Abstract
Public safety agencies have a tendency to ignore leadership succession planning and the formal development of future leaders. A combination of budget cuts, a lack of internal interest, increased public scrutiny, and politics means that public agencies often do not prepare for leadership changes. The average leadership tenure in the public sector has a reputation for being more extensive than the private sector, which is perhaps one of the reasons why public agencies do not place as much importance on succession planning. The average tenure of leaders in fire and rescue agencies is shortening due to increased job demands and negative public perceptions. In the late 1990’s, the State of Louisiana developed a formalized leadership development and training model to address the problem of the lack of leadership succession planning that existed in its agencies. The model is based on the development and mastery of functional competencies that are directly tied to specific positions. The analysis will examine the City of Pompano Beach’s Fire and Rescue Department, which does have a training department that appears to be highly devoted to the training of its firefighters in functional competencies, but appears to lack the same degree of attention to leadership development. The analysis revealed that the City has an opportunity to better leverage its training department in developing a formalized leadership development program that identifies both internal and external candidates. In addition the analysis revealed that the City also has an opportunity to engage its top leader – the fire chief – in developing a leadership succession plan.
Keywords: leadership development, leadership succession, public administration
Introduction
Identifying potential leaders for professional development in private and public organizations is often a top concern of existing leadership. In public safety agencies, finding and selecting a succession of leaders can become especially challenging due to a unique set of factors. This unique set of factors exists because of the common organizational cultures and public perceptions that surround public safety agencies. Public safety agencies are often built on a bureaucratic structure and future leaders are typically promoted based on excellent performance in a front-line position (Johnson, 2004). Those promoted into supervisory and managerial positions based on excellent performance in front-line or entry-level roles do not necessarily receive formal leadership training prior to promotion (Johnson, 2004). The combination of a lack of formal leadership training and (potentially) practical leadership experience can compromise the employee’s ability to be an effective leader (Metcalf, 2013).
Certain constraints in the public sector, such as hiring freezes, budget cuts, perception changes, and increased public scrutiny, are causing leadership gaps for public safety agencies (Metcalf, 2013). Fire safety and rescue agencies have been particularly challenged with filling leadership gaps due to the aforementioned constraints. Individual states, such as Louisiana, have been successful in developing and implementing formal leadership training based on identifiable/desired core competencies or skills. The formal training includes courses, certifications, and 360-degree feedback mechanisms. As a result, the State of Louisiana became successful in moving its identification and development of leadership potential in a new, structure direction (Naquin & Holton, 2003).
The City of Pompano Beach’s Fire Rescue agency is a public safety agency in the greater Miami metropolitan area that has implemented a similar structure. Although the agency’s website is less than forthcoming on how potential leaders are identified and trained, the website’s information does indicate that its firefighters undergo certification training specific to the development of core competencies (City of Pompano Beach, 2016) In addition, outside sources detailing leadership requirements and the professional backgrounds of current leaders indicate a combination of formal education and practical experience are factored into the selection process. How public safety agencies, in particular fire safety and rescue agencies, are responding to the issue of leadership selection and development with formal training programs will be examined. The City of Pompano Beach’s Fire Rescue agency’s training will be highlighted and analyzed according to the State of Louisiana’s model.
Literature Review
Identifying and developing future leaders in any organization is vital to its continuity and effectiveness. When an organization fails to develop and produce quality leadership succession, it can compromise the organization’s sustainability. Without the ability to produce quality leaders, an organization will cease to exist. Although the threat of extinction may not directly apply to public safety agencies due to the essential nature of the services the agencies provide, consolidation of agencies under centralized leadership is a potential threat. When several agencies are consolidated, it increases the burden on leadership and employees (Metcalf, 2013). With less human resources to do the job, strain and burnout can occur, as well as a decline in effectiveness.
In a fire and rescue public agency, leadership succession planning is typically not specified as one of a fire chief’s responsibilities (Metcalf, 2013). This lack of formal responsibility is detrimental because there is a lack of active leadership recruitment and development. Instead, the laissez-faire approach operates under assumption that current leadership’s tenure will be extensive, giving plenty of opportunity to allow potential leaders in the organization to “emerge” (Metcalf, 2013). As fire and rescue agencies have continued to experience, when existing leaders leave the organization, there is an extended period of time before a subsequent leader is found to fill the position (Metcalf, 2013). The root cause of the leadership gap problem stems from budget cuts, increased public pressure to perform, increased internal and external politicking, a lack of internal training resources, and hiring freezes (Metcalf, 2013). Simply put, potential leaders within the organization do not have access to the knowledge and skill development opportunities they need to handle leadership positions, there is a growing lack of desire to assume these leadership roles, and the agencies lack the financial resources for adequate recruitment and retention.
