The Top 15 Leadership Questions Answered

In this episode, I’m going beyond the surface to explore the questions that every leader, whether in the heat of a wildfire or life faces at some point. These are the questions that define how we respond in moments of crisis, how we inspire our teams, and how we lead through uncertainty. As a leader, I encourage you to ask yourself the same questions as I go through them.

I’ll be drawing on lessons from the my life to provide actionable insights you can apply right away. Whether you're navigating rapid change, managing a high-stakes situation, or striving to keep your team united, I hope your own answers will equip you with the tools you need to lead with confidence and agility.

Transcript

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Welcome to Leaders in the Line of Fire, where we delve into the heart of leadership under pressure. I'm your host, Brad Howke and today I'm tackling a topic that resonates deeply across both the fireground and the boardroom, the top 15 leadership questions answered. In this episode, I'm going beyond the surface to explore the questions that every leader, whether in the heat of the wildfire or life faces point or another. These are the questions that define how we respond in moments of crisis, how we inspire out, how we lead through uncertainty, etcetera. As a leader, I encourage you to ask yourself the same questions as I go through them and answer them with my thoughts. I'll be drawing on the lessons in my life to provide actionable insights that you can apply right away, Whether you're navigating rapid change, managing a high stake situation or striving to keep your team unified, I hope these answers will equip you with the tools you need to lead in confidence and agility. Well, let's go. What's the biggest challenges facing leaders today? I'd say the biggest challenge facing leaders today is fear. Fear of standing out, fear of failure, fear of not being good enough, fear of getting in too deep, fear of not being one of the guys anymore and fear of being questioned. Fear is an overwhelming issue for most leaders. People are too scared to stand up. They're afraid of what might happen and they're afraid of all the possibilities. Once you can overcome the fear and step forward in strength, you'll find things change drastically. Who do I look up to for inspirational mentorship? Well, I look up to those above me who I love to work with or under in the case of ranked situations. People who are doing well in different businesses and organizations also really interest me. I like to mix with a whole range of people. I also look towards older and wiser friends. I've always been the sort of person that hangs around older people. I guess it comes from being an only child. I grew up in the company of adults a lot, and I didn't spend a lot of time, at home with other children. So from my perspective, being around adult is something I've been around all my life. So from a mentor perspective, I found this to be really powerful, and I've learned a lot of really, really good things. And lastly, I really like to hang around with people who've been there and done that. These are the people that have been out, they've been and done what I'm trying to do, whether it be on the fire ground or in business. And I like to hang with those people and learn from them because the stories that they bring, experience they bring, it's been hard fought and it doesn't make any sense to me to actually go ahead and try and learn those things the hard way. How do you keep your team motivated despite conflicts and obstacles? This is a good one. I try to get people training regularly and socially listening regularly so that they're together. This gives them the opportunity to learn new things and keeps most people motivated because their mind is engaged. Most people get into conflicts and things like that when they're not anything to do. So if you give people something to do, whether it be learning or going into action or a project or something, then they're more likely to be motivated. But the key thing about giving people learning experiences, they really do need the opportunity to do those things in real life. So it's all very well to say, oh, just do training, that keeps people motivated. No, it doesn't. People actually need to go and apply what they've learned. So it's all very well to train and train and train, but do some projects, go out and do some live fire if you're a firefighter. You want to do those things where people get the opportunity to apply what they're learning. And probably last in this area is give people responsibility. When people got nothing to do, when they've got responsibility for doing things, it gives them something to keep themselves busy with. And also, you get to see them acting in the role of a leader, and you can see how well they're going and maybe where there are potential there in the future. How do I delegate tasks? I always try and find the best person for the job, not the one with the qualification. Very big difference. In the case of fires where rank plays a part, I might send the best person with the qualified person. In other words, I might have to send the person who's ranked higher, but I send someone