Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 1
BECOMING A CHIEF OFFICER IN THE UNION CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT
Reluctance to becoming a chief officer in the Union City Fire Department
Terence Carey
Union City, CA Fire Department
January 2008 Appendices Not Included. Please visit the Learning Resource Center on the Web at http://www.lrc.dhs.gov/ to learn how to obtain this report in its entirety through Interlibrary Loan. Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 2
Certification Statement
I hereby certify that this paper constitutes my own product, that where the language of others is set forth, quotation marks so indicate, and that appropriate credit is given where
I have used the language, ideas, expressions, or writings of another.
Signed: s/s Terence Carey
______
Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 3
Abstract
The problem researched was the lack of Union City Fire Department (UCFD) personnel desiring to promote to the chief officer ranks, potentially causing the department to go outside the organization to fill positions. The research purpose was to identify the reasons for this reluctance to promote to chief officer within the UCFD.
Through descriptive research, questions concerning reluctance to promote into management in the private and public sector including fire departments were answered.
Research was carried out through literature review, interviews and questionnaires. The results identified the reasons for reluctance to move into management. Recommendations were made to acknowledge the problem, develop a career development guide, address compensation, lack of bargaining representation and provide more support to chief officers.
Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 4
Table of Contents
Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………....3
Table of Content……………………………………………………………………….….4
Introduction…………………………………………………………………………...... 5
Background and Significance………………………………………………………….….5
Literature Review……………………………………………………………………….....9
Procedures………………………………………………………………………………..22
Results……………………………………………………………………………………29
Discussion………………………………………………………………………………..40
Recommendations………………………………………………………………………..45
Reference List …………………………………………………………………………...48
Appendices
Appendix A: Reluctance to becoming a chief officer – Industry Questionnaire………..50
Appendix B: Reluctance to becoming a chief officer – UCFD Questionnaire …………55
Appendix C: Cover Letter for Interview Request……………………………………….64
Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 5
Reluctance to becoming a chief officer in the Union City Fire Department
Introduction
The Union City Fire Department (UCFD) is a career fire department located near
San Francisco, California. The UCFD is tasked with providing fire and emergency medical services, as well as disaster preparedness for its citizens. Leadership of the
organization at the rank of chief officers is an important component to direct and support
this mission. The problem is a lack of UCFD personnel desire to promote to the chief
officer ranks.
The research purpose is to identify the reasons for this reluctance to promote to
the ranks of chief officer within the UCFD. The descriptive research method was used
to answer the following research questions. What are the reasons for reluctance to
promote into management in the private sector? What are the reasons for reluctance to
promote into management in other public sector entities? What are the reasons for a
reluctance to promote to rank of chief officer in other fire agencies? Why do UCFD
members feel a reluctance to promote to the rank of the chief officer? The research
approach was literature review, questionnaires and interviews.
Background and Significance
The UCFD is a paid department with 50 members located 30 miles southeast of
San Francisco. Union City is 18 square miles in size. The UCFD provides fire protection
and advanced life support emergency medical services (paramedics) for an ethnically
diverse population of 72,300 people. The department responds to approximately 5,000
emergency responses annually (Union City Fire Department [UCFD], n.d.). UCFD Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 6
operates four fire stations with a minimum daily staffing of 13 persons, including a battalion chief.
UCFD was established in 1959. In 1995 it merged with nearby Fremont Fire
Department into one department. In 2000, the merger dissolved and the department was reconstituted as its own entity (UCFD, n.d.).
Since 2000, the UCFD has had five different fire chiefs, two of which were interim chiefs. Except for the present chief and the present division chief who was briefly an interim fire chief, the other three have retired on disability or accepted employment elsewhere. The organization chart of the management rank has consists of a fire chief, one assistant chief, one division chief, one emergency medical service chief and three shift battalion chiefs. The present fire chief has been in the position for 21 months. He was previously a fire chief in another state.
The department is presently recruiting for an additional battalion chief (a new position), who will be assigned a 40 hour work week and will be in charge of department training and disaster preparedness. The assistant chief, who has been working as an interim assistant chief for 18 months, will be retiring in January 2008. A recruitment to fill that position is also currently underway. Both the assistant chief and battalion chief positions are open to applicants outside the organization.
The ever changing leadership in the organization over the last seven years has led to a situation where consistency of operations and decision making has been lacking.
This lack of consistency and clear direction of the organization hampers the forward movement of the department. Morale has suffered because members of the department do not feel ownership in decisions because of the ever changing leadership. As soon as Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 7
one style of leadership and direction is established, new leadership of the organization is
established. This then causes all members to have to adjust to the next style of
leadership. An erosion of morale has occurred in the department because no one is clear on where the department and its personnel are headed.
Some disillusionment with the leadership of the department has occurred because of the previously mentioned changing environment. Many qualified members of the department are hesitant to become part of a management team that they feel is not leading the department in the correct direction. For the upcoming battalion chief and assistant chief exam processes, applications were accepted from outside of the department which led some in the department to feel as if the Fire Chief has already picked those outside the department to fill those two positions and the exam process is just a necessary charade to justify the hiring of those preordained from outside the department (R Hurtado personal communication, October 30, 2007).
For the upcoming battalion chief application process, six members of the department applied, out of 22 members who meet the minimum qualifications. Of those six, two are captains and four are engineers (apparatus drivers). For the upcoming assistant chief exam, two members of the department applied out of five members who meet the minimum qualifications (Carlos Rodriguez, personal communication, October
30, 2007).
Many qualified department members chose not to pursue these promotional opportunities. Although members can effect positive change in any rank in the organization, the department needs highly qualified personnel, who can garner the support of the rank and file, to assist in the leadership roles to help move the organization Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 8
forward in the setting and reaching of goals. As the department has seen ever changing
leadership and direction over the last seven years, additional unknown new chief officers potentially lead to the continued lack of stability at the top of the organization. As will be demonstrated in this research paper, this problem is not only found in the UCFD.
This is an important topic to the author because as a chief officer, the lack of direction and ever changing leadership leads to frustration throughout the organization, including the chief officer rank. Throughout the fire service, in the author’s experience, the most qualified many times do not pursue promotion to the chief officer’s rank which hurts the fire service. In any industry when the best of the best do not choose to take on leadership roles, the industry suffers.
This applied research project (ARP) relates to the following United States Fire
Administration (USFA) stated operational objective: “to respond appropriately in a timely manner to emerging issues” (U.S. Fire Administration [USFA], 2003, p.II-2). By researching member’s reluctance of private industry, public entities, fire departments and
UCFD to promote into the management ranks, lessons can be learned and addressed.
Over time, optimistically these lessons would encourage the most qualified members to more seriously pursue a position in the rank of chief officer. This reluctance of pursuing chief officer positions has been, and continues to be an issue in the fire service.
A National Fire Academy Executive Leadership course goal is “the chief fire executive will develop the ability to conceptualize and employ the key processes used by effective executive-level managers” (Federal Emergency Management Association
[FEMA], 2005, p. v). Effective leaders need to groom their successors and this ARP will help identify issues to assist in that endeavor. A key concept of the same course is Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 9
“given experiences and models from industry, the students will be able to develop an appreciation for planning, development, and succession planning” (FEMA, 2005, p. 7-2).
