— How To Train Yourself To Lead
Does leadership at your EMS base go something like this?
A new boss takes over.
The new focus is efficiency . . .
Everything is now about results!
When results don’t happen, the new boss falls back to effectiveness (some version of reorganization).
When reorganization isn’t effective . . .
The new theme is enabling others (you need the right resources to do the work).
When all the resources are in all the right places, the theme typically changes to a version of respecting others (everyone has different talents).
And when it’s all said and done, not very much is changed.
If you’ve experienced this type of leadership, don’t be too quick to judge the leader. Because if you watch closely, this scenario plays out over and over in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and air medical.
It reminds me of a seventh grade party I attended where my classmate responsible for music got sick, and the rest of us had to listen to four straight hours of “Won’t you take me to Funkytown” —the only 45 record in the house.
In a word . . .
Painful.
How To Do Better
Is there a way to improve your own leadership skills? Is it possible to make progress on your own?
Yes, it is.
And it sounds cliche, but in this case it’s true.
It all starts with you.
Jack Welch said . . .
Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.
Jack is right.
Leadership starts with growing yourself.
This article gives you three habits to develop you.
Three habits to develop yourself into a “leader in waiting”.
Habits of Highly Effective EMS
#1 Genuine Desire
One of the challenges in EMS and air medical is the consistent promotion of people who have no desire (or skill set) to lead. It’s a real problem.
You personally can’t control who gets promoted and who doesn’t. But you can absolutely control your own desire.
Genuine desire for better results is a prerequisite for success. There’s not shortcut for this.
If you can’t picture the difference between where you are and where you want to be, nothing will change.
So you either already have a genuine desire for better results, or you develop it. Status-quo is not an effective habit.
#2 Willingness to Learn and Change
You need the ability to learn new things and change your own behavior. Re-read the last sentence. Notice I said change your own behavior.
Don’t waste time on things out of your control –like trying to change others behavior.
If you can experiment with doing things differently and then be open to feedback, you can get better.
It’s human nature to try to avoid making mistakes, but reality is, the faster you fail and make corrections, the faster you succeed over the long haul.
This is very difficult for most people. Don’t discount the importance of this habit or the challenge with making it happen.
#3 Focus on Action
Despite millions of health books and videos sold each year in the United States, Americans are still overweight, and public health data show obesity steadily increasing.
The weight loss formula remains unchanged. There are no insider secrets to weight loss.
Eat less, move more. Period.
What’s the point?
It’s clearly not enough just to know how to do things – you must get into action and apply your thinking to get results.
My advice is to closely track your progress and results. A simple spreadsheet works wonders when it comes to developing the action habit.
I personally use Google spreadsheets. Try it, I think you’ll like it.
I’m not too proud to admit, every time I highlight a completed task in green, I get a little surge of happiness. It’s like I can feel the dopamine released by checking another “to-do” item off my list. And it inspires me to take more action.
Action begets action.
The key is to start.
Real World Results
Will the 3 habits in this article guarantee success as EMS leadership?
No. Of course not. But here’s the thing. There’s no point in starting on leadership improvement without these three habits.
These habits are your leadership starting point.
I hope this helps you get started. What are you waiting for?
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2 replies to "3 Habits of Highly Effective EMS"
I can’t “train cats to do what I want of them.” That’s what some guy who worked at P&G in their laboratories as a scientist called it. And he had a way more challenging job than I do bc he had to get all these other Ph.D’s to do what he wanted. Trust me. It wasn’t easy.
I was expected to train the boss’s daughter once, who didn’t want to do ANYthing I said because her dad worked in Management. That was a lovely experience. It taught me some people are REALLY challenging to train and that I prefer being a follower even if it pays less. She left on her own. She found out the work wasn’t for her after seeing someone succumb to esophageal varices.
Hi Vicki,
Thanks for sharing your experience.
Please keep in mind this article is about training yourself to lead. It’s not about training groups or even other individuals to lead. The three habits referenced in this article start and end with you. I hope that makes sense and helps you.
Clear Skies & Tailwinds