I have a strong philosophy that any true leader is a product of hard work. Leaders are the first people to arrive and the last to leave. In the time in between, they work harder than anyone else to become great at whatever they are striving to achieve. I personally have never met a true leader that is not the hardest working individual in their organization. Because of this, I strive to be a leader by constant reading, studying, and training to become the best firefighter that I can be. In the fire service, a leader must also be the person that will do whatever he/she asks of the people below them. For this reason, a leader must constantly train to his weaknesses. A strong leader should also allow the people subordinate to them to take a lot of credit for the successful outcome of a situation. They should also be the first in line to accept the blame when something goes wrong. I feel very strongly about encouraging and boosting the self-esteem of your fellow teammates. A strong leader is constantly giving credit where credit is due, and they never give criticism in the midst of other people. Another attribute of a strong leader is to have solutions to problems and not constantly complain about the things that are wrong within the organization. A person that truly wants change will find some way to make that change happen.