I post this hear because its my impression that the issue I seem to have from time to time is relative to volunteer dept.
As a volunteer dept we can never really bet on any one set of guys working together. Ive been on the dept for 2 years and in that time ive worked hard to increase my training and qualifications outside of normal in house training. (first responder, FF2 cert etc)
In that time there seems to be a change in attitude toward me both positively and ...less so. Officers that are relatively new to the dept, seem to understand that the additional training and skills ive acquired are an asset and work to make use of them on each scene. Others (mostly those that were on long before me) seem to have developed a less than enthusiastic response as ive continued to grow and add skills.
Im 33 YO mechanical engineer that turned hobby farmer/FF as the opportunity was afforded to me. In short, im not some "kid". My previous 10 years of professional experience has taught me much in terms of leadership, and at the same time, "towing the line" set forth by others.
My point, Im struggling with the reality of being called on to take lead on certain parts of one call while on a separate yet similar call (under direction of a different officer) being being relegated to lesser duties while a different member performs the duties i had done in the past. The issue i have is not in taken direction from others, but the seemingly constant shift in (for lack of better word) "pecking order". (again within the ranks of us reg titled FF's not officers)
As i said when i started, i think its a volunteer dept thing as our job duties arnt specifically spelled out and therefore it seems to create a certain amount of friction in our team work in the constant shift of responsibility depending on who is on what call.
Anyone with some similar experience have any words of wisdom?
Additional "thinking out loud" questions.
How do you effectively deal with the "attitudes" that develop (toward you) as the relative new comer grows and surpasses the previous "long term" members that chose not to move forward in their learning/training/certifications. in short... Resentment that develops because you did what they couldn't and or never did.
As a volunteer dept we can never really bet on any one set of guys working together. Ive been on the dept for 2 years and in that time ive worked hard to increase my training and qualifications outside of normal in house training. (first responder, FF2 cert etc)
In that time there seems to be a change in attitude toward me both positively and ...less so. Officers that are relatively new to the dept, seem to understand that the additional training and skills ive acquired are an asset and work to make use of them on each scene. Others (mostly those that were on long before me) seem to have developed a less than enthusiastic response as ive continued to grow and add skills.
Im 33 YO mechanical engineer that turned hobby farmer/FF as the opportunity was afforded to me. In short, im not some "kid". My previous 10 years of professional experience has taught me much in terms of leadership, and at the same time, "towing the line" set forth by others.
My point, Im struggling with the reality of being called on to take lead on certain parts of one call while on a separate yet similar call (under direction of a different officer) being being relegated to lesser duties while a different member performs the duties i had done in the past. The issue i have is not in taken direction from others, but the seemingly constant shift in (for lack of better word) "pecking order". (again within the ranks of us reg titled FF's not officers)
As i said when i started, i think its a volunteer dept thing as our job duties arnt specifically spelled out and therefore it seems to create a certain amount of friction in our team work in the constant shift of responsibility depending on who is on what call.
Anyone with some similar experience have any words of wisdom?
Additional "thinking out loud" questions.
How do you effectively deal with the "attitudes" that develop (toward you) as the relative new comer grows and surpasses the previous "long term" members that chose not to move forward in their learning/training/certifications. in short... Resentment that develops because you did what they couldn't and or never did.
Comment