This research will identify the reasons for a reluctance to pursue chief officer positions which could result in solutions for some of those concerns and aid in succession planning.
This research relates to the resolution of the problem in that it will explore the reasons why so many of the highly qualified members of the fire service and other industries choose not to pursue a management position. The identification of these reasons will hopefully lead to implementation of solutions to those very same problems.
The desired by product would be the encouragement of more members to step up to leadership roles effecting positive change in the fire service.
The research approach to this problem is to identify the reasons for the reluctance of many to promote to the ranks of chief officer within the UCFD, through descriptive
research, as discussed in module two (USFA, 2004, p. 14). Included in this research are a
literature review, detailed questionnaires, and interviews.
Literature Review
A literature review was performed to summarize the status and findings of the
reluctance of many to promote into management in the private sector, public sector
entities, other fire agencies and lastly within the UCFD. It included review of literature,
numerous interviews and two questionnaires.
Many enter the fire service to respond to emergencies, to help others and/or for
the work schedule. Over time the attractiveness of these career characteristics became
ingrained with the individual along with the strong familial ties of the fire service culture. Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 10
Being part of a team working closely together for a common goal is a lofty purpose in life and one difficult to contemplate from which to disassociate, such as moving into management.
To examine why members of this profession are reluctant to promote into management, a review of literature was undertaken to examine similar issues in the private sector, public entities and in the fire service. The private sector provided solid resources to review this problem.
Peter Drucker, management expert and teacher, noted a movement of mid-career managers and professionals who are striving to learn and make themselves more marketable by seeking advanced degrees (Drucker, 2001, p. VIII). Frances Hesselbein, founder of the Drucker Foundation and recipient of many national awards, stressed the point that even if one is not at the top of an organization, one can still affect change at their team or group level (Hesselbein, 2002, p. 53).
In an article in Leader to Leader, Peter Senge states that when it comes to making meaningful change, senior managers have less power than many believe. They have to set the strategy for the organization and get support throughout the organization in order to effect change (Senge, 1996, p. 18).
In Leadership on the Line, it is pointed out that people push back at leaders when the leaders upset their feeling of normalcy and handle challenges that need to be faced.
Some of this push back comes at great personal cost to leaders. As a result of this personal cost, people are hesitant to step up in leadership and/or management roles.
Leading is a precarious role according to the authors (Heifetz & Linsky, 2002, p. 2). Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 11
Drucker points out that in the hierarchy of companies; whatever the boss does and
says, no matter how casual, is scrutinized for its deeper meaning. This causes
consternation in the rest of the team as they are trying to figure out what the boss, or
manager is trying to articulate (Drucker, 2001, p. 114).
Drucker relates a story about a young army captain during the Vietnam War
explaining how he retains command during battle. He stated that his subordinates must
know what to do during battle because he will not always be near by to give instructions.
The captain summarizes his management philosophy in the following: “the responsibility
is always mine, but the decision lies with whoever is on the spot” (Drucker, 2001, p.
195). This reinforces another point of Drucker’s that an effective leader, knows that they
are ultimately responsible, and believes in their subordinates (Drucker, 2001, p. 270).
Heifetz and Linsky continue their point stating in these modern times, many
companies are becoming more democratic in their decision making with less defined
roles for managers (Heifetz & Linsky, 2002, p. 3). This is true in the fire service as well.
Hesselbein defines barriers to leadership as categorized in two areas, self-imposed
and institutional. Self-imposed is where individuals do not clearly map out their personal goals, not complete knowledge of self, pointing out negatives instead of
positives among other items. Institutional barriers are restrictive hierarchical structures,
corporate culture that stresses status quo, unclear lines of accountability, lack of
mentoring program and not seeing people as the company’s greatest assets (Hesselbein,
2002, p. 38-39).
As has been discussed, private industry faces challenges in leadership.
Individuals can still make a difference in their organization even if they are not at the top Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 12 of the organizational hierarchy. This can encourage one to stay at their current level and not promote. They can avoid the personal cost of leadership while still having input into their organization. This is similar to other industry’s challenges in recruiting managers.
Public sector entities also have challenges with qualified personnel being reluctant to promote into management. For example, the education system and law enforcement face similar reluctance that the private sector and the fire service face.
The school systems are facing shortages of principals, but not for lack of qualified and certified individuals. Senior teachers, in general are looking with a wary eye towards all the responsibilities and pressures placed on principals of schools. The pressure is on for principals to lead a resurrection of failing schools, and if the principle is not successful, many times their jobs are in jeopardy (Bell, 2001).
A 2001 survey found that 90% of California high school districts had shortage of high school principle applicants, and 73% reported the same problem at the elementary school level. The California Commission on Teacher Credentialing has more than 34,000 people with administrative credentials in California, which is more than the 23,000 school administrative positions. Many of these credentialed personnel though are choosing to remain in less demanding, non-management type of positions. One of the reasons these personnel are stating as avoiding the high stress management jobs is the compaction of salary between management and non-management positions. Salary is cited as the biggest challenge to solve in the recruitment of school principals (Bell, 2001).
Some solutions being put into place to attempt to solve this problem are leadership academies, new recruitment strategies, mentoring programs and job sharing with more than one individual for these high stress positions (Bell, 2001). Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 13
The leadership academies are meant to bridge the gap between the theory taught
in higher education, to real life knowledge to aid principals and other managers be
successful. In Seattle, Washington more power is being given to school principals to
build the vision of the school they see as appropriate (Bell, 2001).
Leadership academies are aimed at helping the new principals and managers. In
Chicago, Illinois, the plethora of new principals is especially acute. The Chicago public
school system has more than 170 new principles. Challenges are many for these new
principles, with failing schools and high poverty rates. Pressure is high for these
principles, new and old alike, to raise test scores or face being replaced. This is a constant stress on a daily basis to manage both their school and a myriad of challenges.
Like their peers in California, these challenges cause many to ponder the reason for taking on the job of principal (Schaper, 2007)
As schools have started mentoring programs for principals and administrators, so too has law enforcement. The law enforcement community has recognized the pressures on new chiefs and administrators. Through the International Association of Chiefs of
Police, new chiefs are paired up with veteran chiefs of similar size agencies. They meet
and/or correspond for a minimum of three months discussing issues and advice. This
mentoring program has been a success (International Association of Chiefs of Police,
n.d.).
The leadership of law enforcement also is becoming one of a more participatory management style. The power in the organization must be shared, yet the responsibility
and accountability still rests with the chief. This leads many in law enforcement to look
with a wary eye on the desirability of taking on a management role (Caddell, 2006). Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 14
School systems and law enforcement have challenges recruiting managers. The
proactive stance to instituting leadership academies and mentoring programs are
examples the fire service may want to emulate.
One solution seen in law enforcement to encourage more qualified personnel to
strive for management and leadership roles, is encourage development of leaders at all
levels of the organization. The goal is to identify these leaders early in their careers, with
appropriate mentoring, which can lead to future managers and/or chiefs in the future.
Stressing the procurement of education is another solution being stressed (Caddell, 2006, p. 12).
As private and other public sector entities face challenges in the recruitment of personnel to move into the management ranks, so does the fire service. Many fire service
resources are available for review on this topic.
