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Need Your Input: Power-Hungry Chief
I'm a member of a volunteer fire and rescue dept. We have aprox. 20 members and approx. 15 explorers. Here is our problem we have a chief who thinks that he is the absolute final say so on every decision even if our sog's say otherwise . i guess what i'm saying is that he thinks he is god almighty. and the rest of us think he's just an idiot. When he first became chief every thing was ok however now he has became power hungry. What is your opion.
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by J Mac on
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Hey Mike,
What you have to do is look into your local laws. In some states he is God Almighty. On the scene of a fire he answers to no one.
You would have to look into removing him for cause, normally something substantial or safety related. If it is just that nobody likes him, is he elected? If that is the case kick him to the curb. If this is a civil service position you probably have a much tougher road ahead of you.
Good luck and stay safe!
J Mac
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Permalink Reply by Greg Pierce on
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Mike,
Well, actually, the Chief IS really the top dog, so in reality, he should have the final say. But, a good chief will consider outside input in decision making. SOGs are standard operating GUIDELINES, which means procedures are not set 100% in stone and leaves common operations open-ended to a point that they can be bent to accomodate different situations where SOPs, or standard operating PROCEDURES can dictate a specific way to an operation, but not leave wiggle-room for odd situations. You also left a lot of variables open to speculation with out specific situations, like saying the rest of you think he's just an idiot. What makes him an idiot? I can speculate that the man is intelligent, but there is a personality conflict, or maybe he is young, and just inexperienced, or stubborn and refuses to listen to anyone else, or he really is as dumb as a stump and has no business leaving his home without a hockey helmet much less running a fire department. He must have SOME qualifications or he wouldnt have been elected chief. What is REALLY going on? We have all had to deal with leaders we didnt agree with or couldnt stand. I have had some real doozies myself. You must have by-laws that accomodate impeachment if he is a danger to the department and others, or just make-do and ride out the next 7 months until you or someone of competance can take over. It's the same BS, just a different name over the door.
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Permalink Reply by Engineco913 on
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he thinks he is god almighty. and the rest of us think he's just an idiot.
Interesting terminology. Especially when you consider he was elected by his peers. Must have done something right.....
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Permalink Reply by mike angle on
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I admit the terminology was wrong , However the fact still remains that when you have a postion such as chief or asst. chief you have the responsability to listen to the other members of your dept. and consider thier input. he does nothing of the sort it is his way or the highway. In the last week we have lost 4 members and can't afford to lose any more . That doesn't matter to him he feels that he can do it all by himself we do have mutual aid with other dept. but how long are they going to leave their areas uncovered to assist our dept. because no will respond . he is very qualified for the job no problems there. just with the attitude he acts as if it was his dept. and no one else matters, Everyone in any dept. has a stake in what happens not just the chief .
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“However the fact still remains that when you have a position such as chief or asst. chief you have the responsibility to listen to the other members of your dept. and consider their input.”
Not completely true.
A Good leader will pick the right people for the job and stand back and let them do it. (Teddy Roosevelt)
A Good leader would seek the advice and counseling of others when they have a particular expertise that he doesn’t posses.
A Good leader would have an open door policy that allows his officers to bring concerns to him. It is not his job to listen to every probie or one year wonders with a gripe, they should use the chain of command.
One thing we have to realize is the tremendous responsibility that the Chief of Department has. He/she is responsible 24/7/365 for the members of the department. He could be circling the moon on a NASA flight when something goes south and he is going to be the first one on the hot seat.
Not taking anyone’s side here but if he is a good Chief but just not a people person isn’t there senior officers that can approach him with these concerns? If he is just incompetent and unfit for duty the department should band together and take action.
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Permalink Reply by Paul Montpetit on
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Mike I have bad news for you....He IS God Almighty.......LOL...Sorry but its true...and SOG's are just guidelines and DO-NOT have to be followed to the letter....differ from SOP's....Remember the definiton of Chief.....He is the one that has to answer when things turn to shit....
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Permalink Reply by Fabulous Heather Days of Summer on
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Do you have a Board meeting?
Someone mentioned bylaws - look at yours.
If he was voted in - he can be voted out - and you can hold an emergency business meeting.
Maybe backdoor communication - does he trust others in the department, like the Chaplain or higher officers? Maybe they could talk with him. His is close to other chiefs nearby - but this is tricky, since you don't want to share your dirty laundry around to other stations. I know once at my house, a lower ranked officer "in passing" mentioned to another chief that one of our officers was stressed lately and maybe he could call in check in on him. The outside chief did and was able to buffer and be a listening supportive ear. BUT TREAD LIGHTLY ON THIS> but it still maybe a better option than ousting him... but DO NOT DEFAME his character around town, it will only make you look bad... and piss him off more.
*** Furthermore - tread lightly when you post stuff like this - use a story about another department or something to preserve anonymity - I am concerned this will get back to members of your department - since the brotherhood is small and whatever is posted online is here forever.
There is a saying when you want to get rid of a boyfriend you don't want, get him interested in another girl - then he will think it is his own idea when he leaves. Not sure how you can entice him to go elsewhere or step down.
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Heather....I don't think I would ever try a coup with the Fire Chief...there would be a very good chance that you would find yourself outsdie looking in....I cannot justify behavior nor condemn it...really don't know the whole story.....But if this poster uses the same judgement he used in putting this in a public forum is any indication.....well...As I said only one side of the story....AGAIN I SAY....Don't air dirty laundry in a public forum........not a good career move.......
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Yes - a coup to dethrone god almighty... yup, I totally agree... a good chance hell fire and brimstone shall be rained down upon him !!!
but if you are looking at ALL the options... there are some extreme ones
My personal opinion, suck it up and shut up, unless safety is involved... but other authors covered that already, so I had to present a dangerously alternate view
and yes, Mike, just in case we have not made it clear - REMOVE THIS WHOLE DISCUSSION - save yourself NOW !!! Get the website administrators to help you...
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With you on this one Heather....Good call........He might want to call a Mayday here.....
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Permalink Reply by Derek R. on
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OR......you could wait for your chief to read this himself, then he could explain everything to you personally.
You could of, at least, made this a hypothetical question.
My input basically coincides with others here. Your chief does have the final say, whether right or wrong. It all comes to him at the end of it all anyways. Just do what he says and enjoy your stay in your dept.
Damn...just realised that this was basically already mentioned.....sorry...guess i should have read it all first.
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Permalink Reply by Rusty Mancini on
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Mike, take the advice and get out of this as if it was a potential flashover!! It's a possibility that you could find out... that your "Chief".... really is the God all mighty if he finds out about this!! Good luck.....
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