TEEX Leadership Development Symposium

Several years ago I had the opportunity to attend and speak at the Emergency Services Training Institute (TEEX) Leadership Development Symposium in Frisco, Texas. There was a great line up of speakers for the attendees. This year’s symposium focused on the message – Be Accountable.

Through listening and talking to speakers and attendees it became clear to me that this is a time of many challenges for not only cities and states, but also for our country. As we face economic instability along with more and more natural disasters and extreme weather conditions, we find ourselves with many new challenges that require strong leadership in the emergency service field. Additionally, we are beginning to see the impact of the “baby-boom” generation hitting retirement age and how it is leaving gaps in areas where we need experienced leaders. What will this mean to the fire and EMS service? How will we maintain our high expectations and continue to grow, improve and move forward?

There are many possible answers to these questions, but one thing we know for certain is that big decisions are going to be required. Big risks may have to be taken. Leaders will have to think outside the box. Most of all, leaders will have to be accountable for how they respond and how they lead.

During the conference the participants had many opportunities to listen to outstanding presentations offering a variety of points of view and from several areas of expertise. I found the lectures I listened to thought provoking and value added.

One of the speakers I listened to was Andrew Card. Mr. Card was Chief-Of-Staff to President George W. Bush during the 9/11 World Trade Center terrorism attack. On that dreadful day, President Bush was in Florida at an elementary school function. When the first plane hit the South Tower, Mr. Card was the one who walked into the classroom to inform the president of the incident. After the second plane hit the North Tower Mr. Card again had to be the one to update the President. This time he told the President “A second plane hit the North tower and America is under attack.” If you recall the President just nodded his head and stayed in the room for another 20 minutes. Some wondered why the President didn’t immediately leave the room and take command. Mr. Card explained that staying in the room was the right thing to do for several reasons. First, the President didn’t want to scare the children who were present. And, secondly, the President knew that the necessary notifications were being made. By the time the President left the classroom the FBI, CIA, Defense Department, FAA, DOT and all the other alphabet soup departments were notified and were taking action.

There were approximately 700 people listening to Mr. Card and during this phase of his presentation you could hear a pin drop.

In summary the TEEX Symposium provided the participants with opportunities to gain new insights, hear important and relevant information, reacquaint with old friends, make new ones, and refill your leadership engine. If you have the opportunity to attend next year you should.