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The fire service, like many professions, faces increasingly complex challenges. From navigating modern fireground tactics to managing community expectations and addressing organizational dynamics, it’s no longer enough to rely solely on traditional solutions. Problem solving is no longer just about a quick fix, it’s about taking a deeper dive into understanding the root cause of challenges and crafting sustainable solutions.
As a leader within the federal domain, my leadership and management acumen has been influenced through military concepts and processes. The Army Design Methodology (ADM) offers leaders an interdisciplinary approach to tackling complex problems by emphasizing critical thinking, collaboration, and a thorough understanding of your operational environment. ADM entails framing an operational environment, framing problems, and developing an operational approach to solve or manage identified problems. The effectiveness of ADM hinges on strong leader acumen, providing valuable lessons for leaders in any organization striving for clarity and positive outcomes.
ADM KEY CONCEPTS
Operational art
Critical thinking
Creative thinking
Systems thinking
Collaboration
Framing
Narrative construction
Visual modeling
ADM KEY STEPS
At its core, ADM begins with defining the problem by exploring the current and desired end state of a situation. Confident leaders ensure their teams take the time to thoroughly understand the challenges they face, rather than jumping to conclusions. For example, an organization struggling with low morale might be tempted to introduce surface level solutions, like new incentives or policies. However, applying ADM, leaders explore deeper to analyze the root causes for the issue by asking - Is there a lack of communication? Do our employees feel disconnected from leadership? Are workloads unrealistic?
ADM helps leaders overcome the traps of randomness, or the absence of knowledge, through the meticulous process of framing. Leaders delve into the underlying systems, behaviors, and dynamics that contribute to the challenges. Without a leader who can foster trust and create an environment of openness, this exploration of the problem’s context can be rushed or deemed a failure from the start. ADM challenges a leader’s ability to frame the right questions, challenge assumptions, and encourage team collaboration to view the issues from multiple angles.
ADM’s collaborative and dialogue-driven approach bring together diverse voices, embrace differing perspectives, and unify stakeholders around a shared purpose. Whether addressing recruitment challenges, developing new standard operating procedures, or improving organizational training efficiency, engaged leaders facilitate discussions that include personnel from all ranks and/or levels of the organization. This collaborative effort ensures solutions are well-informed and resonate with the people they’re designed to serve. The absence of strong leadership can make this collaborative process lose focus, stalling out progress, and creating a cycle of debate without action.
ADM needs adaptive leaders throughout the process. No plan survives first contact with reality, ADM teaches leaders to embrace this reality by encouraging iterative planning and developing strategies that can be adjusted as conditions evolve. For instance, an organization rolling out a new training initiative might start with a pilot program, collect feedback from participants, and adjust the program as needed. Forward thinking leaders guide their teams through this process, ensuring that adjustments are seen as opportunities to improve, not as failures. In the ever-changing landscape of reality, adaptability is essential to staying effective and relevant.
ADM is a powerful framework for navigating complexity, but it cannot execute itself. If you didn’t notice, leadership is the linchpin to bringing this methodology to life. In an ever-changing chaotic work environment, we must commit to being a lifelong student of progressing our leadership acumen. Hopefully this “framed” an operational need within your leadership portfolio and influenced you to take the next step in developing your leadership journey no matter what “problem solving” methodology you feel will upright your organization.
Wes Hill
Fire Chief – Fort Riley Fire & Emergency Services
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