This article originally appeared in the Summer 2025 issue. View the full issue here.

In nearly every fire department, leaders are ranked by their level of training, testing, and years of service. This hierarchical system helps maintain safety for the community and firefighters. Eliminating this chain of command is unlikely to be in anyone’s best interest.

Despite this, both society and the fire service are undergoing changes, and traditional leadership models, which are often administrative, hierarchical, and male-dominated, require some retooling.

Leadership theories now extend beyond the traditional top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approaches to include more lateral ways of leading. This means that although rank still holds a relevant place at the firehouse, everyone, regardless of their position, can play a leadership role in their work.

Relational leadership is one way to do this.

So, what is relational leadership, and why does it fit well with the fire service? It is founded upon mutual respect, trust, care, collaboration, unified values, and shared governance. A relational approach to leadership also sets the stage for the freedom to think in innovative and unconventional ways and explore new ways of “doing” firefighting.

A relational approach similarly generates an atmosphere of openness, where leaders can be honest, with the understanding that it’s OK to have different perspectives on aspects of work and life that sit outside standardized practices. Simply put, these principles pair well with the work of a firefighter in that they highlight the web of human relationships that is central to working in emergency services.

This type of leadership encourages reflection about how actions reveal themselves through words and deeds.

Think about what words you use when engaging with a community member in distress. Did those words generate or compromise trust and safety? Did the actions you took result in people in need of help and protection feeling respected or disrespected, protected or unprotected?

Did the language and tone you used with colleagues promote or disrupt their confidence and growth as professionals? Did your actions suggest you respect, disrespect, trust or distrust them?

Consider these questions. They invite critical thinking about how leadership impacts not only the current, but also the next generation of fire-service professionals.

Learning From Mistakes

A relational approach to leadership also allows each firefighter to not only acknowledge but also learn from mistakes. From a brain science perspective, this is important because when we feel connected and safe with others, we are much more likely to be able to apply the complex technical skills essential to our work.

To bring this to life, think about a person in your department who immediately conjures a vision of a leader for you. Chances are, you see this person as a leader because you feel psychologically safe with them, as they make efforts to form genuine and caring connections. This makes them relational leaders, and perhaps the type of leader you strive to become.

Some actionable strategies to begin to recognize and practice this relationship-based style of leadership include:

  • Use the term “relational leadership” to bring transparency to how connection, collaboration, and trust have always been core to the identity and work of emergency service professionals
  • Talk intentionally and openly about leadership and shared values that guide your work at the firehouse
  • Develop a leadership statement within your department, or with your shift, that explicitly captures the leadership capacities and goals of all members, regardless of rank
  • Include relational leadership as a criterion on performance appraisals
  • Be willing to sit in a continual state of discovery about your professional identity, and how it relates to who you are becoming as a leader (research suggests that effective leaders recognize their leadership journey is in an ever-changing state)
  • Intentionally name and celebrate accomplishments that showcase how you connected with the public and your firehouse family, to create security or overcome challenges
  • Name your discomforts and missteps, and when others do so, respond in ways that demonstrate respect, trust, and a willingness to work collectively to overcome challenges
  • Connecting with them before teaching practical skills is imperative to foster optimal learning and increased confidence in new hires
  • Create a culture that disrupts the idea that leadership only exists for particular people, with particular titles

The community views emergency services professionals as capable, competent, and connected, so hold one another accountable to celebrate the relational leadership that lies within each of you.

This article originally appeared within the Summer 2025 issue. View the full issue here, or browse all back issues in theCRACKYL Library.