Professional Reading Program

Did you know that the National Wildfire Coordinating Group (NWCG) has a professional reading program through their Wildland Fire Leadership Development Program? I didn’t until this year, and I thought that was a good thing to know – I really enjoyed the Commandant’s Professional Reading List while I was in the Marine Corps. While this reading program isn’t as extensive as the Commandant’s there are still a good bunch of books provided.

The program’s intent is to promote reading and discussion of books while providing a program designed to foster leadership development at all levels of the fire service. It is another tool to help develop current and future leaders using reading to expand their leadership skills. The goal of the reading program is a sustainable and adaptable program that is engaged by leaders of all levels for continued growth in leadership through reading.

A key part of every leadership reading program is the recommendation that every leader read at least two books from the program per year. While some may think so, this program is not busy work – these books should inspire discussion, reflection and debate.

For most of the titles on the list, the NWCG has provided a “why should I read this?” section, that also provides some sample discussion questions.

Try reaching out within your unit and suggesting implementing the program. If there is positive feedback about it, it’s fairly simple to implement it. You can start by establishing a library or a book cache at your unit designated specifically for leadership. Make sure you continue to promote the program – it’s an ongoing effort!

Some ways to promote the program are:

·         Give them as an appreciation or award

·         Buy enough copies to read as a unit and have discussions on the chapters or certain points in the book

·         You can assign books to read if you choose

·         Tie the books to an employee development program

·         Be creative! Think of ways to engage your unit.

Every year NWCG comes out with a new reading list to keep it fresh and up-to-date, and they archive their old lists as well if you want to use a previous year’s list instead. They also have a suggested starter list to help launch your library and develop a habit of continuing education and self-development:

·         Leading in the Wildland Fire Service

·         Black Hawk Down

·         The Thirymile Fire

·         Shackelton’s Way

·         The Leadership Moment

To see NWCG’s 2020 leadership reading program click here.