Reginald Freeman is the 37th Fire Chief and Emergency Management Director for the City of Hartford, Conn. He spoke to attendees at NAIFA Nation Impact Week’s Leadership Day on “Building Sustainable Success Through Servant Leadership.”
When Freeman took over the fire department in Hartford, it faced a number of systematic problems that needed correcting, including unaddressed safety issues and alleged criminal activity by several members of the team. These were exacerbated by a lack of communication, guidance, leadership, and accountability. Team members did not feel empowered.
Freeman addressed these shortcomings using servant leadership.
Climate and Culture
Many people assume that an organization’s culture is at the root of any problems, and a role of a leader is to install a strong culture. But the climate team members are operating under may be just as important.
“Before we address culture, we have to discuss climate,” Freeman said.
An organization’s climate is different from the culture. The climate includes things that impact individual team members on a day-to-day basis, Freeman said. COVID-19, for example, has changed nearly everyone’s working climate.
The first step of developing addressing systemic problems as a leader is understanding the climate and any problems that may be rooted in it, because unaddressed climate difficulties can affect the overall culture of an organization.
“If you don’t address problems before they get out of control, that becomes your cultural norm,” Freeman said.
The Traits of Servant Leadership
Being in a position of authority does not necessarily mean that a person is a leader. You have to “know when to manage and know when to lead,” Freeman says. A leader lays out expectations for the team and asks what the team expects from him.
He has embraced the elements of “servant leadership,” as established by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970, to change the climate and cultural problems he faced in Hartford.
The traits of servant leadership are:
Servant leadership allowed Freeman to significantly improve the performance of the Harford Fire Department. Response times are down. Accountability is up and morale, along with pride in the department, has increased. More than 750 members of his team have obtained career-advancing professional development certifications.
“Servant leadership is critical to the success of 21st century persons in positions of authority,” Freeman said. “With four different generations in the workplace, being able to lead and manage individuals from diverse backgrounds and perspectives is challenging. However, with an understanding od servant leadership, we can effectively communicate and accomplish goals. Lead with confidence. Lead with integrity. Lead with passion.”