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.
