It is after nine at night and Mike wants donuts. I know it is a little late for donuts but something sweet or sugary might be good. We called the RA and sure enough, they stopped and bought donuts for the guys. The only problem was that they looked like they were made the day before. So, next came the popcorn. Not so sweet, but will fill the void. Good news, though, the donut shop across the street is open and fresh donuts are coming out in 30 minutes. Can’t wait.
It seems the popcorn is gone
It was rainy day routine with one of the years largest storms coming through. Well, Bob had a great idea. He put together the days handball tournament and it was mandatory that everyone played, no wimp outs. Bob made it even by placing a handicap on each player. It wasn’t your ordinary handicap. Bob had to play wearing a breather on his back, I had to play in full turn-outs, Mike had to play while holding two basketballs, Craig had to play with his right hand tied to his waist, Nick played in socks, Jamie played wearing a crash helmet, and Lee had to wear a face piece. This made the games interesting and everyone had a good laugh. I lose to Lee in the semi finals. Wearing full turn-out was just too hot. I could not capitalize on the fact that Lee had a hard time seeing through the fogged up face piece.
Bob won the whole tournament. That was good because he set it up. Here are some pictures.
Lee wearing his face piece
Bob playing with a breathing apparatus on his back.
It was a tough game. Both men playing their best.
There are three things that influence how a leader should act. First the leader. That may be you. The leader must recognize his own abilities and how he can use his own personality to his advantage to influence a situation. Second is the led. The leader must know who he is leading, their personality and what motivates them. He must determine what strategies to use to influence the led. Third is the situation. No leadership style works in all situations. There is no magic formula that used in all situations works. So, the leader must be able to recognize the situation and determine what type of influence they will use.
A leader must know themselves and educate themselves on their followers. And determine what strategies will work in a certain situation.
It is good to know why people act the way they do so that you can influence them to do the right thing. People at different stages in their career may act differently from others in their careers.
The Attribution Theory says that a person that has external attribution blames everything on someone else. It is always someone else’s fault. Internal attribution says that a person puts blame on themselves. They take the blame when things go wrong and look inward.
As a leader it helps to know what your subordinates are going through and what struggles they may have. These are just a couple of theories to familiarize yourself with your subordinates.
It has been awhile since I have posted. It has been a busy time, but I am glad I am back.
I have been studying leadership that last few months. It is an interesting study. Leadership can be defined in many different ways and all could be right. I will give one meaning that works, but it is not the only meaning.
Leadership is the ability to influence people to word together and toward a common goal.
Leaders must build trust so that people will follow. Remember – Lead people and manage things - Some of the traits a good leader needs to have are:
Leadership Principles
“The needs of the many, out weigh the needs of the few, or the one.”
Today was a good handball day. Handball is the staple sport of the Fire Department. Racquetball is considered a girls sport while handball is what the men play.
The Challenge came out after lunch when AO throw the gauntlet down and challenge the young rookie, who I have been mentoring on the court. The game started at four. Both players had the adrenaline pumping. My student, 6’5” with long arms that almost reach across the court, came out strong and won the first game handily. The whole task force was in the stands cheering each hit and each miss. I think it was more fun for the viewers than the players.
The second game my student was about to finish the match when AO came from behind to win. Game three was close all the way. The final score 21 to 20 the rookie over the AO.
It was a fun day for all and the bantering is still flying.
Well, we had one run this morning to an 88 year old female. She fell as she was getting up and hit her head. She had a little bump on the back of her head, it wasn’t bad, probably wouldn’t need stitches or anything. But she did think the year was 1010, then 1910, and finally she got close with 2001. She did know who the president was, Obama, she said right away.
The rest of the day was quiet – at least run wise. We had a handball tournament, that was good exercise. I won two games and then the other guys started getting runs. Ruined our games. Oh well, I guess saving lives is more important.
