Leadership Under Fire

Building a Company to Perform Under Pressure with Capt Brian McNulty, Milwaukee FD

The recording you will hear in this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Humanizing the Narrative Podcast features longtime LUF contributor Brian McNulty and was recently delivered as an online presentation to leaders enrolled in the online LUF Optimizing Tactical Performance Under Pressure course. Brian joined the ranks of the Milwaukee Fire Department in 1999 and was one of the department’s first rescue company commanders and a plank owner of Rescue Company 2. Brian is a very seasoned and no-nonsense fire officer who has advanced his understanding of human performance as well as refined how he trains and develops rescue company firefighters and leads at fires and emergencies—a perspective that is at the core of this conversation.    
Brian’s eleven-year tenure as Rescue 2’s company commander ended recently. After much deliberation, Brian elected to turn the company over to a new Captain and assume greater responsibility as a battalion chief. The LUF team would like to commend Brian for the success that he and his members have achieved in building Rescue 2. We wish Brian continued success as a chief officer and are confident that he will continue to be a trusted leader under pressure in the Milwaukee Fire Department.  

Revisiting Leading with Character and Curiosity: From Combat to Moneyball with Sandy Alderson

The original broadcast date for this episode was July 30, 2020, and features host Patti Murphy and American baseball executive Sandy Alderson, general manager of the NY Mets at the time. Sandy currently serves as the President of the NY Mets and has been a front office executive in Major League Baseball for 40 years. Under his leadership, Major League Baseball teams have won six division titles, three American League pennants, one National League pennant and a World Series Championship. Sandy has held executive leadership roles with the Oakland Athletic, San Diego Padres, and New York Mets. Under his leadership as general manager, the Oakland Athletics played in three consecutive World Series from 1988 to 1990 and won the 1989 World Series. Sandy guided the 2015 NY Mets to a National League pennant and the World Series. He has also served as an executive for Major League Baseball on two separate occasions.Sandy was a principal architect of “Moneyball” in the Oaklands Athletics organization. Sandy reformed the way Athletics did business in virtually every regard--he revolutionized the ways in which the club scouted and identified talent, used analytics, approached the mental game, and conditioned their athletes. Sandy’s approach to fielding a competitive team while at the helm of the Athletics was unconventional--decades later those once progressive tenets are now part of the game’s orthodoxy in virtually every organization in professional baseball. Sandy has been a trusted source of insight and encouragement in shaping LUF’s approach to systematically optimizing human performance in the fire service and ultra-competitive and/or lethal endeavors. LUF recently launched the LUF Human Performance “Team of Teams” – a collaborative network of human performance leaders from around North America. Though in its infancy, the LUF Team of Teams network will consist of several networked functional teams dedicated to exploring and advancing specific pillars of human performance. Each of the teams are named in honor of a human performance pioneer and we thought it would be fitting to name the program manager team “Team Alderson” in honor of Sandy’s immense contributions.Leadership and service are in Sandy Alderson’s bloodline. His father was a seasoned Army Air Corps and Air Force fighter pilot who flew in World War II, Korea, and Vietnam. Sandy graduated from Dartmouth at the height of the Vietnam War and did an unpopular thing, particularly as an Ivy League graduate--he took a commission in the United States Marine Corps. 2nd Lt Alderson soon found himself in Vietnam as a platoon leader of US Marine infantrymen. Sandy was commended for his combat leadership in Vietnam with a Bronze Star with a valor device. After returning home from Vietnam, Sandy received orders to the Marine Corps prestigious “8th and I” Barracks in Washington, DC, a billet customarily reserved for officers destined for great responsibility in the Marine Corps. Though Sandy unquestionably had a bright future in the Marine Corps, he opted to depart the service and attend law school at Harvard.In professional baseball circles, Sandy is revered as a maverick for his baseball intellect. But more importantly, he is respected and admired for his character and moral compass. Sandy has been recognized in recent months by the NY Friends of Vietnam Veterans Plaza and the Marine Corps Law Enforcement Foundation for his leadership and civic virtue. The same character and conviction that was central to Sandy’s leadership style as a leader of Marines in combat has been at the core of how he has conducted himself and business in professional baseball for the past four decades. Sandy’s character is perhaps most evident in what the organizations under his charge do not just on the field, but also off the field. Under Sandy’s leadership the NY Mets have consistently, and quietly, gone above and beyond in supporting our Nation’s veterans, Gold Star families, and the families of fallen first responders--not because it is favorable for the brand, but because it is the right thing to do.

Growth and Gratitude Compliments of the Competitive Grind with Capt Aaron Miller, Fairfax County FRD

Our guest in this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Humanizing the Narrative Podcast is Aaron Miller. Miller is a Captain with the Fairfax County (VA) Fire and Rescue Department. During this episode, listeners will learn about how Miller's high-level baseball experience and competitive spirit influenced his leadership philosophy and perspective on fireground performance. LUF Founder Jason Brezler hosts.