In November 1991, 177 United States fire chiefs responded to a survey referring
to the desirability of chief officer positions. Eighty-five percent of respondents stated that staff positions were less desirable in their fire departments and 55% stated they would have personnel problems within their departments if staff assignments were required. Since most staff assignments are filled by chief officers, this points out one
reason where eligible chief officer candidates may be scared away from pursuing
managerial opportunities (Paulsgrove, 1992, August, p. 48-53).
Battalion Chief (BC) Chris Albertson of the Santa Barbara, CA City Fire
Department explored the predicament of many in the fire service exploring the reasons
many pass on promotions and what can be done to get the most qualified to pursue those
same opportunities. He sent out a questionnaire throughout the California fire service Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 15
and found that overall his respondent departments, when added together, had only 31% of
eligible captains applied for promotion to battalion chief (Albertson, 1999, p. 84).
BC Albertson’s research found that the most prevalent reason for not promoting
was lack of compensation commensurate with the increase in responsibility. The solution
offered was giving employees financial rewards related to performance, although he did
not detail the implementation of this idea. He found that another reason was the actual or
perceived threat of change from a firefighter shift schedule to 40 hour work week. This change could negatively affect the lifestyle and family life of the newly promoted individual (Albertson, 1999, p. 85).
The Austin, Texas Fire Department too found in a survey in 1992, that members
of their department had a strong aversion to staff assignments. Staff assignment
characteristics listed negatively included the schedule, inequity in regards to benefits with
those assigned to shifts, loss of the feeling as part of the team, the type of work and lack
of appreciation. Solutions Austin Fire Department has undertaken include a four day
work week. Although the chief of the department states he had no magical solution to
conquering this aversion, he felt sharing information and possible solutions was an
important step (Paulsgrove, 1992, August, p. 49-53).
St. Petersburg, Florida Fire Department also has had the same problem as Austin.
Some solutions they have instituted include opening up the pool of candidates to lower
ranks which increase the compensation jump if promoted. Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Fire Department also drops the entry requirement one rank to increase the pool of
candidates. The Chief of St. Petersburg Fire mandates that staff officers spend a
minimum of four hours per week in the field increasing the partnership between field and Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 16
staff personnel. The department does not fix a set amount of time for assignment to staff
positions to provide flexibility, although a one year assignment is encouraged. The
reason for the flexibility is the department does not have an interest in having employees
in positions they do not desire. The department also wants to encourage employees to try
different assignments (Paulsgrove, 1992, August, p.52).
San Francisco, California Fire Department has a unique way to solve the retention
problem for staff assignments. If an individual is reassigned to a staff assignment, their
rank classification is changed resulting in an increase in pay while at the staff assignment.
For example, if a captain is assigned to the training division, they are classified as training officer and paid battalion chief wages. When reassigned, their salary is reduced to captain (Paulsgrove, 1992, September, p.32).
BC Albertson’s questionnaire also elicited detailed feedback from some chiefs.
One chief listed some questions for readers to ponder regarding their own departments.
For example, does the fire department receive respect and support from the city wide administration? Another chief noted that a lack of respect from city administration and as well, from the fire line troops. Thus, the chief officers became a dumping ground for projects and for complaints (Albertson, 1999, p. 85).
The chief found that a motivating factor was the hope of participants to make a positive change in their organization and upward mobility. He also gave solutions. First, note that the problem exists and create a plan to develop leaders. This includes challenging assignment opportunities, rewards and support. Succession management should be encouraged to be practiced by existing chief officers (Albertson, 1999, p. 85). Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 17
Other solutions included addressing the concern of the change to a 40 hour work
week. The chief suggested making staff assignments flexible and temporary making for a
shorter work week with flex time. Other ideas are to provide a department vehicle and
department support for training (Albertson, 1999, p. 86). Another survey of fire chiefs elicited some other possible solutions to encouraging personnel to pursue chief officer assignments including special assignment pay, additional vacation time, vacation flexibility, and support for training, education and certification. This same survey found that 72% of responding fire chiefs noted that alternative work schedules are an effective tool for recruitment and retention (Paulsgrove, 1992, September, p.33)
Ronny Coleman, former California State Fire Marshal and retired fire chief, stressed the need to create an organizational environment that fosters opportunity for members to achieve higher levels of responsibility in the fire service. He noted the department has the need to provide the direction and standards for the individual, while
the individual must give the motivation and skill necessary to achieve higher levels of responsibility (Coleman, 1988, p. 23).
Coleman encourages succession planning that includes a career development guide, much like a self-paced instructional course that no one has to use, but all have equal access to. He also stresses the need for a solid performance evaluation system that gives feedback to the employee which will aid in their growth. Another element of this plan is creating an environment where challenges exist from which learning can take place and allows opportunity to achieve. The last component of this guide is allowing talented member’s exposure to demonstrate their talents and skills (Coleman, 1988, p. 24-
26). Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 18
A few chief officers across the country have applied solutions to trying to recruit
personnel to the chief officer ranks. For example, introduce short-term internships in
staff assignment for line personnel to try out to get exposure to a full gamut of
department activities to see if they would like to pursue these opportunities as a part of the management team. Consider a relaxed dress code not permitted in field positions along with the ability to tailor incentives to the individual needs instead the position.
Communicate the importance of chief officer positions through actions (Paulsgrove,
1992, September, p. 35).
The Orange County, California Fire Authority (OCFA) developed a solution to the lack of leadership developed within the organization. The department developed the
OCFA Leadership Institute. This institute was built on the premises that for long-term growth of the organization, leadership must be sought out at all levels of the organization.
The organization grows one person at a time and that leadership is not a matter of rank but rather of action. Some of the beliefs espoused are that communication and trust are the cornerstones of a successful organization; leadership is a commitment to continued learning and commitment to service. Personnel are encouraged to participate in the leadership institute but it is not mandated (Brame & McIntosh, 2000, p.58-59).
Robert Fleming, a professor of management at Rowan University in New Jersey with a background in the fire service, feels that one of the most important challenges facing the fire service is the development of personnel to assume leadership roles within their departments. He feels that it is important to provide line officers with a realistic preview of the chief officer ranks, as well as preparation and transition guidance
(Fleming, 2002, p.37). Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 19
Fleming states that the difference between line officers and chief officers is their
functionality. Line officers function as supervisors and chief officers function as
managers. He believes that a difficulty for line officers when they transition to chief
officer is the line officer failure to recognize the change in their roles and responsibilities.
Many line officers have a difficult time and fear of managing the changing balance of roles as a chief officer. A chief officer must manage the present but also lead their department into the future. To be successful as a leader, he argues that clear vision must be presented; consensus achieved, and facilitates shared goals and objectives (Fleming,
2002, p.40).
To encourage a new chief officer to be successful and/or a line officer be more apt to pursue a chief officer position, departments should provide a realistic preview of the roles and responsibilities of a chief officer to all considering the career advancement, according to Fleming. Acting positions can be an effective tool for both the candidate and the department to view a candidate’s abilities and readiness to be a chief officer. To be successful as a chief officer one must prepare through their education and experience for the new role. The candidate needs to be informed and educated as to these attributes to make them successful as a chief officer and hopefully, as a result, the most qualified will apply for upward movement into the chief officer ranks (Fleming, 2002, p.40).