Developing a leadership succession plan also entails the ability to embrace organizational change (Johnson, 2004). After all, planning for a change in leadership also means planning for the idea that the strategic direction, organizational climate, mission and values may undergo a shift. Existing leadership may view succession planning as a threat, particularly if leadership is defensive about maintaining status quo and employment. Bureaucratic structures can also make it difficult to implement change and convince employees at all levels to buy in to the change process. Still, ignoring the need for leadership succession planning means that current leadership is not identifying what positions are likely to become vacant, employee developmental needs, organizational needs, and which employees might have the potential to grow into future vacancies (Johnson, 2004).
Beginning in 1997, the State of Louisiana sought to actively address the neglect of leadership succession planning throughout its public agencies. The state recognized that its financial resources were limited and thus partnered with the Louisiana State University of Human Resource Education and Workforce Development to implement leadership/supervisory surveys, leadership/supervisory competency models, and professional training (Naquin & Holton, 2003). The model and training program focuses on developing core leadership competencies that are crucial for management functions and effectiveness. The training program identifies which areas employees need development in and delivers the training through certifications. Employees are then assessed and must pass competency-based exams (Naquin & Holton, 2003). Certification training is developed according to job analyses and skills necessary to succeed in each respective position (Naquin & Holton, 2003).
Field Research and Investigation
In light of the State of Louisiana’s leadership succession planning model, how does the City of Pompano Beach’s Fire and Rescue agency compare? What is the City of Pompano Beach doing to prepare future leaders and what does the implementation of the City’s succession planning entail? The Fire and Rescue Department’s leadership structure is hierarchical, consisting of the Fire Chief, an Administrative Coordinator, and an Assistant Chief. Various functions or departments exist, including fire prevention, logistics emergency preparedness, operations, training, and the EMS division. Three different shifts consisting of a Battalion Chief, EMS Captains and Lieutenants also exist (City of Pompano Beach, 2016). The organizational structure reveals one of the characteristics of a bureaucratic structure –multiple, overlapping leadership and managerial positions. Yet, the City’s organizational structure also reveals that a high level of attention is given to training. The existence of a separate training department suggest the City of Pompano Beach’s Fire and Rescue Department has designed and implemented a formal series of training programs, which possibly includes leadership succession planning and development.
The City’s website indicates formalized training programs in hazardous materials, infectious disease, driver training and communication exist for firefighters. The training department seeks to increase the knowledge and skill level of firefighters, while evaluating new technologies that can increase the effectiveness of firefighters in the field (City of Pompano Beach, 2016). What the website does not reveal is whether there is formal leadership development training within the organization. Based on the current chief’s background, it would seem that external leadership training and practical field experience is required to advance within the organization. The current chief holds advanced degrees in public administration, as well as prior entry-level and mid-level management experience within the agency (Trischitta, 2013). The advertised job duties of the fire chief include the design and implementation of fire training, but do not specify leadership succession planning or training. A combination of formal degrees, fire academy certifications, and experience is required for the job (City of Pompano Beach, 2016).
Analysis of Field Research
The field research of the City of Pompano Beach’s Fire and Rescue Department backs up the ideas presented in the literature. The City of Pompano Beach does not seem to have a formal leadership succession plan in place – or at the very least a program that identifies future leadership potential. Although programs are available for students interested in becoming a firefighter, leadership development training is not mentioned as being a part of these programs. Rather the agency appears to rely on the passive approach mentioned in the literature, hoping that leaders will emerge based on a combination of outside education credits and internal experience. The agency is dedicated to training the employees that are on the frontline, but not dedicated to identifying its leadership needs and which employees might fill those positions in the future.
Reflection
This research process has been insightful in identifying the leadership succession planning gaps that exist in the public sector. Although the public sector faces a different source of constraints when it comes to leadership development, the actual constraint factors are quite similar to the private sector. Those constraint factors include money, a willingness to embrace change and overcome resistance to the change process, and the development of formalized leadership development programs. Organizations will need to continue to identify and develop future leaders, but current leadership should not be surprised by a lack of internal interest when current leadership strives to simply maintain what is.
References
http://pompanobeachfl.gov/index.php/pages/fire/fire_rescue
Johnson, G. (2004). Follow the Leader. Fire Chief, 48(8), 136-137.
Metcalf, W. R. (2013). Closing the leadership gap. Fire Chief, 57(11), 16.
Naquin, S. S., & Holton III, E. F. (2003). Redefining State Government Leadership and
Management Development: A Process for Competency-Based Development. Public Personnel Management, 32(1), 23.
Trischitta, Linda (2013, May 1). Change of leadership at Pompano Beach Fire Rescue.
SunSentinel. Retrieved from http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2013-05-10/news/sfl-change-of-leadership-at-pompano-beach-fire-rescue-20130510_1_executive-fire-officer-program-harry-small-john-jurgle