Asking Questions to Inform Decisions and Leadership with LUF Chief Mentor Jim Roussell, USMC (Ret) & Chicago PD (Ret)

The following interview was hosted by LUF's Human Performance Advisor and Senior Man's Performance Journal author, Jim McNamara. The conversation was recorded at our 2023 National Leadership and Performance Summit, which was held in Annapolis, Maryland. The interview features Jim Roussell who has served as one of the Leadership Under Fire team’s chief mentors and advisors since LUF's formal inception in 2012. We hope you enjoy this episode, and Roussell's insightful contributions to the Summit. 
James Roussell retired from the USMC and the Chicago Police Department after serving several decades as a leader in both organizations. Most recently, Jim served as the Chief of Staff for the Chicago Police Department. Prior to serving as the Chief of Staff, Jim served as the Executive Officer of Area Central and spent a preponderance of his 36-year career in gang-tactical units. He commanded the Rogers Park 24th District and the department’s mobile strike force which targeted gang violence citywide. He has supervised all facets of emergency response and joint operations during his career. Jim is also a retired US Marine reserve Chief Warrant Officer 5. Jim served with the USMC for 39 years with the bulk of his service in infantry and intelligence assignments including three combat tours in Iraq. He has completed the Command and Staff College, Expeditionary Warfare School, and Marine Air Ground Task Force Intelligence Officer Course. Jim has a Doctor of Education from Olivet Nazarene University with emphasis on ethical leadership as well as a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science degrees in Criminal Justice from Lewis University. 

Humanizing Performance Under Pressure with Captain Liam Flaherty, FDNY

The recording you'll hear in this episode took place at our National Leadership and Performance Summit in Annapolis, Maryland, in April 2023. It features FDNY Captain of Rescue Co. 2, Liam Flaherty. We hope you enjoy this conversation and its many takeaways, and encourage listeners to tune in to our previous episode--number 112--as it features the first talk of the Summit which we refer to during the episode.Captain Flaherty joined the FDNY in 1990. He currently serves as the company commander of Rescue Co. 2, which he’s been assigned to for the past decade. Liam was previously assigned to Rescue Co. 2 and Ladder Co. 157 as a Lieutenant and Rescue Co. 4 and Ladder Co. 44 as a firefighter. He is an adjunct instructor at the FDNY’s Technical Rescue School and was instrumental in the development of the course curriculum for the Advanced Firefighter Rescue and Removal Training for FDNY Special Operations Command firefighters and officers.As many listeners to this podcast know, fireground commanders rely on the experience and capabilities of rescue companies at complex fires and emergencies. More specifically, incident commanders rely on rescue companies to problem solve at fires where members are in distress or when conditions make members more susceptible to distress. Liam is one of FDNY’s most experienced and respected fireground leaders, and one of the Department’s most fervent advocates for mission-oriented service. Perhaps equally significant, Liam has led the FDNY’s Emerald Society band at several hundred line of duty funerals over the course of the past 25 plus years.

Leadership and Human Performance Under Sea with LCDR Ty Daniels, USNR

The conversation you will hear in this episode was recorded in April 2023 at our National Leadership and Performance Summit, which took place in Annapolis, Maryland. It features LUF Founder Jason Brezler interviewing Ty Daniels, a seasoned US Submarine Officer with extensive insight into leadership and ethical behavior. We hope you enjoy this conversation and others from the Summit, which we plan to share on this podcast.Lieutenant Commander Ty Daniels, USNR, graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Ocean Engineering. Afloat, Ty completed his division officer tour aboard the Los Angeles Class submarine USS JEFFERSON CITY (SSN 759) as the Assistant Engineer and then aboard the ballistic missile submarine USS ALABAMA GOLD (SSB 731) as the Engineer Officer. During his sea tours he completed one Western Pacific deployment and three Strategic Deterrent Patrols. Ashore, Ty served as the Character Development Officer at the United States Naval Academy where he taught leadership and ethics as well as supported submarine engagement initiatives. Ty left active service with the US Navy in September 2022 and currently works for Amazon Web Services. He continues to serve with the US Navy Reserves and is assigned to Submarine Group 8.