Chase Sargent, a battalion chief with the City of Virginia Beach, Virginia Fire
Department, makes the case that the molding and development of chief officers begins when a rookie walks in the door and begins in earnest when they are promoted to company officer. Chief officers must have credibility, which is developed over time, Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 20 with their subordinates in order to be successful. Doubting oneself and their credibility can lead to reluctance to promote (Sargent, 2002, p. 50).
Many firefighters do not pursue chief officer positions because they have not seriously considered themselves in these positions or have not had a mentor steer them in that direction. Eddie Buchanan, operations chief for the Hanover, Virginia Fire
Department, encourages firefighters to take control of their own situation and search out their own mentors. Learning from these mentors over a long period of time will imprint firefighters with lessons learned which help them become well rounded and better candidates for promotions. This attitude will help the long term health of the organization and improve the organizational culture. Chief Buchanan stresses that this will aid in the development of the firefighter. Accordingly, this will also help develop better candidates for promotion in the long run (Buchanan, 2007, p. 32).
Steve Lombardo, a member of Cal Fire, formerly the California Department of
Forestry Fire Department, wrote an applied research paper for the Executive Fire Officer
Program at the National Fire Academy addressing the reasons why many Cal Fire battalion chiefs chose not to promote to assistant chief. His research found that 92% of eligible members would not pursue promotion to assistant chief. The primary reason for this reluctance was a reduction in pay. Another reason was Cal Fire rotates assistant chiefs, many times against their wishes, through various assistant chief positions. He recommends including assistant chiefs in the decision making process as much as possible, allowing them to work a four day work week where possible (Lombardo, 1999).
The Portsmouth, New Hampshire Fire Department likewise found similar results when researching barriers to internal candidates seeking chief officer promotions. The Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 21 findings of why Portsmouth Fire Department members shied away from chief officer promotions was the change in working hours and/or work schedule, a loss in net annual wages, and the impact of a residency requirement for chief officers. Likewise to
Lombardo’s recommendations, methods recommended to increase internal candidates seeking promotional opportunities include non-traditional administrative work schedules and wage increases commensurate with responsibilities (Achilles, 2003).
Tucson, Arizona Fire Department found that the main reason for qualified internal candidates not applying for chief officer positions was the possibility of an eight hour per day staff assignment. From 1986 to 1998, the number of eligible candidates who applied for chief officer positions decreased from 50% to less than 25%. The reason sited was the fear of the eight hour work day staff assignment (Ross, 1998).
The general fire service has common themes in regards to the reluctance to promote into management from increased responsibility to insufficient compensation.
This is beneficial information in that it is not a unique problem, but rather one that discussion and solutions can be sought out throughout the industry.
Within the UCFD, no literature exists of why the members feel a reluctance to promote to the rank of chief officer. The job announcement and informational flyer for the most recent Assistant Fire Chief position in December 2007, though gives a view of what upper management desires in a chief officer candidate. These desires were similar to those represented in the November 2007 battalion chief job flyer (Bob Murray and
Associates, 2007).
The job announcement for Assistant Fire Chief listed characteristics of the ideal candidate. Some of these characteristics included honesty, fairness and the highest level Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 22
of ethics. The individual will be able to engender trust from employees is another highly desired characteristic. The minimum educational requirement is a bachelor’s degree and
four years or more at the level of battalion chief (Bob Murray and Associates, 2007).
Members of the UCFD posses these traits and many members meet the requirements for battalion chief. Skepticism exists though whether this is enough to be successful in the testing promotional process (R. Hurtado, personal communication,
October 30, 2007).
The literature review had a positive impact on the research for this ARP.
Although many sources exist with data and feedback on why people do not want to pursue management positions, through the literature review they have become clearer.
This new found clarity will aid in educating the UCFD on the reluctance of why members do not want to promote into management, perhaps leading to solutions.
Procedures
This ARP is a descriptive research endeavor exploring the reasons for a reluctance to promote to the ranks of chief officer within the UCFD. The research included a literature review, interviews with private sector, public sector and fire service personnel, and questionnaires with fire service and UCFD personnel.
The literature review began at the Learning Resource Center (LRC) at the
National Fire Academy in April 2007. ARP’s regarding the general topic of fire service promotion was reviewed. Literature searches were performed at the LRC using key words such as promotion, succession planning, career development, leadership and chief officer. Literary sources found from these searches were reviewed for applicability to this ARP. Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 23
The literary search continued on the internet using search engines with the above key words in April 2007 through September 2007. Material found to be applicable was reviewed on line and those of interest were downloaded and/or found in the Danville,
California Public Library.
The literature review was used to answer research the following questions.
What are the reasons for reluctance to promote into management in the private sector? What are the reasons for reluctance to promote into management in other public sector entities? What are the reasons for a reluctance to promote to rank of chief officer in other fire agencies? Why do UCFD members feel a reluctance to promote to the rank of the chief officer? A limitation was lack of literature regarding lack of desire of
UCFD personnel to promote to chief officer positions.
Interviews were conducted to answer all four of the research questions: What are the reasons for a reluctance to promote into management in the private sector? What are the reasons for reluctance to promote into management in other public sector entities?
What are the reasons for a reluctance to promote to the rank of chief officer in other fire agencies? Why do UCFD members feel a reluctance to promote to the rank of chief officer?
To answer question number one, what are the reasons for a reluctance to promote into management in the private sector, three individuals were interviewed. Ernest Farley,
President of Sundance Berry Farms; Bruce Duchene, Regional Sales Director for Ariba
Incorporated; and Barbara Curran, Vice President of Human Resources for Chevron Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 24
They were selected because of their tenure and experience in their respective industry and unique perspective on the topic addressed. They posses intimate knowledge of the management including its rewards and challenges.
They were all asked the following basic questions: have you experienced in your industry reluctance from employees to pursue management promotional opportunities?
How do encourage stellar employees to pursue management promotional opportunities?
Do the best employees generally rise to the top? Does your company have a formal mentoring program for potential management employees? What impact does the leadership of the company have on management recruitment?
All three interviews were conducted over the telephone. They all were approximately 30 to 60 minutes in length. Mr. Farley was interviewed on November 8,
2007. Mr. Duchene was interviewed on November 10, 2007. Ms. Curran was interviewed on November 15, 2007.
To answer question number two, what are the reasons for reluctance to promote into management in other public sector entities, two individuals were interviewed. Brian
Foley, Captain with the Union City, California Police Department (UCPD) and James
Bizieff, Lieutenant with the UCPD were interviewed.
They were selected because of their experience in law enforcement and knowledge of other agencies demographics and situations through educational endeavors and practical experience. They were asked the following questions: does a reluctance to promote into management exist in law enforcement agencies? If so, expand on the reasons? What are the solutions to this problem if it does exist? Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 25
The interviews were conducted in person at the UCFD Training Facility on
November 29, 2007. The interviews lasted approximately 30 minutes.
To answer question number three, what are the reasons for a reluctance to promote to the rank of chief officer in other fire agencies, one individual was interviewed. Steve Duncan, Battalion Chief with the Leawood, Kansas Fire Department
(LFD) was interviewed.
