Since early last year, I’ve had some pretty major changes in life. Not all good, not all bad, but challenging all the same. For starters, I moved into a new role as a business analyst at work – initially acting in the role, but eventually getting the job permanently. The other major change was after 22 years, I switched sheds from the State Emergency Serivce to the Country Fire Service.
The mental challenges of change
Initially, both of these changes were — being honest with myself — pretty intimidating, becasue I was out of my comfort zone, into a realm where I knew I could do the job but there was a steep learning curve ahead of me. I also found myself humbled by the fact that I was no longer one of the sources of information; I was the new guy who was asking questions of people who (in my mind) had better things to do with their time than answer my “rookie” questions.
Reflecting on this 12 months later prompted a post on LinkedIn, where I said:
Something I’ve learned over the last year or so that I wanted to share:
Being surrounded by people who are higher (internal company positions) than you, smarter than you or who know a lot more than you (business, company functions, workflows etc) isn’t something to be feared.
It’s an opportunity to learn and grow!
Take your opportunity to ask questions, learn and develop yourself – it opens other people’s eyes to your capabilities and that, in turn, opens doors!
Learning from leaders
While the doors were open, I took my chance and I’ve enjoyed the challenges that have been in front of me. At work, the learning curve has been, and continues to be really steep but I’m supported in that learning by my direct report manager, and others within the national leadership team. It sound cliche, but the teamwork really does just make things work and even though they have “better things to do”, I’ve never been made to feel like I’m a problem for asking questions or asking for help.
The learning at CFS has been aided by some genuinely amazing and supportive people. While there’s plenty of highlighs in the 12 months I’ve been a CFS member, is that everyone at the brigade is happy to help you learn and share their knowledge. Whether they’re recognised by rank or not, to me, this is genuine leadership.
Leadership is a state of mind, not a rate of pay!
There are a couple of standout members who’ve given me so much of their time to help me learn. They’re happy to keep investing time in me as long as I’m prepared to listen and learn from them. The fact that half the brigade have probably forgotten more about firefighting that I’ll ever know makes that learning so much fun; I feel like there’s always a mentor around to help me develop.
Accepting the challenge and looking forward
In a recent conversation with my manager at work, I’ve got another new challenge that is in front of me. This is after I’ve been put through some professional development around change management and leadership. I’m looking forward to getting some “hands on” with a bit more technical work in the short to medium term and I’ve also been developing some new tools to help managing workflows and team members; so full steam ahead there.
In my volunteering role, I’ll be taking on a couple of more physically challenging courses over the next 12 months and aiming to become a more knowledgable firefighter.
I’m so truly greatful to everyone who has been part of supporting me through these changes and major learnings over the last 18 months. This is particularly my amazing family who support me in my decisions and ride the wave with me. Like so many of us, I couldn’t do half of what I do, without that love and support at home.
