Election season is once again in full swing, and for the next three months, we will be bombarded with political messages on local, state and national issues. The stakes are high, and many people are deeply invested in the outcomes. Such energy and passion will inevitably spill over into the firehouse.
Political discussions can be volatile. They can lead to arguments, polarization, inappropriate behavior, even violence. Is it possible to manage this minefield while still maintaining crew cohesion and effectiveness? The answer is, of course, yes – it is possible, but it requires effort and commitment on the part of all involved. The following four guidelines can help you manage political differences while keeping the crew together as a functional and compatible team.
1. Don’t go there
Everyone in the firehouse needs to recognize that they are in no way obligated to engage in a political conversation with anyone, even a superior. If you don’t have a personal relationship with someone apart from the job, and it’s pretty clear that any discussion will be fruitless in affecting anyone’s opinion, then simply don’t engage. Walk away. Refuse to participate. Others who perceive political differences with you might try to provoke you into argument or confrontation. Don’t take the bait. You can be clear about your preference not to be part of this kind of conversation without being angry. Sometimes humor works in these situations; just be careful that it does not exacerbate tensions. You can even make up an excuse – an important phone call, a project that must be dealt with – to step away. In any case, there is always something better to do. Go do that instead.
2. Talk one-on-one
In some cases, you will choose to have the conversation. This will usually happen if you have a real relationship with the other person, and you want to learn more about why they feel the way they do. If you do have this kind of relationship – a relationship that includes mutual respect – then that conversation must happen one-on-one. No one else should be involved or even within earshot. Trying to have this kind of sensitive conversation in a group will only lead to escalation and people taking sides. If you really want to hear what someone has to say, give that person the dignity of your full attention.
3. Listen, understand, and move on
Respectful listening is a powerful tool. It can lead to better understanding and cooperation; in some cases, it can even change someone else’s perspective on an issue. But most people are not naturally good listeners, and the solo-performance nature of social media has only made things worse. Good listening skills can be learned, but someone must choose to learn them and to practice them. Some departments invest in training in communication skills, and this can be money and time well spent, as these skills not only help to defuse conflicts in the fire station but also lead to better efficacy in all aspects of the job. If you want to listen for real understanding, put your phone down, pay attention, ask questions of genuine interest, and don’t argue. Just listen, understand as best you can, and then move on. It is not necessary to resolve every difference in a single conversation. The goal should just be to better understand someone else’s point of view, and let that other person know that you are striving to understand. Just making that effort can have a huge impact.
4. Officers, do your job
It is not the officer’s job to squelch every potentially sensitive conversation, or to monitor every personal interaction in the station. It is an officer’s job to maintain crew cohesion and readiness and minimize distractions from the essential mission that you all serve. In this regard, officers should be good role models by not engaging in (and certainly never instigating) divisive political discussions. Officers are in a position to recognize when things may be getting tense in a group and redirect that energy. They must also act when behavior is truly inappropriate, like if someone is bullying or intimidating another, if policies or laws are being violated, if crew effectiveness is being harmed and if the behavior of an individual is reflecting badly on the crew or the organization as a whole. In these kinds of situations, an officer must step up and deal with the inappropriate behavior of an individual. This conversation should also only happen one-on-one, in private and without distractions.
When I first came on the job, I worked with a captain with many years of experience, and lots of natural wisdom too. He did not engage or interfere with discussions among the crew – up to a certain point. But if things got tense or if it was clear that a conversation was escalating but going nowhere, he was suddenly right there with a task that needed to be done, and usually a task that no one would have preferred to do. It was never framed as punitive, and he always worked on every project alongside us, but we quickly learned if we didn’t want to wash all the station windows again, or clear everything out of the basement so we could scrub the floor, we should find something better to do on our own than argue around the kitchen table.
There is always something better to do than engaging in useless, divisive arguments. Good leaders (and this is not necessarily a function of rank) will always be looking for ways to reinforce the interdependence of the team and the common ground and mission that they share.