He was selected because he represents the LFD which is of similar size to the
UCFD, yet is not geographically close in proximity. He has intimate knowledge of the reasons why members of his department do not pursue management opportunities.
He was asked the following questions: does a reluctance to promote into management exist in your department and/or departments of which you have knowledge?
If yes, what are the reasons? What are the solutions to this issue if it does exist?
The interview was conducted in person, at the National Fire Academy on April
24, 2007. The interview lasted approximately 45 minutes in duration.
To answer question four, why do UCFD members feel a reluctance to promote to the rank of chief officer, three UCFD members were interviewed. Captain Jeff Graham,
Captain Rick Hurtado and Engineer Larry Drexler were interviewed. These three members were chosen for a multitude of reasons including: they were all eligible and qualified to participate in a chief officer exam, two of them were active participants in the current UCFD battalion chief exam process and one was successful in a previous exam, although he declined the job offer. They brought unique insight into why one would or would not seek advancement into the chief officer ranks. Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 26
They were asked the following questions: why do/would you pursue the
opportunity of promotion to chief officer? Do you believe a formal career development program would be a help in encouraging members to pursue management promotions?
Why would you or others not pursue chief officer opportunities? Of those reasons for not pursuing management opportunities, what can be changed? What can be done to encourage members to pursue promotion to chief officer?
They were interviewed separately. Captain Graham was interviewed at UCFD fire station one on October 30, 2007 for one hour. Captain Hurtado was interviewed at
UCFD fire station three on October 30, 2007 for 45 minutes. Engineer Drexler was
interviewed at the UCFD training center on November 1, 2007 for 15 minutes. A limitation is these three individuals are a small percentage of the department members,
but they do represent a cross section of the department.
A questionnaire was developed by the author to help answer question number
three: what are the reasons for a reluctance to promote to rank of chief officer in other
fire agencies? The purpose was to gain an understanding if firefighters across the nation
were reluctant to promote to the rank of chief officer, and if so, why. What is the
representation of the department which participated in the last chief officer’s
examination? Does their department have a formal career development program for chief
officer ranks? What are reasons why members do not pursue chief officer positions?
What are reasons the respondent may want to pursue promotion to chief officer
positions? What are solutions to encouraging the most qualified to pursuing chief officer
positions? The questionnaire was developed by first determining the purpose and depth
of the information desired to be gained by the responses. General questions were written Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 27
first, and then the breadth of the questions funneled down to specifics issues desired to be
explored. Questions were amended and some discarded. Questions were in part, based on information gained from the literature review.
The population defined was agencies of similar size within the United States fire service. The sample size was determined by what fire department members across the
United States that the author could contact via email.
The questionnaire was conducted from September 20, 2007 through October 5,
2007. The questionnaire was sent, via the internet, through the professional survey company, Zoomerang found at http://www.zoomerang.com. One hundred forty-one invites were sent, 36 (25%) completed questionnaires were returned. The company
Zoomerang automatically tabulates the results in an easy to read format. The
questionnaire, results and participants are found in appendix A.
The questionnaire respondents were selected for two reasons: they presented a
broad spectrum of the U.S. fire service and they were able to contacted, via the internet,
by the author to participate in the questionnaire. Approximately 45 of the 141 invited
individuals are students at the National Fire Academy, 71 are specifically California
firefighters and the rest are miscellaneous firefighters from throughout the U.S.
A potential limitation of these results is the population desired for review was
agencies of similar size in the Unites States fire service and this is too small of a sample
to statistically support that size population. Another limitation is approximately one-third
of the respondents were from fire departments that were not of similar size. Many of the
invited participants, in agencies of similar size in California did not respond. The Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 28
questionnaire results though are a good overview of the U.S. fire service and its
member’s views on promotion to the rank of chief officer.
A questionnaire was also developed by the author to answer question number
four, why do members of the UCFD feel a reluctance to promote to the rank of chief
officer? The purpose was to gain an understanding of if UCFD members believed a
reluctance to become a chief officer exists within the UCFD, and if so, why?
The questionnaire was developed by first determining the purpose and depth of
the information desired to be gained by the responses. General questions were written
first, and then the breadth of the questions funneled down to specifics issues desired to be
explored. Questions were amended and some discarded. Questions were in part, based
on information gained from the literature review. The population defined and sample
size was members of the UCFD (see Appendix B).
The questionnaire was conducted from September 20, 2007 through October 5,
2007. The questionnaire was sent, via the internet, through the professional survey company, Zoomerang found at http://www.zoomerang.com. Forty-three invites were sent, 12 (28%) completed questionnaires were returned. As previously mentioned, the
company automatically tabulates the results into an easy to read format. The
questionnaire, results and participants are found in appendix B.
A potential limitation of these results is only 28% of department members
responded to the questionnaire, limiting the quantity of feedback from department
members, but not necessarily the quality of information.
Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 29
Results
A review of literature, numerous interviews and two questionnaires found that some common themes prevail in private industry, public entities, fire service and the
UCFD in regards to an aversion to promote into the management ranks.
Some commonality also was seen in regards to recommended solutions to this issue.
The literature review showed that private industry does have a problem with some well qualified personnel not wanting to pursue management opportunities. Reasons cited include lack of sufficient compensation and lack of support. Public entities also have the same problem and mentoring programs likewise have been implemented to encourage participation in management. The fire service, as well as the UCFD, is found to have many layers of issues regarding the reluctance to move into management. Lack of adequate compensation, increased responsibility, loss of representation among others is reasons many promising firefighters do not want to move into management.
Three individuals in private industry were interviewed for their perspective regarding the reluctance of employees to move into management in the private sector.
Ernest Farley, with 20 years in private industry, President of Sundance Berry Farms in
Watsonville, California, a company with over 1500 employees was interviewed. Bruce
Duchene, with 24 years in the technology field, who is a regional sales director for Ariba
Incorporated, was also interviewed. Barbara Curran, a 24 year employee of Chevron who is Vice President of Human Resources for Chevron was the third private industry individual interviewed. All three were chosen because of their tenure and experience in their respective industry, different industry’s represented and unique perspective on the topic addressed. See appendix C for cover letter sent requesting interviews. Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 30
Mr. Farley stated that in the agricultural industry, promotion into management is generally viewed as a risk, not an opportunity. As one goes higher in management the risk increases, yet so do the rewards. In the corporate world, when one becomes a chief executive officer (CEO), the risk is one can be fired by the shareholders and/or owner. At the CEO level the job becomes political with much of the responsibility out of ones personal control. For example, if a commercial market for a product slows down, the
CEO bears the burden. The fraternity of individuals also gets smaller at this level.
He stated that in his opinion, personnel are reluctant to move into management roles because they question how much control and influence they will actually have.
They feel the employees and/or shareholders question if they are the true decision maker.
The individual’s ability to do the management job becomes secondary to superiors latitude to let them to do their job. Many question whether their skills and abilities will be allowed to be exercised and to what level they will be allowed to exercise their authority.
He stated as one moves up in position of authority decisions made have far reaching effects on the whole organization. For example, if the foreman manager oversees a bad crop, than the pickers produce a bad crop which affects the buyers and the financial status of the entire company.
