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Hertfordshire CFO Roy Wilsher explains his ideas regarding leadership, touching on several experiences that informed his philosophy including Buncefield
LEADERSHIP. NOT MANYWORDS in the English language conjure up such potent and varied images as leadership. Most people have a view on what leadership is or who is a great leader, the topic can generate enough debate to fill hours of lecture time or thousands of pages in a plethora of books. Type ‘leadership’ into a search engine and it produces 123 million hits. Surely all that can be written about leadership has already been written.Well, maybe, but I hope this article provides some food for thought and a slightly different and personal angle on the subject. Like a lot of people who have an interest in the topic of leadership, I have some favourite quotes about leadership. One, not particularly aimed at leadership but which certainly rings true in my experience, is from the American journalist Herbert B Snape: ‘I cannot give the formula for success but I can give you the formula for failure: which is try to please everybody’. Having recognised that you cannot please everybody, certainly not all of the time, this view is balanced by another of my favourite quotes: ‘Look over your shoulder now and then to be sure someone’s following you’ (Henry Gilmer). We all know of dynamic individuals who see themselves as leaders who have rushed forward with plans only to discover they lost the team along the way. Another often-discussed aspect of leadership is one of style. A favourite interview question I have come across is the one that asks about leadership style as if leadership can be categorised into distinct silos from which you as a leader have to choose. I describe my ‘style’ as adaptive. I find that different situations call for different leadership styles and the skill is to use the most appropriate style at the right time. Dynamic, autocratic, democratic, expert, the leader as a follower; they all have their place. But I want to concentrate on one aspect, namely leadership in adversity. I do not pretend to have all the answers, nor do I claim to get everything right. Rather, these are personal experiences that someone may be able to learn from.
Quick Decisions
One aspect of an officer’s life in the Fire Service that has struck me over the last few years is the severity of the night time phone call. I am sure it is the same in other walks of life and vocations but I have found as a fire officer that the further up an organisation one is, the more likely it is that the night time phone call will be serious. As a relatively young flexi duty officer I would receive calls to persons reported or four pump fires mixed with management calls and requests for urgent leave. As a Deputy and Chief Fire Officer in Hertfordshire I have had three phone calls disturb my sleep. These were Buncefield, Harrow Court where firefighters Wornham and Miller died trying to save a resident, Natalie Close, having already saved her partner, and the death of Watch Manager Paul Mallaghan on the A1(M). The thing about these types of phone calls, especially when you are in a leadership role, is the need, in colloquial terms, to ‘switch on’. The mind can start to race with questions, decisions, information, past experience or, even harder, a new experience. What should I do? Who should I talk to? What resources will I need? What are my immediate and longer term actions? What will the implications of these actions be? What I do next may well set the whole direction of this situation and its aftermath, so it is important to think clearly and in a rational manner. As I write this I thought about one of Sir Clive Woodward’s favourite mantras, ‘T-cup’, that is, ‘Thinking clearly under pressure’. For Buncefield this first step was relatively easy, ask my Deputy Mark Yates to attend the site to support the ACO while I headed for Gold at police HQ. For Harrow Court I decided the best thing I could do was to attend to support the ACO there, I then took on the media role. The following day, the whole top team was in to service HQto decide our next steps and make some early decisions.
The history of Buncefield has been discussed many times, including in the pages of this magazine. But there are many things that are relevant to the leader as principal officer in these situations. The first is the dynamics of Gold Command. Fortunately, resilience in Hertfordshire has a long history and relationships have been built up over many years, which allowed this co-ordinating group to work as an effective unit. Although at times the difference between the command management style of fire and police in this situation did not work well with the consensus style of Health and local authority. One significant issue to consider was strategy, starting with ‘do we put the fire out?’. We had to think about issues including environmental concerns, health fears about the smoke plume, the closure of schools and two motorways and tankers on site not being able to deliver fuel.
Doing the Right Thing
The decision to put the fire out is a perfect example of hard decisions that are then examined in the cold light of day. In January this year I was personally identified as the person who made that decision when Buncefield was debated in the House of Commons. There was also the issue of funding, where the decision was to do the right thing and worry about finance later. Having decided on the strategy it was my job as leader of the fire response to ensure we had the resources to execute the plan. Co-ordinating the 31 local authority fire services and four industry services, ensuring we had enough foam, water and other equipment took time, energy and a great team to achieve. For me one of the most important relationships during this time was between me at Gold and the Silver Commander. There were innumerable conversations about plans, tactics and resources as I acted as support, adviser and mentor to Silver Command. This was particularly important as multi-agency Silver was miles from the scene at Watford Police Station, so Gold, along with our Interagency Liaison Officer, ensured co-ordination. Learning from strategy and resourcing at Buncefield, now enhanced by the national response to the floods, was a forerunner to Strategic Holding Areas, Capability Advisers and Enhanced Command Support. As colleagues from services which have dealt with other major incidents will recognise, two areas have a particular call on the fire leader’s time. Namely, politics and the media. There is significant interest from politicians and the media in any major incident, and individuals from both areas will expect to talk to the Fire Service lead. My first meeting with John Prescott was on the afternoon of the first day of Buncefield. These political meetings and briefings continue throughout the incident and long afterwards. For example, the HSE are yet to publish their final report. Briefings with politicians are important, especially if there is a particular message you need to get across.
