This is not about the unfortunate fire victim, or the fire without a smoke alarm, or the anger and frustration created within the city council. This is about a fire chief who is doing an effective job of getting what he needs in tight times. I have the advantage of observing the savvy and guts of Washington, DC’s Fire Chief Dennis Rubin from my suburban vantage point to the north of the city. He is not afraid to take on a complacent and resistant and entrenched bureaucracy head-on with a cutting public comment or even a dramatic confrontation. An article in the Friday November 21, 2008 Washington Post “Cuts Imperil Free Smoke Alarms, Rubin Says” opens the window to Rubin’s leadership and change agent approaches. Mind now he is not a bully or even arrogant (well City Council and Government colleagues may disagree), he just has developed a knack for getting to the strategic heart of something; getting attention for it; and then having the opportunity to open dialogue or get notice from someone who can help, or who may not have otherwise paid attention. It’s pretty cool to watch. He used the teaching moment of a fatal fire early Tuesday morning November 18, 2008 on Quebec Place in Northwest Washington to raise not only the awareness of his city council, but also the Washington Post who features his actions as DCFD’s leader in many articles. Click here to read some of the other articles that reference his skills. Chief Rubin needs to be different to get what he needs in a city where the President of the United States resides and where dramatic news events occur all day. To create a sense of urgency and get the attention of the public and probably someone who will keep those donations coming in Chief Rubin must use different approaches. He plays politics.
You hear people in the fire service frequently say, “I won’t move up because I hate the politics.” But politics isn’t bad you just need to know how to work within in it to be effective. You can learn it through observation and practice just like any of the other knowledge, skills and abilities that we are required to be effective. What Chief Rubin has shown is effective use of many different levels of power and influence; essentials of effective politics. But there is a potential pitfall in all this. You need to know when to throw these trump cards on the table. Do you remember within the last year the fire chief from Massachusettswho criticized personnel cuts after a devastating fire? He lost his job after the very public criticism. This chief still had guts but he was not in an environment that would tolerate that tactic. Dennis Rubin is fortunate to work in an environment where it is not only tolerated its encouraged. Chief Rubin works for Mayor Adrian Fenty. This first term mayor is a turn it on its side kind of aggressive elected official needed to make real change and shake things up. He has made a career as an elected official by being unconventional. His environment is much more open and aggressive. His office is arranged in an open area where all staff has access to each other. No closed off corner office for Fenty. You also may have heard of his school chancellor Michelle Rhee. Not unlike Chief Rubin, Rhee is a get to the heart of the matter and change this now kind of leader. She has said that change to the schools must happen now. The changes Rhee is focused on include cultural, operational and structural changes that are dramatic and not as she puts it “tinkering around the edges.” Wow is she shaking things up to increase performance, improve deplorable facilities and get rid of ineffective staff. She has taken on the union to offer a more performance based approach to compensation, giving the most to those who do the most. Mayor Fenty appears to like this shake it up and improve things kind of world and surrounds himself with people who work like him.
People like Fire Chief Dennis Rubin are doing good things to improve their departments. These approaches do not work well in all political environments though. So there is a risk. But these are some refreshing reviews of a different type of leadership in action. So stand, watch and learn. You Go Dennis.
Mike Love
Tags: Adrian Fenty, Dennis Rubin, Leadership, Michelle Rhee, politics, teaching moment