He has definitely seen qualified and capable personnel choose not to pursue management opportunities for a myriad of reasons. First and foremost in his mind is lack of confidence that one believes they actually can do the job. Other reasons include timing in one life and the previously mentioned fear of the personal risk involved in such Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 31
a move. He feels that as one goes higher in management decisions made to promote
higher are based on outside influences.
Solutions he sees to encourage more qualified personnel to assume management
roles is for the leadership of organizations to stress to its people that risk taking is
encouraged, and if one makes a mistakes they will not be punished for trying. The
leader’s role is also to support its people, take blame when mistakes are made and provide encouragement for successes. This attitude will help create an environment where individuals feel empowered and desire to be a part of the management of the organization according to Mr. Farley.
Mr. Duchene stated that in the technology field generally three levels of personnel exist. Level one is the field sales personnel, level two is a layer of management who operate in the field and level three is a layer of executive management.
The field sales personnel key on earnings potential and freedom. The financial rewards are less if one moves out of this level. The quality of life is appealing, being in
the field solving customer’s problems as opposed as to moving up in management
pushing paper instead of making deals. Moving away from this lifestyle is prohibitive to
many.
He feels that to encourage stellar sales personnel to move into management, an
informal mentoring program must be put into practice. For example, he starts to share
information with those star sales personnel that normally would not be given to the entire
sales force. He appeals to their altruistic values pointing out that if they move up in
management they can share with others their experience. Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 32
When asked if the top performers rise to the top, he stated not always. At his
company, psychological profiles of new hires are administered as well as to top performers in the sales field. A formal mentoring program is established for these top performers. After completion of a formal mentoring program, the high test scores have
not always been indicative of those that do the best job. Other reasons for promotion he
has seen are that politics and taking credit for others work has aided some in their quest
for promotion.
Effects of management recruitment to its ranks seem that one side generally is
pursuing the other, but not both at the same time. For example, management is pursuing
a possible manager, or an employee is pursuing promotion to management. He has seen
that companies in the technology industry rarely make the investment to have a formal
program to encourage personal growth. If one reaches a position in management, and
decides to step back down to a lower position, most companies do not support it. One
has to leave the company and start elsewhere in this scenario. Within the technology
field, individuals move companies often because many times personal and company goals
do not match.
Ms. Curran perspective is from one of the largest multi-national corporations, it is
the fifth largest company in the world. In her experience, she has seen many individuals
from the technical or science side of the company avoid management positions. On the
technical side of the company, career ladders are very stratified and personnel can
progress within this career technical path. The barrier is getting out of this technical
career ladders and moving to the management career path. The challenge is to match
personal aspirations with the position. Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 33
Chevron has not had a problem with filling management positions. The incentive
for potential managers is the large compensation increase in management position,
especially as individuals move into the upper management. Another incentive to move
into management is gaining more authority and flexibility.
Chevron has a formal career guide which identifies high potential personnel for
management positions. High performers are identified in a roundtable group discussion
with management personnel. Once identified as a high performer, a formal career guide is done at annual evaluation. One’s supervisor helps employees match aspirations and abilities with future career opportunities. High performers are given short assignments to gain exposure to areas of management with which they may not have been a part. It is the supervisor’s job to identify these potential high performers.
She felt that for the most part the best personnel do rise to the top. If an individual is on the fast track of promotion, mistakes will take a while to catch up with them but they eventually do. Chevron has only four percent turnover within the company. She views the company and its culture as very ethical and collaborative.
Employees do not view that the enemy is within the company. The company concentrates on affecting good skill sets for its supervisors because, as Ms. Curran states, it follows the belief that the number one factor people remain with their place of employment is because of their relationship with their supervisor.
To understand law enforcement challenges in regards to management recruitment, two UCPD managers were interviewed. Brian Foley, Captain and James Bizieff,
Lieutenant (Lt.) both agreed that a reluctance to promote into management also exists in law enforcement. Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 34
Within the UCPD structure, the lieutenant rank is the first step into management and sergeant is the last rank considered non-management. Lt. Bizieff stated that as one leaves non-management and moves into the management rank within the UCPD,
overtime pay and union representation are lost. Increased expectations and broader responsibilities are then placed on the new manager with the previously stated losses.
The new manager has 24/7 program responsibilities such as Special Weapons and Tactics
(SWAT) or traffic supervision while working a four day workweek of 10 hours each day.
He felt though personally, that the increase in compensation is enough to make it financially worthwhile to move into management within the UCPD. An incentive, he felt to move into lower levels of management that should be stressed is the increased ability to make an imprint on the organization.
Captain Foley’s rank is directly below the position of Police Chief. He stated that within the law enforcement community, a great reluctance exists to promote into the position of police chief. Many in law enforcement view the position of police chief as a political figure with your schedule dependent on the desires of the managing bodies. The police chief must be present at civic functions whether on or off duty. The police chief is an at will employee who loses job security. It becomes difficult to advocate for the troops when the lack of job security looms over the police chief. Foley also stated that
many in law enforcement also feel that the police chief can get bogged down in a 60 hour work week trying to meet unrealistic expectations of the position.
They both stated that solutions that may make police management positions more
attractive to the troops are for city staff to be more realistic of expectations placed on the
police chief’s time. This would allow the police chief to maintain a more healthy balance Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 35
in life. One solution that is starting to gain momentum within the law enforcement community is the offer of a contract for the position of police chief. This would spell out length of service, compensation, reasons for dismissal and severance package details.
This idea of a contract would give some semblance of security for police chief candidates
and encouraging those hesitant candidates to potentially apply.
To determine other fire departments problems with reluctance to promote into
management, one interview and one personal communication were conducted. Steve
Duncan, Battalion Chief with the Leawood, Kansas Fire Department (LFD) was
interviewed to gain an understanding if other fire departments are experiencing a
reluctance of members willing to promote to chief officer. Battalion Chief Nate Ramos, of the Honolulu Fire Department was contacted for his perspective.
Battalion Chief Duncan stated that the April, 2007 LFD battalion chief test had two internal applicants out of a possible 10 eligible candidates. He stated that in the LFD the battalion chiefs rarely receive overtime pay so the pay gap between captain and battalion chief is very narrow. The official pay differential between the two ranks is 10% but as stated captains, with overtime, can easily overcome that differential. Another pay issue is that battalion chiefs may receive merit raises of up to three and one-half percent while company officers may receive up to four and one-half percent.
Besides the pay issue, other hindrances to promotion include department requirements that battalion chiefs must apply every year for the Executive Fire Officer
Program (EFOP) at the National Fire Academy until successful for admittance. Battalion
chiefs must also be available for weekly staff meetings. Both of these requirements
impact member’s personal life. Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 36
Battalion Chief Duncan’s proposed solutions include decreasing the amount of required staff meetings that chiefs must attend and addressing the pay compaction issue between company officer and battalion chiefs. He was not sure if the EFOP requirement had an impact on recruitment of candidates.
Similar to the LFD, the Honolulu, Hawaii Fire Department has problems recruiting for chief officer positions. Many of the better qualified personnel are not pursuing these promotions. The biggest reason cited is the work load and responsibility is not commensurate with the pay increase. Many captains make more than battalion chiefs when factoring in overtime pay, which battalion chiefs do not receive. Although pay is just one piece of the puzzle, it is a significant obstacle to getting the best to step up and take a promotional exam (N. Ramos, personal communication, September 30, 2007).