with them I know can do the job because I want the best person there. Now it's not their job to take over. It is their job to make sure that they can assist the ranked person in doing a better job. So even if you've got managers in your line, the people underneath them might be better qualified. So pair them up so you've got the right people doing what you want them to do. I also look for people who are looking for opportunities to do things. Sometimes people are sitting around, they're actually looking for jobs to do. I take advantage of that and I give them things to do. This gives me a chance for them to show me their potential and I can then do my best to use it and support them so that they grow in an area that they're interested in. How do I set priorities as a leader? I tend to use the ABC method. I write things down. I put an a, a b, a c next to them and then I do the a's first because they're my highest priority. Obviously, things that affect safety or urgent tend to go to the top of the list, but also if there is a checklist or a procedure to follow, then I'll follow that way possible. Now that's not always possible, but checklists, I really do like. I think they're a great way when you've got a brain like mine where things move through very, very quickly. And, you know, I can't even remember what I've had for breakfast. Then a checklist is a great thing for people like me because I can open a checklist and pick things up and work my way through them. But as far as priority wise, I do the ABC method. It's the easiest, most simple method and most people understand it. What are the most important attributes of successful leaders today? I would personally say adaptability and flexibility. You have to be able to accept change and be prepared for it. The ability to move fast criticism and setbacks is something also you really need to be able to do. You're going to be criticized and you are going to have setbacks, believe me. No matter how hard you try, you're going to go 2 steps forward and 1 step back. That's just the world we live in, and it's something that I've tried to accept over the years. I do my best, but sometimes I get a kick in my guts like everybody else, and I've got to roll back, take a breath and move forward again. Learn to let it go. I tend to dwell too much. I overthink things, especially late into the night and for days afterwards. So as a leader, if you wanna be successful, you really do need to just let it go. Think on it. Think about how you did it. Work out whether you really did do something wrong or maybe you could do something better. Agree to that and move on. Otherwise, your brain is going to destroy you while you sleep, and you can't have it. What qualities are lacking among today's leaders? I think number 1, the courage to step up and speak up. Tall poppy syndrome is a massive thing in Australia, I mean, it is rampant. And because people are scared of standing up and speaking up, it means that they get a lack of experience in being a leader because they haven't put their hand up to take that opportunity. You really need to embrace that have a go culture. You just got to step up, you've got to have a go. People notice, okay? The people you want to notice will notice. So don't just sit back and think, oh, they'll come to me eventually. No. Take every opportunity to lead. Let's face it, really in a room full of people, most people don't want to put their hand up. So the opportunity is for you to be the person in charge, to take a stance and to be a leader. How do you motivate an underperforming team member? Well, first, I want to talk to them and find out what's affecting them because it could be something outside of their job or the fire ground or whatever. I need to understand that. Is it something that I can help with, or can I be there if they need to chat? I also like to sit down and discuss with them what they'd like to do about it or what they'd like to take over. And they might say, well, I'm underperforming because I've got nothing to do and I'm bored, but I'm really good with my hands and I like motors. Work great. Work with a truck officer to work on the pumps or whatever it happens to be. Find them something to do because underperformance is sometimes boredom. Now it's not always, sometimes it's laziness. But when you call people out on that, often they feel that no one cares and that's why they're being lazy. So take a time to have a chat with people and find out what's going on. Set them a goal or give them some responsibility and follow-up with them. Don't just leave them hanging. Don't just have a chat with them and then it'll leave them out there. Do your best to follow-up with them. Even if it's just a high, how you're going on a regular basis, take the time to do that. What's the one thing that makes me most proud? When I turn up at a fire, people are happy to see me, and they're happy to see me get in charge of a sector or division. That makes me really proud from the perspective of being a firefighter. In business, it's the same when I walk into a room and I see other business people and they smile and they give me a wave or I go and say hello and they're like, how are you doing? That feeling of acceptance, that feeling of trust that people