\n
\u00a0<\/span>Author:<\/u> <\/span>Christopher Ayer, Corona De Tucson Fire Department<\/i><\/p>\nBeing a subordinate is easy — you are focused on your job and
\ncompleting tasks. Especially as a back seat firefighter, you wake up, get some
\nbreakfast, grab some lunches, water and Gatorade. If things are going well, you
\nget some ice. You get driven to the fire line, told what the plan is and put your head
\ndown and work. You get done with work and get driven back to camp to get some dinner and
\nrinse and repeat. It\u2019s the most fun job in the world — work hard when there is
\nwork to be done and sometimes there’s down time to play cards, read, or solve all the world\u2019s problems
\nwith some of your best friends.<\/p>\n
We go from easily the greatest job in the world and take
\nthat giant step to being the boss. Crew boss, engine boss, firefighter type 1 — over night you go from being one of the crew to being the
\n\u201cthe man\u201d, supervisor, middle management, fun police. Yes, I know I am being
\noverly dramatic, it takes a week or so. But I had my eyes opened by my former \u201cfun
\npolice\u201d and mentor, who shared a very complex and deep realization that I had
\nnever really considered or confronted before. <\/p>\n
The step up in leadership comes with some unrealized and
\ndramatic changes that can be so quickly overlooked, and not completely
\nunderstood by a new leader. <\/p>\n
1\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span>You are now part of the command staff.<\/b><\/p>\nPromotion to a new leadership position means you are now
\npart of that chain of command. All the good, the bad and ugly that you used to
\nlook at from lower in the chain, you are now part of it. This was pointed out
\nto me, and it hit me like a ton of bricks. In conversations I referred to the agency
\nand the leadership like I used to, but now I am literally part of it.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We
\nhave all seen that leader get promoted that was part of the crew, maybe a little
\nwild, little disrespectful, maybe in a little over the top and they change like
\na light switch when they are promoted. What happened? How did they go from wild
\nchild to company man overnight? How could they not go up there and shake out
\nthe problems they lobbied for before their promotion? Well, they just became
\npart of that leadership team and the dynamics are not the same. Once you are there
\nand involved in that new role expectations and needs change.\u00a0<\/p>\n
For me it was the
\nrealization that I now must value things differently than I did before, things
\nthat seemed trivial or why is that a big deal, now are extremely important not
\nfor me but for the people below me. That role comes with taking care of people
\nbelow you not about some administrative decision or paperwork that is redundant
\nbut about being sure your people\u2019s needs are met: food, water, shelter,
\ntraining, equipment, payroll. <\/p>\n
2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Acknowledgement of a job well done.<\/b><\/p>\nEveryone looks for that pat on the back or words of
\nencouragement from their boss. Tt goes an extremely long way to building your
\nconfidence especially as a new leader. Even more so when you have had a couple
\nof those welcome to leadership situations that every new leader gets hit with,
\nthe ones that weren’t in the training manual or S-131 or S-231. But with
\nyour step in leadership or promotion you just become part of that command
\nstaff. The expectation for you is to make those tough decisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
As that new leader where do you draw confidence
\nand strength when you are struggling through those new position growth? My
\nmentor pointed this out to me, it\u2019s the people below you. Servant leadership,
\nmission-driven leadership, is focused on taking care of the people around you. Are they happy coming to work? Do they have what they need? Are they able to
\ngrow and advance? Are you addressing the reasons that you might have disagreed with you
\nleadership in the past and providing a great
\nworking environment? I am not advocating that you are going to get a meaningful ‘thank you’ or a ‘you’re doing a great job,’ but as a leader can you see how the team
\nis functioning and that is your pat on the back, your acknowledgment that
\nyou are performing your job well.<\/p>\n
These two simple facts seem so obvious. I was dumb struck
\nwhen he pointed them out, but over the last few days they have really hit home.
\nBeing part of the leadership of your crew or agency accompanied with realizing
\nwhere to look to see if you are having that impact that led you to taking that
\nleadership step will help support you as a new leader when things don\u2019t seem
\nlike they are going in the right direction.<\/p>\n
Christopher Ayer is a Captain\/
\nParamedic\/ Engine Boss Trainee\/ Wildland Coordinator for Corona De Tucson Fire
\nDepartment in Tucson Arizona. The expressions and views are those of the author<\/span><\/i>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n
\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0Author: Christopher Ayer, Corona De Tucson Fire Department Being a subordinate is easy — you are focused on your job and completing tasks. Especially as a back seat firefighter, you wake up, get some breakfast, grab some lunches, water and Gatorade. If things are going well, you get some ice. You get driven to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[15262,8631,3672],"dealstore":[],"offerexpiration":[],"class_list":["post-7035443","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-command","tag-staff","tag-surprise"],"yoast_head":"\n
The Surprise of Command Staff - Som2ny Network<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Surprise of Command Staff - Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"\u00a0Author: Christopher Ayer, Corona De Tucson Fire Department Being a subordinate is easy — you are focused on your job and completing tasks. Especially as a back seat firefighter, you wake up, get some breakfast, grab some lunches, water and Gatorade. If things are going well, you get some ice. You get driven to the […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Som2ny Network\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-09T18:03:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\"},\"headline\":\"The Surprise of Command Staff\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-09T18:03:47+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443\"},\"wordCount\":859,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"keywords\":[\"Command\",\"Staff\",\"Surprise\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443\",\"name\":\"The Surprise of Command Staff - Som2ny Network\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-09T18:03:47+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Surprise of Command Staff\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"description\":\"Daily Deals\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Som2ny Network\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png\",\"width\":300,\"height\":86,\"caption\":\"Som2ny Network\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Surprise of Command Staff - Som2ny Network","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Surprise of Command Staff - Som2ny Network","og_description":"\u00a0Author: Christopher Ayer, Corona De Tucson Fire Department Being a subordinate is easy — you are focused on your job and completing tasks. Especially as a back seat firefighter, you wake up, get some breakfast, grab some lunches, water and Gatorade. If things are going well, you get some ice. You get driven to the […]","og_url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443","og_site_name":"Som2ny Network","article_published_time":"2026-08-09T18:03:47+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371"},"headline":"The Surprise of Command Staff","datePublished":"2026-08-09T18:03:47+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443"},"wordCount":859,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"keywords":["Command","Staff","Surprise"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443","name":"The Surprise of Command Staff - Som2ny Network","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-08-09T18:03:47+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7035443#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?bp_activities=1"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Surprise of Command Staff"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","name":"Som2ny Network","description":"Daily Deals","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#organization","name":"Som2ny Network","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/4a0953c4-logo-300x86-1.png","width":300,"height":86,"caption":"Som2ny Network"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/b85e3c3dc0e1daea076524dc8810c371","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/729ae85bf62b9917e93538db2f2688ca?s=96&r=g&default=https%3A%2F%2Ffivemor.com%2Fwp-content%2Fplugins%2Fbuddypress-first-letter-avatar%2Fimages%2Fdefault%2F96%2Flatin_a.png","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/fivemor.com"],"url":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7035443","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7035443"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7035443\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7035443"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7035443"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7035443"},{"taxonomy":"dealstore","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fdealstore&post=7035443"},{"taxonomy":"offerexpiration","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fofferexpiration&post=7035443"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}