Three UCFD members who are eligible to take a chief officer promotional exam were interviewed for their perspective on the reluctance to promote into management within the UCFD. Captain Jeff Graham and Engineer Larry Drexler are both participating in the current UCFD battalion chief exam process as candidates. Captain
Rick Hurtado has chosen not to apply for the current battalion chief open position, although he did participate in the last UCFD battalion chief exam over one year ago. He was successful in that exam process and was placed on the eligible list, although he was not promoted.
Captain Graham, a 20 year fire service veteran with seven of those years as a captain felt that, a perceived ability to make a positive difference, a short term traditional work week that would provide more quality family time, increased compensation, and personal growth were attractive components of chief officer. Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 37
Captain Hurtado, a twenty-two year fire service veteran with 12 of those years as
a company officer, felt the opportunity for challenge and personal accomplishment were
traits of chief officer that were attractive to him.
Engineer Drexler felt that if the company officer promotional position was
unavailable, as is currently the case within the UCFD, then the next step is chief officer.
He felt that with 17 years in the fire service that a new set of challenges, such as those
found in the rank of chief officer would be appealing to him. Chief officer presents a
different set of jobs and responsibilities which would be motivating to him. He also felt
that the lower level chief officer positions would not have to deal with the political
pressures of the higher level chief officer ranks.
Captain’s Graham and Hurtado, and Engineer Drexler also mentioned reasons
why they felt some members of the UCFD might not want to pursue a chief officer
position. Some of these reasons included the possibility of a work schedule change,
dynamics within Union City political structure, the perception they are an at will
employee, loss of union membership, ever changing UCFD leadership, increased
responsibility for others and transitioning from working on a company of personnel to
being alone. Other reasons include lack of succession planning which they felt leads to
uncertainty. The compensation increase is not commensurate with the increased role and responsibilities one takes on as a chief officer.
When asked what solutions to these reasons causing reluctance, the three gave
many ideas. The elimination of the perception of the at will component, stability within
the chief officer, improved departmental communication and participatory management
decision making were broad solutions given. More specific solutions included the Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 38
allowance of a flexible work schedule, clear expectations given of the position, mentoring, department provided vehicle, improvement in management labor relations and
setting clear minimum educational requirements that are relatable to job skills.
The merits of a formal career development program for chief officer were
discussed. Some components mentioned were allowing qualified department members to
fill the position of chief officer on a periodic basis to get a first hand view of the position.
As part of this program, clearly spell out the expectations of the position so members can
see what the true job entails. Stressing the importance of formal education which can
create the environment to motivate oneself was also mentioned as important. If
members are told what education one needs in order to promote one can set up a plan.
Educational requirements can be staggered over time so as members of the department can not have to achieve them all at once. Succession planning combining education and on the job training was stressed as critical components of a successful career development program.
A questionnaire was sent out, via email, to gauge what firefighters across the nation felt were reasons for a reluctance to promote to the rank of chief officer. One hundred forty-one questionnaires were sent out with 36 replies. Please see appendix A for results of this questionnaire.
The respondents represented fire departments from across the nation. Seventy- eight percent of the respondents were from career only departments. Two-thirds worked in departments with 100 or fewer members. Almost all respondents worked in departments that had an examination process for chief officer in the last four years. In these examination processes, almost half of the departments had three or fewer Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 39
department members participate in the process. Seventy-eight percent of the
departments do not have a formal career development program for chief officer.
Respondent’s common reasons for possibly pursuing chief officer promotions in
the future included more input in the direction of the organization, reach career goals,
make a difference and increased financial compensation.
Respondent’s stated beliefs on why they and/or others may not pursue chief
officer promotions included the almost universal concern of possible change of work schedule and increased job responsibility. The loss of union/association affiliation, lack of support once in the position and lastly, financial constraints were almost very common concerns.
Solutions seen by the respondents to the lack of desire to participate in chief officer promotion include an overwhelming majority favoring a department formal mentoring program. Increased incentives including a department vehicle, increased compensation, flexible work schedule and increased representation at the bargaining table were all highly desired to make management positions more palpable.
A questionnaire was also sent out to members of the UCFD, via email, to determine their views on why reluctance exists within the UCFD to pursue chief officer promotions. Forty-three members were sent the questionnaire and 12 replies were
received. The respondents were from all ranks of the department including chief
officers. Please see appendix B for results of this questionnaire.
All respondents felt a benefit exists to having a formal career development
program. Two-thirds of responses indicated that being able to have more input in the
direction of the organization was a reason for possibly pursuing a chief officer promotion Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 40
in the future. A large majority felt an opportunity to make a difference as well as
increased compensation were reasons for promotion. A few felt achieving career goals was another reason for pursing a chief officer promotion.
The main reason almost all personnel listed as for not pursing chief officer promotion was the perception of lack of support provided by upper management once in
the chief’s rank. Loss of union membership and possible change of work schedule were
also seen as impediments. Financial considerations, with lack of increased compensation
commensurate with the responsibility were also widely felt as a concern towards
management positions.
Solutions to overcome this reluctance listed by respondents included a formal
mentoring program favored by almost all respondents. Increased representation at the
bargaining table and a flexible work schedule both had wide support as well as an
increased compensation package.
Seven respondents felt that in the future they may want to pursue a chief officer
promotion but a common theme stressed was that first, the department needs stronger and
more supportive leadership for those respondents to pursue a promotion to chief officer.
The results of this research have identified issues facing private industry, public
entities, the fire service and the UCFD in regards to the challenge of encouraging
members of organizations to move into management ranks. Some solutions are also
noted.
Discussion
This study has shown that throughout private sector, public sector, fire service and
the UCFD many well qualified and motivated people have an aversion to promoting into Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 41 management. It appears this is especially acute in the public sector, including the fire service. The unfortunate downside to this happening is agencies are losing out on recruiting the best of the best to be managers and leaders in their organizations. This can detrimentally affect the service delivery of these organizations, with the customer being the loser in the long run.
Chevron is a good model for successful recruiting of qualified personnel to be managers. They do not have problems filling management positions. One of the main reasons is a large compensation increase given to those in management. Another reason is additional authority and flexibility in one’s job (B. Curran, personal communication,
November 15, 2007).
Part of the reason for this success in recruitment is because of the existence of a formal career guide which identifies high potential personnel for management positions.
Once identified as a high potential individual, these high potential personnel are give guidance and short term assignments to gain exposure to areas of management.
This model does have some similarities to two different programs, one in the school systems and one in law enforcement. School systems have started leadership academies to bridge the gap between what is taught to aspiring administrators in advanced education to what is needed to thrive in reality as a school administrator (Bell,
2001). Law enforcement has recognized the demands put on new chiefs and has started a mentoring program where new and existing chiefs are paired together. The existing chief acts as a mentor for the new chief helping them through the rough spots. Over time, hopefully this will encourage more people to pursue those management positions seeing a support system in place (International Association of Chiefs of Police, n.d.). Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 42
The fire service, as well as the UCFD, is woefully behind the curve in the
development and implementation of formal career development program for chief officer.
