Several years ago I read Simon Sinek’s excellent book entitled “START WITH WHY”. I recently pulled his book off my shelf and immediately was pulled into its theme of “How great leaders inspire others to action”
Sinek opens chapter one with a quote “our behavior is affected by our assumptions or our perceived truths” Even the most seasoned leaders can make decisions that do not work out to be the best for our organizations no matter how good our research and motives were. Wrong decisions based on false assumptions will ultimately harm our Departments and cost us leadership change that we have with our constituents. As effective leaders we all know the value of reading, attending conferences, watching relevant podcasts as well as building relationships with other great leaders. But many times no matter how much data we collect we can still come up short if we don't understand the value of the things we cannot see. As I start reading Sinek’s book again I am reminded that his emphasis on the “why” offers each of us as leaders a powerful message. The ‘What’ represents the end product, the service we provide for our community, and the ‘How’ is the specific methods we employ to obtain positive outcomes. But the ‘Why’ is what motivates us to do what we do. It’s the intangible intuition that we cannot see, and we didn't learn it from a textbook, but it's what separates great leaders from average ones. The why is the spark that ignites us to action, to keep our focus first on our internal life, our marriage, and our families. It is the why that motivates us to go above and beyond the call of duty and to do the unexpected, and to serve our Departments with selflessness, pride and confidence in knowing that we have laid our why on the table of service and that no negotiable quality will be the driving factor in the success of our departments and all of the men and women we serve every day. Our Chief often says, “you don't choose the fire service, the fire service chooses you”. The lights, sirens, the adrenaline will attract many recruits but those few who will rise to leadership will have always first settled the question of “why” May God continue to bless you and keep you, and may you have eyes to see that which others cannot. Chaplain James Detweiler North Haven FD CFDIA |
AuthorJim has served as the Pastor at Hope Christian Church since 2005 . He is the Chaplain for the North Haven Ct Fire Department for the past 10 years. He is an Ordained minister as well as being an endorsed Chaplain with the Assemblies of God Archives
September 2022
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