I am relatively new to Hall County Fire Services in Gainesville, Georgia. This is my 36th year as a Firefighter / Paramedic and was brought here to head up the Training Division. Our fire chief had the foresight to schedule 90 % of our leadership staff for this training and it proved to be a worthy effort indeed. It was money well spent.
With the latest shift being made to online training, the opportunity to meet and rally in one place provided an enormous benefit as we engaged the leadership class together. From the beginning, requiring individuals to mix with other participants and not sit with your departmental staff, exemplified the foundation that new challenges were ahead of us. It was a beautiful blend of lectures, in-depth discussions and practical applications that took our interaction to another level. It was much more than a class, it was a complete program from top to bottom.
Kelly and Dan are experts of their discipline and were able to delve into the issues of several departments at one time. A real masterpiece of something so simple as a roll call or staff meeting. Players were picked, everyone getting a chance to play, as the audience circled around and got to feel what being in the hot seat was all about. Realistic, and true to life. Well planned, expertly organized and the entire program implemented with making the audience think about our actions in the field.
The Academy actually only planted the seed as we were stimulated on growing our own leadership ability and talent. Many courses you take throw out the subject matter and then you go home. That seed that Kelly and Dan planted grew from day one where our own team was able to discuss many topics that had never been on the table before. The Ten Commandments of the company officer, the real true value and responsibility of that officer is only one among many ideas that we were destined to consider in our daily lives as leaders. The program for us was a game-changer in every sense of the word. This program has taken us on a journey that we now see turned our department around.
The follow up mentoring and coaching brought an additional layer to the skill set we discussed in the class setting. That added benefit allowed each of us individually to speak with other trained academy members on their team and drill down to current topics long after the conference was over. I praise the effort of the Leadership and Coaching Academy and highly recommend you take the time to attend.