See Kelly's recent article in Fire Chief magazine
about using Values Based® Leadership in a fire department . . .

"Searching for Values" article by Chief Richard Carrizzo and Kelly Gerling

The article describes a multi-year process of using a values based approach to leadership with a fire department to help improve the culture and enhance morale. The article was published in July, 2006. Here's how it begins:

In the decades prior to the 1990s, the Southern Platte Fire Protection District was an all-volunteer fire department in the Kansas City area. Morale was high and the organizational culture was cooperative, due to the department's small size and the fact that the chief had been elected by the firefighters and officers. Rapid population growth within the 75-square-mile community served by the department, however, was increasing its workload.

Richard Carrizzo, who had joined the SPFPD as a volunteer firefighter in 1982, became its chief in 1993. A year later, the department began supplementing its staff with its first paid firefighters. By 2001, Carrizzo was leading a combination department of 34 volunteers and 12 career staff, but the growing workload and friction between the volunteer and career members were fostering an increasing number of complaints and a decline in morale.

Carrizzo observed that the original cooperative culture had deteriorated a noticeable degree. . . . Read more

I'm Kelly Gerling, and I've got a question for you:

To what extent does your organization
practice the values you believe in?

If you have an interest in moving your organization
in the direction of becoming more healthy,
more creative and more productive
then please contact us.
Let's explore how our leadership development services
may support your efforts towards improving
your organizational culture
and enhancing morale.