Firefighting 101

Firefighting 101.

In real life, especially here in Australia, firefighting is a skill people are trained in. Whether it be a career firefighter or the many volunteers with their invaluable efforts, it is widely recognised that people need to be competent in how to navigate a fire. It’s skilled, hard work and the outcomes matter.

In our workplaces, metaphorical firefighting is a skill required in most, if not all, roles. Yet we’re often left to navigate these without the level of skills necessary to achieve a good outcome for all involved. Training and development resources are focused elsewhere and firefighting is seen as a common-sense skill that everyone naturally possesses. Of course, it is not.

It makes me wonder …

What happens when our workplaces value

time, space and skills to foresee issues arising,

taking a preventative approach,

problem solving and decision making mastery, and

the care and courage to make things better?

I’d suggest we’d see a lot less need for firefighting if we did. Now that’s a change worth making, don’t you agree?!

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