This post is number three of four based on a conversation I had with a fire department company officer when he shared with me that one of his younger firefighters asked, “Why do I have to clean the toilets?” His response was, “Because I’m the lieutenant and I told you to.”
If you have read the last two posts, then you know I referred to Tim Elmore’s book, A New Kind of Diversity, (no it is not DEI) where he describes Gen Z as individuals born between 2001 and 2015 who may possess elastic ethics and are not sure they need authority.
As a member of the John Maxwell Certified Leadership Team, I had the opportunity to share this lieutenant’s experience with Dr. Elmore during a weekly team mentorship call and asked if he had any tips on how to manage this young firefighter’s response. Dr. Elmore shared an acronym that he created called ALEG: Asking, Listening, Empathizing, and Guiding.
In this post we will look at the ‘E’ for empathizing which can make the other person feel understood. If I had a young firefighter ask me, “Why do I have to clean the toilets,” I would ask a question, listen to the answer, and my response would be, “I don’t blame you. I’ve cleaned a lot of them in the military, in the fire department, and I still do it at home. But they need to be cleaned for health and sanitary reasons. After all, would you want your grandmother to visit the station and use a toilet that hasn’t been cleaned in a week?” Of course, any sane and reasonable firefighter wants granny to have access to a clean commode.
Empathy can go a long way in forming bonds and creating camaraderie. Plus, it shows the young firefighter that the company officer has been in the same position and knows what it is like to clean a firehouse crapper that has been blasted by someone after three bowls of chili.
Next week we will conclude this series and look at the ‘G’ in the acronym: guiding.
