“Leadership – time critical and damned wicked problems” (One man’s hard journey to leadership lessons learnt)

Keynote Speaker: Brian Alloway, BA, MSCC, PhD, QFSM

In our endeavour to understand “quality” leadership – as the key to achieving great beneficial
outcomes for organisations – it is all too easy to become tramlined by focusing on leadership as practised in commerce and industry only. But the application of leaderships that impact on society, are much wider than those evidenced in simply “mainstream economic activities.”

We are fortunate that in Brian Alloway we will undoubtedly benefit from an accomplished
speaker who can draw on a rare combination by blending his experience as a leader in the emergency services  with the rigour of his subsequent understandings and research for his PhD.   

The reality of “learning retention” is that it is the stories that we remember. This gripping
workshop incorporates one man’s story starting with his own learning journey as a “front line” Fire Services officer during  the Troubles in N. Ireland. Brain was awarded the Queen’s Fire Service
Medal for distinguished service. Delegates should be open to both challenge and reflection.

(Note :SIBL CIC’s long-established interest in he emergency services is founded in the belief that these services have a profound role and impact in contributing to wellbeing in society. SIBL’s view
is augmented by recognition of the benefits  of collaborative learning i.e., public/private sector as per the key recommendations of the 2011 Christie Report).

Background to the UK Fire Services.

The Fire and Rescue Service has a long and proud history of delivering an effective emergency service, often in very difficult circumstances.

The organisational culture of the service has developed over many years; indeed, it can be traced back to Roman times. Militaristic in nature it comprises a system of shared and normalised values,
which guide both managerial and workforce behaviour. It provides a powerful system of integration for its members. However, these integrative processes do not necessarily support change in the Service or its dominant culture.

In recent years, a series of official reports referred to below, while praising the operational work of the service, have strongly criticised its organisational culture and lack of diversity with particular implications regarding the roles and responsibilities of leaders. These concerns have led to an unprecedented challenge for the Service leaders, with pressures for change gathering strength.    

Workshop Structure and Content

Preface: During the workshop reference will be made intermittently to a case study on the Fire and Rescue Service, being a comparative analysis of Brian’s PhD subject and the most recent report from Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Fire Services, which indicated that there has been little, if any,
change in the organisational culture in England over the last ten years (or more).

Brian will bring together and build on two issues from SIBL’s recent programme of workshops ie (1) organisational culture and  (2) the role of leaders. The structure and content are noted below:

a) Brian will set the scene by outlining real events that took place during the Troubles in Northern Ireland, quoting from his book “Firefighters of Belfast: The Fire Service During the
Troubles, 1969 to 1994”. This introduction will illustrate how leadership in the Service is paradoxically different, yet, with some similarities to mainstream busines?

Note: Attendees should be aware that one or two of slides may be upsetting to some, as they show
scenes of injury in a fire/explosion situation. Some of the language may be colourful but “appropriate” to the circumstances. (After all, even in commercial businesses S*** will happen!)  

b) Moving on, this interactive workshop offers the opportunity for participants to consider series of key questions
that are relevant to organisations irrespective of sectors or size .viz:

What is an organisational culture? Why

is it important? What is leadership? What do effective leaders do?

c) And last, but not least, Delegates will look at the importance of leadership in cultural and in transformational change and outline a framework within which we can think about tame, critical and wicked problems, together with the issues of power and authority in times of uncertainty.

Outputs:

 ·       An mproved understanding of organisational culture (it’s not just a list of values).

 ·       An improved understanding of leadership in organisations (It can be quite a conundrum?)

 ·       An introduction to a framework within which the challenges of problems, power and authority can be considered.

Brian Allaway, keynote speaker bio

Having joined the Fire Service in Belfast in 1969 at the age of sixteen, Brian served for forty-one years, twenty-five in Northern Ireland (during the Troubles) and sixteen in Scotland. He retired as the Chief Fire Officer of Lothian and Borders FRS.

Since retiring, among other things, Brian has written two books, “Culture Identity and Change in the Fire and Rescue Service”, published by the IFE, and Firefighters of Belfast: The Fire Service During the Troubles, 1969 to 1994”, published by Luath Press.

Having left school with little in the way of academic qualifications, Brian became an enthusiastic convert to life-long learning, as a way to understand the requirements of his profession and ‘how things work’ from both a technical and human perspective. As a result, he obtained a BA from the Open University, an MSSc from the Queens University of Belfast and a PhD from the University of Edinburgh, while continuing to work full time. A Fellow of the Institution of Fire Engineers and a recipient of the Queen’s Fire Service Medal, he lives with his family in Edinburgh.