Over 78% of respondents to the industry wide fire service questionnaire, cited in
appendix A, stated their department has no formal career development program for chief officer in their department. Having such a program in place, may very well aid in recruitment to management ranks. As pointed out previously, Chief Coleman stressed the
need for succession planning which is what a formal career development guide helps to
accomplish (Coleman, 1988, p. 24-26). With a formal guide, the logical outcome is
succession planning as individuals will hone the skills necessary to take on new
challenges.
In Leadership on the Line, it is pointed out that many leaders suffer loss of a personal nature and subordinates view this as a reason for not pursuing management roles. Leading is precarious according to the authors (Heifetz & Linsky, 2002, p. 2).
This is also supported in the fire service industry wide questionnaire results wide found
in appendix A. Seventy-five percent of respondents cited lack of support once in the
position as a deterrent to them for pursuing promotion. Lack of support can easily lead to
personal loss, with all its negative personal consequences as Heifetz and Linsky point
out.
Firefighters in general are people who want to make a difference. This is
supported in the appendix A questionnaire results where it is shown that respondents, if they chose to pursue a chief officer position, would do so to make a difference in the organization and to be able to give more input in the direction of the organization. These traits can be utilized to improve an organization but the challenge is to encourage these Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 43
highly qualified individuals to promote. One way to do this is through a mentoring
program. All of UCFD respondents to the questionnaire found in appendix B stated they
saw a mentoring program as a means to increase interest and/or participation in chief
officer promotions.
Salary is cited as the biggest challenge to solve in the recruitment of school
principals (Bell, 2001). This is also mentioned as a deterrent throughout the fire service
where a captain, with base pay and overtime can almost make a much, if not more than a battalion chief, as was previously cited by Battalion Chief Ramos from the Honolulu,
Hawaii Fire Department (N. Ramos, personal communication, September 30, 2007). BC
Albertson found in his research with firefighters was that the most prevalent reason for
not promoting was lack of compensation commensurate with the increase in responsibility (Albertson, 1999, p. 84). Cal Fire can not get enough personnel to take the
Assistant Fire Chief promotional exam because it would be a pay cut coming from battalion chief (Lombardo, 1999). Compensation is an issue that definitely is at the
forefront in firefighter’s minds as they decide whether to attempt to promote into the
chief officer’s ranks where they could end up making a small amount more than their
subordinates. This needs to be addressed in the fire service to attempt to help solve the reluctance to promote to management.
Mr. Duchene mentioned previously that the sales force in technology companies
likes to be out in the field dealing with and solving customer’s problems. These sales
personnel are reluctant to go into management and lose this freedom and aspect of their
job. This is similar to the fire service where many firefighters do not desire to become Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 44
managers and lose out on the excitement and pleasure of dealing directly with their
customers (B. Duchene, personal communication, November 10, 2007).
Mr. Farley, President of Sundance Berry Farms, mentioned previously that he felt
promotions were not always an opportunity but rather a risk (E. Farley, personal
communication, November 8, 2007). This is similar to the reasons given throughout the
fire service for a reluctance to promote into management. It is going from the known to
the unknown. Increased responsibility can be unsettling to some and a risk as well.
Captain Foley, of the UCPD, mentioned previously about unrealistic expectations placed on police chiefs by their constituents. This is part of that unknown that is unsettling making a move from non-management into management, one filled with risk especially when a support system is not in place once one arrives there.
The results of the literature review, interviews and questionnaires provide insight
and bring understanding to the issue of why individuals choose to not pursue
management opportunities. This will hopefully bring about the acknowledgement of the
problem within the UCFD, and the acceptance that it is an issue worthy of attention and
implementation of solutions. Having the most qualified UCFD members choose not to
promote to management hurts the organization. New managers have to be brought in
from outside the organization that lack institutional knowledge and contribute to the
furthering of instability within the organization. Solutions mentioned in the ARP can be
a starting point to solving this issue within the UCFD.
The implications of this research for the UCFD is common themes are evident
throughout this research regarding the reluctance to move into management. What is
occurring in the UCFD in this arena is not isolated. It is rather indicative of what is Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 45
occurring in the broader United States fire service as well in other public entities. It is
occurring likewise in private industry as well, but not to the extent as seen in public service. The benefits to the UCFD is that it can feel not as an island, but rather as part of
the main body of the fire service in regards to this issue. The UCFD could become a
leader in helping solve this problem.
The UCFD would benefit from reviewing some of the findings of this research.
Not just looking at concurrence that the UCFD is similar to the rest of the industry on this
issue, but rather at some of the solutions implemented in other departments and industries
to this issue. Increasing the compaction between captain and management positions,
implementing a career development guideline for chief officer, continuing support once
one becomes a manager and keeping flexibility in the management position are all
lessons that can be learned. Hopefully, this would lead to those highly qualified
personnel to pursue promotional opportunities into the chief officer ranks.
Recommendations
Based on the results of this research, the UCFD should acknowledge that reluctance by its members to promote into management exists. This reluctance can cause the lack of internal promotions by qualified personnel resulting in the loss of upward mobility for its members, consistency of leadership and institutional memory of its managers.
The changes recommended include the development of a formal career development program for chief officers within the UCFD. As part of this career development program clear expectations should be developed and instituted for the chief officer ranks. A mentoring program also needs to be considered. Compensation between Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 46
line personnel and management should be addressed including inequities as one moves
into management and compaction between the two. Lack of representation at the
bargaining table when one becomes a manager also needs to be clarified. More support
for management members from upper management needs to be demonstrated.
Benefits to the organization from these aforementioned changes would be a
synergistic effect. By making a few changes, many more positive results could occur.
By acknowledging that it is not in the best interests of the long term vitality of the
organization to have members choose to not pursue management promotions, causing the
UCFD to continuously recruit outside the organization, is a start. Acknowledgement by
upper management will help give hope that this is a problem worth solving.
A formal career development program would standardize the requirements and expectations of the chief officer positions. This would give department members an
opportunity to experience a chief officer position and determine if it is an opportunity they would like to pursue. It would also let them know what is required to be able to achieve the chief officer rank. This will remove some of the apprehension of perspective candidates to making this big career move into management. A mentoring program would give candidates an opportunity to learn the pros and cons of being a manager as well as someone to guide them.
Compensation and better representation changes would be positive moves as well.
Increased compensation for managers would give an incentive to members to see financial rewards for the increased responsibility and work of a manager. Better representation would make prospective candidates feel that they would have a better support system if they were a member of the management ranks. Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 47
Additional work needed in regards to this topic is to further research other departments existing career development and mentoring programs. Some departments
were cited in this report as having leadership programs and they would be a
recommended place to start this research.
Changes recommended should be implemented by a small committee of
management and non-management members, representing a cross section of the
department who can gather information and interests of the various stakeholders. They
can form this information into action. They can be responsible for continuous feedback
on the successes and improvements needed to these changes. This follow-up evaluation
would ensure the continuing changes remain pertinent.
If other researchers wish to replicate this study, it is recommended to be inclusive of all members of one’s department in receiving feedback on this issue. It is also recommended to thoroughly look outside one’s own department to private enterprise, public entities and to the fire service to view solutions and problems encountered in addressing the issue of recruitment of management members. Lastly, pay particular attention to other fire departments of similar size and geographic proximity as how they
are dealing with this issue.
Reluctance to becoming a chief officer 48
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