Pivoting and Performing in the Face of Adversity with Seankelly McCauley, Philadelphia Fire Department

In this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Humanizing the Narrative Podcast, host Patti Murphy is joined by Philadelphia Firefighter Seankelly McCauley. Sean comes from a family of FDNY firefighters, and it was always assumed that he'd follow in his father and great grandfather’s footsteps by achieving his lifelong dream of joining the FDNY.  
In 2007, Sean proudly took the Department's entrance exam and began preparing for his FDNY career. Despite his enthusiasm to learn the job, physical abilities and willingness to serve the City of New York, Sean’s dreams were derailed in 2010 when a federal judge ruled that the FDNY entrance exam 6019 had a “disparate impact” on minority candidates and was not a true measure of the abilities required for entry-level firefighters. So began years of ligation, and waiting and worrying to see if he’d ever get the chance to serve the FDNY as a Firefighter. 
Eventually, in 2016, Sean made the hard decision to leave New York City and joined the Philadelphia Fire Department where he serves today. In 2022, he was given the opportunity to attend Leadership Under Fire’s Optimizing Human Performance Under Pressure Program with the Cherry Hill NJ Fire Department. Sean remains a student of the job and hopeful about the future of the American fire service. 

Revisiting Risk, Restraint and Resilience in Lethal Environments with James Roussell, USMC (Ret) & Chicago PD (Ret)

The original broadcast date for this episode was June 4, 2020, but the interview you will hear with our guest in this episode was recorded in early 2019 at a Leadership Under Fire Optimizing Human Performance Summit, which took place in Annapolis, Maryland. Jim Roussell, a retired US Marine and Chicago police officer, was one of several summit guests who shared their perspective on navigating adversity and loss in lethal settings. The episode begins with LUF founder Jason Brezler and host Patti Murphy discussing their reflections shortly after the 2019 Summit. 
 
The LUF team will be hosting another Leadership and Human Performance Summit in Annapolis on April 21, 2023. This will be LUF’s first national summit since the arrival of the COVID pandemic in early 2020, the emergence of civil unrest during the summer of 2020, and following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in early 2022. Jim Roussell will again be a featured guest at the 2023 Summit, and we anticipate that he will discuss the ways in which the world has changed in recent years for leaders in high-risk industries. We thought that the insight and encouragement that Jim offered in 2019 might serve as a fitting prequel for those who will be attending the 2023 Summit, and will benefit those who will be hearing conversations from the 2023 Summit in the coming months on the Leadership Under Fire Humanizing the Narrative Podcast.  
 
If you're interested in attending an LUF event, visit leadershipunderfire.com for a list of upcoming events and to join our mailing list.

Rethinking NIOSH LODD Reports from a Human Factors Perspective with Jason Brezler, Jim McNamara and Jerry Smith Jr.

During the summer of 2022, members of the Leadership Under Fire team formed a working group that endeavored to examine NIOSH reports which detail structural firefighting operations that resulted in the line of duty deaths (LODDs) of firefighters and fire officers. The LUF team submitted its findings to NIOSH via the CDC that summer in the form of a paper which succinctly highlights human factors deficiencies in LODD analysis and reporting.  
 
In this episode, host Jim McNamara is joined by two members of the LUF team who were instrumental in leading and organizing the effort – Jason Brezler, LUF’s founder, and Jerry Smith, a member of the Baltimore City Fire Department and LUF plank owner. We hope this conversation will not only provide important insight into the methodology used to generate the team’s findings, but additionally, that the conversation might also illuminate the path ahead for LUF and the greater American fire service with regard to improving the processes that the fire service relies upon to make sense of performance at fires which result in catastrophic death and injury to firefighters and fire officers in the United States.       

Leadership Development: From Fallujah to the Fireground with Jeremy Starr, USMC/Milwaukee FD

Our guest in this episode of the Leadership Under Fire Humanizing the Narrative Podcast is Jeremy Starr. Jeremy enlisted in the Marine Corps in August 2004. Private First Class Starr received orders to 2nd BN 7th MARINES after graduating from recruit training and completing School of Infantry West. He served as gun team leader for 2/7’s Weapons Company 81's platoon for a combat deployment to Fallujah, Iraq in 2005 and 2006. During his tour in Fallujah, Jeremy was Combat Meritoriously promoted to the rank of Corporal. In 2008, Jeremy left active duty and started his fire service career when he joined a paid-on-call department in Sussex, Wisconsin. In November 2009, he was hired by the City of Milwaukee Fire Department. He was initially assigned to Engine Company 32 and transferred to Engine Company 24 and Rescue Company 2 a short time later. Jeremy was promoted to Lieutenant in 2016 and served as a relief officer, the lead cadet instructor for the department’s fire academy, and in field units. He was promoted to the rank of Captain in 2020 and presently serves as the company commander for Engine Company 30. As a Marine, 1st Sgt Starr presently serves with Engineer Services Company, CLB-25. He previously served with US Marine reserve units that include 2nd Battalion, 24th Marines; 3rd Civil Affairs Group in support of the Marine Special Operations Command and held several joint service and multi-national billets. LUF Founder Jason Brezler hosts.