Similarly, working with the media is important, although neither should get in the way of the prime operational role. One cannot manage the media, especially in these days of multi-channel 24 hour news. Journalists need a story and the job of a leader is to ensure this need is satisfied in a mutually beneficial way. My advice is to work with the media, not against them, as they can be helpful, particularly with publicising public safety messages. I led on 12 live press conferences during Buncefield and carried out over 30 individual interviews. In each of these I found being honest was the best policy. We also made a deliberate decision to change from an emergency service lead to a local authority lead as we moved from emergency response to recovery. Buncefield was a significant success with many demands on a Fire Service leader. Everyone from national media to local politicians and individual firefighters were expecting to see leadership in testing circumstances. With Buncefield, I knew the theory of putting out tank fires; I certainly knew about Incident Command. It was the scale that was the major challenge. Death in the workplace is an entirely different matter. Although I had served in London when other tragic incidents had led to the deaths of firefighters, I had not been in such a prominent leadership position. I am not sure anything can prepare you for such an event. To lose Jeff and Michael at Harrow Court was hard enough. For this to be followed less than two and a half years later by their Watch Manager being struck by a car on the A1(M) and tragically losing his life was almost beyond comprehension. What does one say to the widow in the family room of a hospital?
Wretched Events
The impact of these incidents is hard to measure. They are wretched events that affect individuals in different ways and undoubtedly affect the organisation. I was expected, and I expected from myself, to show visible leadership throughout. There are many things that need attention after such a painful event, most important is the welfare and well-being of the family and colleagues of those who have lost their lives. On each occasion we appointed Fire Family Liaison Officers to work alongside the Police FLOs. The leader also needs to ensure a proper investigation is carried out. It took four fulltime people, led by a principal officer, to carry out the investigation into Harrow Court. The HSE has still not made a final decision on any possible actions but it is important that support to individuals is maintained throughout this time.
It is now well over three years since we lost Michael and Jeff – that is a long time for people and the organisation to wait and wonder. During this time the leader strives to ensure everything is completed in the best possible way – the investigations, funerals and memorials, finance and trust funds, internal communications and external liaison. They all need careful consideration and sensitive leadership. This all has to be done while understanding there are individuals and organisations that want to call someone to account.
Another event that has shaped my view on leadership in the last four years were the strikes in Hertfordshire. The leader in this type of situation becomes the magnet for criticism and even personal attack. Websites, letters, emails, poster campaigns and hostile media, will all carry the message that the leadership of the service does not know what it is doing and is undoubtedly putting public lives at risk. I remember one particular public meeting when a woman said she had heard all the facts and figures from the Service about why the IRMP would work. But she did not want facts and figures, she wanted emotion. So in this case the emotive ‘cuts cost lives’ slogan wins. It is important in these cases to stick to your facts and associated messages, have strong political backing, a strong leadership team and show clear and robust leadership. When taking into account the lessons I have learnt from these major events, and the need to lead in adversity, I have developed my own model for leadership. This is:
Decisions. Make decisions. In my view any decision is better than no decision and a vacuum
Responsibility. Take responsibility for the decisions you make
Personal resilience. Important for any leader in adversity. None of us is super human.We need rest and food and we also need our own coping mechanisms
Visibility. Be visible in a leadership role. It is hard to lead from behind a desk
Integrity and honesty. Two values I try to live by, as a person not just a leader
Compassion. Try to be sensitive to the feelings of others, especially in extreme circumstances
Understanding. Try to understand other people’s situations and their perspective
Calm. Stay calm, no matter what the situation. Losing your temper or rushing inappropriately will lead to rash or wrong decisions
Direction. Ensure you provide direction to your team
Do not be afraid to ask. None of us has all the answers. So, in conclusion I hope this practical view of an important aspect of leadership may assist someone in some way. As I mentioned at the start of this article, I do not claim to have done everything right, nor do I claim to have all the answers, which is why I am never afraid to ask.
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