give me when I go into work with them and their businesses, that is what makes me most proud as a leader. To be a leader, sometimes that recognition is really necessary. I want to know that the team of people that I work with have faith in me and trust me to do my job well. That's really, really important to me. And I know it's not always going to work out perfectly, but as long as I've done my best and everyone's safe, I think that's a good win sometimes. What do you consider before promoting someone? I need to see them demonstrate that they can do the job. I don't care if they've got the certificates or the courses. They are the indicators that they have knowledge. I look to see how others react to you and you with them. I want to see you doing the thing that you want to take charge of. I'm going to be looking for, are you standing back? Do you step up? Are you leading or ordering? Will people follow you happily? And do you accept the blame for your team? This is really important from my perspective. In the end, you're the leader. That means the blame falls with you. It doesn't matter if Joe or Mary did something wrong, you're in charge. You were supposed to instruct them. You were supposed to look after them. Take the blame. How do you generate great ideas in your organization? Well, I sent it to the herd to use an old marketing saying, I asked my team. A group of heads is better than 1, especially if they're experienced. Big discussions are best left for quiet times. So while it's good to have a chat about things and get different ideas, sometimes it's important that you save the bigger discussions until you've got time to actually go around the big room and get everybody's ideas. If you're working in a big room, write down all the ideas and then filter them into ABC based on Team Voatz. You want to keep a record of them all. What 3 books can you recommend on leadership? Well, first one for me is How to Win Friends and Influence People, that's a great one. 2nd one, Tribes by Seth Godin. And thirdly, my book, Run Towards the Flame, which is available on Amazon. Grab your copy, you'll really enjoy it. It's all about dealing with change. What is the most dangerous trait in a leader? Being passive. Don't wait too long before stepping into an issue. You need to let your people run their areas, but follow them up so that they deal with problems before you need to bypass them and deal with them. Because at some stage, you will need to go around them. So passive leaders are the worst leaders as far as I'm concerned because they let everything happen around them and hope it just fixes itself, and it doesn't. It just gets worse. The worst thing you can do is wait too long before stepping in. And we've all done it. So being responsible for your team, making sure that you step up in your scene is really, really important, especially when you're the biggest boss. You're the person in charge of the largest group. How do you respond to feedback? As a leader, I, like everyone else, don't like negative feedback. But remember, it's a comment on a point in time. It doesn't define you. It's just something you did at that time, and you can get better. Most feedback is given because people care enough to try and help you. People don't care, they say nothing. They want to see you drown. Let's face facts. When I get positive feedback, I thank them. It's not as common as it might seem, so I encourage my team to give positive feedback to each other as much as possible. It's important. Feedback is important in all roles. Don't just be negative. Be positive as well. What advice would you give someone going into a leadership position for the first time? Okay. Number 1, stand up tall, take responsibility for your position and team and lead by example from the front. Leadership isn't all about being in charge, it's also about being a shield and a filter between those above you and your people. Those people are not there to protect you, you're there to protect them so that they can do their jobs. The best teams are trusted by their leaders. Their leaders get them everything they need and their leaders make sure that all the stuff is sorted, e. G, on the fire ground, make sure they have food, fuel, water accommodation, etcetera, so that they can concentrate on fighting the fire. So as I finish this episode, I'm reminded of Albert Einstein's work, In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity. Leadership isn't about avoiding challenges, it's about embracing them and finding the opportunities hidden within. It's through the toughest moments that I believe we discover our true strengths and the potential to inspire and uplift those around us. As you face your own leadership challenges, remember that difficulty is a chance to grow, to learn and to become a better leader. If you found value in today's podcast, I encourage you to subscribe to the podcast, share it with other leaders who might benefit. Together, we can continue to grow, learn and lead with resilience and purpose. Until next time, leave the courage and stay focused. And remember, as always, run towards the flames. By the way, don't forget to order a copy of my new book with the same name, Run Towards the Flames, from Amazon now on Kindle and in print.