Technology's Role in Building Next Generation Fire Service Leaders

The fire service is in a time of transition … a transition of technology, of talent, and of institutional knowledge. As the emergency response landscape shifts and the fire service adapts new technology every day, a significant new opportunity exists to develop next-generation fire service leaders as technology leaders and evangelists.

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Future Leaders, Future Growth

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By asking these young and promising emergency responders to take the lead in technology selection, deployment, and maintenance, leadership teams can identify and curate promising future leaders in their organizations – all while ensuring that their services are using the latest technologies in the space.  

Younger emergency responders are often digital natives who can rapidly lead their organizations through technology transition and optimization. These young professionals use similar technology in their everyday lives – from the apps on their phones to the ‘smart’ appliances in their homes – but these skills aren’t always utilized in their professional lives.

These up-and-coming leaders can also work with their more senior counterparts to collect and catalogue the most valuable source of information many services have – homegrown institutional knowledge that could be lost as longtime responders retire and legacy systems become obsolete.

So, how can emergency leadership best position this next generation of leaders to succeed?

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Software Consolidation and New Leadership

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Software consolidation is a great opportunity for mentorship and growth. Through a software consolidation exercise, rising stars within the ranks have the chance to truly understand the end-to-end needs of their teams, recognizing the in-depth requirements needed for their stations to succeed. They’ll have the chance to learn every facet of the business, from personnel scheduling and asset management to pre-planning and response. These future leaders will be multi-dimensional experts across the board, leading others in to become well-versed in the holistic and complete needs of their service.

Leading a software consolidation and deployment also allows the next generation to hone important leadership, people development, and organizational skills – a critical and often-overlooked area of importance in the emergency service. Taking the helm of a software consolidation will help these young leaders manage change, practice their training skills, and engage their fellow emergency responders. It’s these soft skills that can help make teams successful in the field – an important aspect of emergency services leadership.  

Tasking future service leaders to lead consolidation efforts will also help bridge the gap to fully implementing future workflows for the long haul. These young leaders will likely select forward-thinking consolidations with staying power and train their contemporaries in a software solution that will stand the test of time. They’re more likely to pick a modern, all-in-one solution with the technology responsiveness they’re used to from other aspects of their lives, from single sign-on capability to cloud-based data management.

Tomorrow’s emergency service drivers must be nimble, multi-dimensional, and forward thinking. Spearheading a software consolidation and technology solution deployment is a great place to start identifying and training the next generation of leaders. Learn more about First Due’s solution here.