BY TIM HOLMAN One of the most significant challenges facing a company officer today is bringing his group together as an effective team. Many officers may agree that bringing the group together is easy; encouraging that same group to work together cohesively can be a monumental task. Team building is not a natural process. People are taught to be independent at a very early age. After years of developing this independence, an individual is hired as a firefighter and placed within a group, with the expectation that everyone in the group will function as a team. It sounds easy, but it can be a very difficult challenge for a highly independent individual who has never learned to function within a team. The company officer must teach firefighters sound team principles. Over time, the team will mature and become cohesive. As this happens, the officer’s effectiveness increases in proportion to the…
