Big shoutout to Keep The Promise and his episode with Dave Angelo for the inspiration.
Not everyone shows up ready to work. Not everyone has the LIFE experience necessary to function at a high level within the emergency services.
Sometimes you get a new guy straight from the academy/school house/living room. This is their first real “big kid” job.
Sometimes they are well adjusted to adult life and seem to have passed “Adulting 101.”
Sometimes you get them and they are repeating Adulting 101 or at best got a C- and you have to re-teach/re-train them some of the basics.
If you’re truly dedicated to them becoming a successful leader you will do just that, and embrace that challenge wholeheartedly. You see, anyone can “train” a well adjusted, well motivated, highly skilled, mature individual. You can simply set them in motion and coach them along the way without a ton of hand-holding.
But ever so often, you get the opportunity to counsel, coach, and mentor someone who passed the certification exams, but leave much to be desired in the Adulting aspect of their lives. Patience and perspective are key in their (and your) success.
It is very easy to fall into the trap of seeing the trainee where we think they should be and as who we think they should be. The lens of our own expectations can needlessly color situations to the degree that we miss great opportunities to mentor our new teammates. It will always be easier to judge them and dismiss them as (insert generational identity here).
As a leader/FTO/instructor you must fight that urge. You have to meet the trainee where they are, and provide them with the tools and experiences necessary to reach the level that we need and want them to.
They don’t know how to wear a uniform with pride or shine boots. Teach them.
They don’t know how to use power tools. Teach them.
They don’t know how to critically think on scene. Teach them.
They don’t have any instincts for the job yet? Teach them.
Stop abdicating your responsibility to the new guy so that you can hide behind your experience and take a position of “nobody did this for me, so I’m not gonna do it for you” or “It sucked for me so it has to suck for you”
Be the mentor you wish you had.
