I have a good friend who is a Firefighter – a Battalion Fire Chief named Tim.  Years ago, when he got freshly promoted, Tim was super excited to go on his “first fire” as a Fire Chief.  Now, he is the Lieutenant, he’s in charge, he’s going to be sitting in the front seat, and he’s got a driver assigned to him.  His driver’s name is Bob, and Bob has been with the Department a long time.  However, Bob and Tim have never worked together in this capacity.  When they get a fire alarm, they immediately hop in the Fire Truck, Engine #1, and race as fast as can be, after the sound of the alarm.  Tim is seated in the front seat with Bob, who is the driver, and they’re urgently going out to the fire.

When they leave the firehouse, Tim is totally surprised when Bob takes a left, because Tim was expecting to take a right.  They are technically going in the opposite direction of the fire location in a very large vehicle.  Tim gives Bob a “face” that is a look of confusion, and Bob says:  “Hey, there’s construction on Valette and we would have a big delay in getting to the location.  Secondly, we would be approaching from the wrong side.  So this way, if we come in from the left, then the hydrants are on the correct side of the road for us to access them.  Plus, we can pull right up, you can get out right away, and I can be your “second set of eyes” so that you can attend to the fire and assess what needs to get done.”

What Tim realized was that Bob had his back.  What Tim learned was that he could trust Bob.  Never again was Tim worried about Bob steering him wrong.  Tim listened to Bob from then on.  Tim never questioned Bob’s decisions or his motives again.  Tim and Bob worked together for many years and had a trustworthy relationship, because Tim knew that Bob had him covered.  Tim and Bob were friends for life!  Bob has long since retired, but whenever someone mentions Bob’s name, Tim says proudly:  “Bob drove me to my first fire.”

Imagine if Tim had yelled at Bob, berated him, and made Bob turn the large Fire Truck around to take the right…  Tim and Bob would not have had the strong trustworthy relationship, but more importantly, Tim was able to get to the fire as fast as possible and address the situation in a timely way, possibly saving lives as a result of their working together effectively.  Be a leader like Tim!