Do people resist (or hate) change? Your immediate answer might be yes – but let’s examine this belief more deeply. If you won a large sum of money, would you resist collecting your prize? If you had a great idea at work and it was implemented, would you resist seeing your vision come to fruition? If you lost weight, would you resist a … [Read more...]
Creating an EMS Organization that Doesn’t Suck
Does your organization energize you or bring you down? Do you dread your board/staff/member meetings? Does it seem easier to just do it all yourself rather than get people to step up? Are you counting down the days until your term is up or until your next vacation? If you answered yes to any of the above it is an indicator that your … [Read more...]
How Money is Not Your Problem
“How money is not your problem”. It’s your thoughts about it... Money (or lack thereof) is not your problem. It is also not the economy, or people’s failure to donate or any thing having to do with money. I’ll say it again, MONEY IS NOT YOUR PROBLEM. The problem is your thoughts about money or better said, your lack of creative thinking … [Read more...]
EMS Leadership – Not doing it all yourself: Part Two
[If you haven't read Part I, check it out] In order to not do it all yourself you must have reliable motivated people around you that you can delegate to. Consider, if you don't have those people around you it’s a function of how you are leading, i.e., it’s you, not them. This is good news because all you have access to really changing is … [Read more...]
Taking Care of Our Own
Critical Incident Stress Management For Emergency Medical Services Guest contributor: Johanna Flanigan, RN & Retired EMT Have you ever returned from an intense call and felt you didn’t do enough to help that patient? Have you ever laid in bed at night unable to sleep because all you are seeing and thinking about when you close your eyes is … [Read more...]
EMS Leadership – Not doing it all yourself Part 1
Fill in the blank: If you want something done right . Most people fill in the blank with some version of “I have to do it myself.” This pervasive belief is one of the main reasons for the overwhelm and frustration many leaders experience. We’ve all had a situation at one time or another of relying on someone … [Read more...]
Do You Have a Big BUT?!
Here is what a big but looks like… I would accomplish that BUT… I really want to BUT… I was going to BUT… Buts are another way of saying, “I have identified a barrier or roadblock on the pathway to achieving my goal and I don’t know how to overcome it or I don’t think I can overcome it.” Buts are a very interesting phenomenon. Left … [Read more...]
Attitudes Are Contagious – Where’s my N-95!?!
We all know contagious diseases can be a scary situation to deal with, especially in light of a constantly morphing seasonal flu, SARS, and Ebola! Oh, my! These are very serious issues that many agencies are developing training around to keep their providers and patients safe. While we are not trying to downplay these infectious and sometime … [Read more...]
Whose Shoes Are You In?
Have you heard the expression, “Don’t judge someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes”? Well, it applies to communication as well. If you are committed to being an effective leader, then it is crucial to understand and appreciate the point of view of the people or person’s you are leading as well as your own. People tend to project their … [Read more...]
Have you ever been shot down?
Have you ever felt like you've been shot down (not shot at)? You have an incredible idea for a new program or project and when you present your idea, you are told all the reasons why it won't work? Consider your audience. Many people are an automatic NO to new ideas; it's just their default approach to life, avoiding change or seeing risk as … [Read more...]
