At Sacramento Fire Dispatch, for the majority of my career there were four core values posted throughout the building: Day Forward, Strength of Character, Selflessness, and Servant Leadership. While all of these values are integral to dispatching, Servant Leadership always spoke to me as a succinct way of expressing my approach to being a leader. My love for dispatching is rooted in serving others, as is my commitment to representing dispatchers in the union steward role. There is no better way to lead others in this passion than to view my position as a leader through a lens of service. As a leader, I want to inspire others through both my example as well as by trying to provide them with the tools they need to be a success. In order to accomplish this, I rely heavily on feedback from the people I am serving. In respecting and encouraging this feedback, I hope to earn buy in from my team so that we are all working together to accomplish a shared goal. I am also committed to constantly looking for areas of improvement. The fire department is rooted in tradition, and while there is a lot to be said for honoring the heroes and practices of the past, there is also a lot of room for new ideas and ways to improve to make the job of both firefighters and dispatchers more efficient and safer. As a part of servant leadership and a commitment to valuing feedback, I am also eager to recognize and give credit to those who have ideas for improving operations. While no one in public safety is here for personal recognition, receiving this recognition when it is earned makes people feel appreciated and also encourages others to come forward with their ideas.
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