Guest Commentary

 

This is the second in a series of articles written by Deputy Chief (ret.) Paul Anderson of the Randolph Fire Department. Paul's first article on Committment may be found by clicking the previous commentary button above, and then scroll down and find the link.

 

Having discussed the importance and means of measuring commitment, we’ll shift our focus here to another critical ingredient of contribution – Performance, and its measurement. More directly, how we measure performance as it relates to promotional proecess and how we select our officers.

To best understand where we’re going with this discussion about contribution and the selection process, we’ll separate measuring performance into two segments: first, the knowledge or cognitive level, and second, practical application, or assessment Some people a lot smarter than I, spent a lot of time and effort (and probably money), developing the NFPA Standards 1001, 1021, and others. The Standards present a path to success - a plateau for achievement - as well as a document for accountability (to be discussed another time). Every valid, written promotional examination is designed around the contents of NFPA standards, which brings us to an important fact about the selection process. The written promotional exam is designed to measure the level of knowledge of the candidate, based on a list of required texts. What does the written exam measure? It’s a single dimensional measurement of what the candidate can remember. One might make a case that it measures something about how much the candidate is willing to invest in study time, but basically, it measures memory capability.

Look at this scenario. One of our candidates has the ability and gift, after reading the Sunday paper, to put it down and spit it back to you almost word for word. With next to a photographic mind, (s)he will score 95 or better on any exam. PROBLEM: The individual cannot perform on the emergency scene – hasn’t got a clue.

The scenario leads to two questions. One, what do we really want to know and measure about the candidate, and two, of what value is the written test? Before we answer the questions, look at the term "Command Presence." Command Presence describes an officer who has the ability to stand in front of a fire building and accurately read the signs the building is sending. From those signs (smoke, fire, building type/size, and others) the officer is able to design, communicate and implement an action plan. Tasks are accurately identified and assigned to the appropriate resources, and the incident is brought to a successful, safe outcome.

 

Command Presence requires:

Reasoning power

Decision-making

Common sense

Stress tolerance

Human skills

Technical skills

Conceptual skills

How do we measure these skills? Certainly not with a written test.

 

Enter the Assessment Center; the next part of our discussion.

Before leaving this part of the discussion until next time, examine the possible answers to this question: If a written examination is limited to measuring memory ability, and an assessment center measures more of the critical qualities needed to be an officer, what percentage, or weight, should each of the two segments be granted in the process?

We’ll ask this question again, after we discuss more on assessment centers next time.