. - The direct approach to emergency communications entails asking precise questions, providing timely and accurate information, and giving clear and specific orders. - Radio communications are essential for emergency operations because they provide an instantaneous connection and can link all the individuals involved in the incident to share important information. - A systematic approach to high-quality decision making is recommended... define the problem, generate alternative solutions, select a solution, implement the solution, and evaluate the result. - The first step in solving any problem is to examine the problem closely and define the problem carefully, a well-defined problem is one that is half-solved. - The implementation phase is often the most challenging aspect of problem solving, particularly if it requires the coordinated involvement of many different people. - Determining whether the solution actually solved the problem requires some type of measurement that compares the original condition with the condition after implementation. - The inherent risks associated with emergency operations demand close supervision at all times. - The FO's primary responsibility is to the team of FF's under their direct supervision. - The first-arriving FO must demonstrate the ability to take control of the situation and provide specific direction to all units operating and arriving. - Most FO leadership activity is directed toward accomplishing routine organizational goals and objectives in nonemergency conditions. - Training and coaching have been core FO tasks since the establishment of the first organized FD's. - A FO must prepare to conduct company-level training exercises and evolutions to ensure that the company is prepared to perform its basic responsibilities effectively and efficiently. - The 4-step method is a core part of most Fire Instructor I cert programs... Preparation, Presentation, Application, and Evaluation. - The 4 levels of FF skill competence are unconscious incompetence, conscious incompetence, conscious competence and unconscious competence. - Mentoring is a one-on-one process in which more experienced person provides a deliberate learning environment through instructing, coaching, providing experiences, modeling, and advising. - Teaching new skills takes more time than maintaining proficiency of existing skills. The FO should obtain as much information as possible about the device or procedure, especially identifying any FF safety issues. - Psychomotor skill levels are divided into 4 categories... Initial, Plateau, Latency, and Mastery. - At the very first meeting with a new FF Trainee, the FO should explain the procedures in the fire station when the company receives an alarm, assign senior FF to mentor, and describe any restrictions that are placed on FF in training. - 4 federal regulations governing FF training... Bloodborne pathogens, Hazwoper, Respiratory Protection Training and NIMS Directive 5 Managing domestic Incidents. - The FO may need to develop a specific training program that is not covered by an existing certification training program or prepared lesson plan. 5 steps to accomplish this goal... Assess needs, establish objectives, develop the training program, deliver the training and evaluate the impact. - Complaints, conflicts, and mistakes are special categories of problems. One of the key factors in decision making is knowledge about how to deal with situations that involve conflicts or complaints. - One of the most difficult situations for a FO is an interpersonal conflict or grievance within the company or directly involving a company member. - The conflict resolution model is a basic approach that can be used in situations where interpersonal conflict is the primary problem or a complicating factor. - All complaints should be investigated, even if foundation for the complaint appears to be weak or nonexistent. - The FO may take recommended four actions after completing an investigation... Take no further action, recommend the action requested by the complainant, suggest an alternate resolution, refer the issue to the office or person who can provide a remedy. - With many conflicts, the FO needs to follow up with the complainant to see whether the problem is resolved. - A rising leadership challenge is FF behavioral and physical health issues such as substance abuse, financial problems, acute stress disorder and PTSD. - Fire service organizations have been mobilizing to provide resources and tools to reduce impact of physical and behavioral health issues for FF's.