The Making of a Leader

"Leaders are born" or "leaders are made"—two very different philosophies with significant practical applications. If one endorses the philosophy that leaders are born with their talents and one is not able to "learn" to be a leader, we as an industry can stop discussing leadership development and education. Either you have it or you don't. If that is all there is, there is no need to study leadership theory and methodology.

On the other hand, if you believe leaders are made or further developed, read on. There is no question some individuals are blessed with natural leadership ability. However, at some level a leader lives within every person. He or she may rarely surface, but can emerge when the right situational factors or stressors are applied. Proper preparation, education and experiences (the making of the leader) will make it easier for the leader in all of us to emerge and maximize opportunities as they are presented.

The U.S. Air Force defines leadership as "the art of influencing and directing people in such a way that will win their obedience, confidence, respect and loyal cooperation in achieving common objectives."¹ So to lead, one must be able to influence others to follow their direction. Some may try to accomplish this through power of position or intimidation. While this may achieve compliance at a particular point in time, it is typically not considered leadership. There is a significant difference between willingly following a leader and complying with an order. In the latter, the figurehead has not motivated the individual through inspiration, but simply forced compliance. The individual complying will rarely do more than the minimum to accomplish the task and avoid punishment. By comparison, the inspired follower often supersedes the expectations of the leader, and together they accomplish significantly more.

So what makes a leader? Stephen M.R. Covey, in his book The Speed of Trust, describes leadership as a product of both character traits and specific competencies.² He describes the four cores of credibility:

• Integrity: Are you congruent?
• Intent: What's your agenda?
• Capabilities: Are you relevant?               
• Results: What's your track record?

If one has the right character traits (integrity and intent) and competencies (capabilities and results), they are well on their way to becoming a great leader. However, another critical element is necessary to inspire others to follow: The leader must be able to build and maintain relationships. The actions of leaders will be a greater influence than just words. Covey describes 13 key behaviors to build better relationships and develop high-trust leaders:

Talk straight

Demonstrate respect

Create transparency

Right wrongs

Show loyalty

Deliver results

Get better

Confront reality

Clarify expectations

Practice accountability

Listen first

Keep commitments

Extend trust

Quality character traits, industry-specific technical capabilities, and the ability to develop excellent relationships through model behavior comprise the right recipe for a high-performing leader. The extent to which a leader must possess these core competencies will vary depending on their position within their organization and the environment in which they function. An executive officer leading an organization in crisis will face different challenges than one in a stable workplace. A field supervisor will likely face different situations and opportunities to portray leadership than the executive officer.

At the National EMS Management Association's Leadership Competencies forum, held in Las Vegas in late 2010, a stakeholder group of EMS leaders attempted to classify standard leadership levels for EMS services and identify core competencies for each. After considerable discussion, the group agreed to three levels:

• Field EMS officer: This position is typically a leader in the field who has a specific supervisory function and is comparable to a field supervisor or battalion chief.
• Managing EMS officer: This position is responsible for certain functions within an organization and is comparable to a logistics officer, deputy director or division or deputy chief.
• Executive EMS officer: This position is typically the top officer within an organization, comparable to a director or chief.

We recognize that all officers and providers must have leadership competencies and exhibit the four cores of credibility and 13 behaviors cited above. However, the extent of the skill set becomes increasingly more sophisticated as the levels advance. For example, all EMS employees must be able to effectively communicate orally to interact with patients, allied agencies and the public, but the executive officer typically requires greater competency in public speaking. All EMS employees should have a basic understanding of EMS budget and finance, but that skill set must become more enhanced as the levels advance. Inversely, leadership competencies surrounding clinical medicine and scene management may become less important as the leader advances from the field to administrative functions.

Developing the actual competencies is an ongoing process. The NEMSMA group agreed to use Bloom's Taxonomy as its guiding method to identify and develop necessary skill sets for EMS officers. This classification scheme uses specific verbs to describe the specific leadership competencies.³ While one may want all EMS employees to have knowledge of and remember the budget process, one could require the field EMS officer to understand the budgeting process, the managing EMS officer to analyze the process, and the executive EMS officer to execute and create budgeting processes as a core competency. These action words will help articulate the sophistication necessary to function at each level of EMS officer for each competency defined.

Identifying the core competencies of EMS officers is ongoing, with a goal to publish by the end of 2011. The second phase of the NEMSMA Leadership Agenda is the development of curriculum to educate and advance leadership in EMS.⁴ This effort will help EMS "make" leaders for future generations. This process creates a roadmap for individuals with and without natural leadership capabilities to fully develop their skill sets as they advance and ultimately succeed as EMS leaders. The future is bright.

References

1. Legacee. A Leadership Definition List, www.legacee.com/Info/Leadership/Definitions.html.

2. Covey SMR. The Speed of Trust. New York: Free Press, 2006.

3. Overbaugh RC, Schultz L. Bloom's Taxonomy, www.odu.edu/educ/roverbau/Bloom/blooms_taxonomy.htm.

4. National EMS Management Association. Emergency Medical Services Management and Leadership Development in America: An Agenda for the Future. NEMSMA, 2008.

Troy M. Hagen, MBA, EMT-P, is director of Ada County Paramedics in Boise, ID. He has more than 22 years of EMS experience and is president-elect of the National EMS Management Association.