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In this installment of Chief Insights, we feature Skip Stephens, chief executive, St. Charles County Ambulance District, St Peters, Missouri.
|More: Chief Insights: Inspiring excellence and earning trust
What was the incident or person in your career that put you on the path to becoming a chief?
On a particularly frustrating day while working for Owensville Area Ambulance District as a new and very young EMT, I was razzed and insulted by one of the senior paramedics. In a condescending manner, he attempted to make me feel stupid and invaluable.
The district administrator, Karen Arnold, took me to the side and said, 鈥淪kip, don鈥檛 worry about him. One day, you will be a chief and telling everyone what to do. You鈥檙e smart, you鈥檙e going to school and you are doing all of the right things.鈥� Her encouraging words and faith in me at such a young age helped get me through that day and propel me forward with a new-found confidence.
The bigger leadership lesson is that, as a leader, your own spoken words on any given day can seem insignificant to you, but can leave an indelible impact on those around you, especially our younger professionals. Karen is still doing a great job of leading the team at OAA!
What鈥檚 something you want to accomplish in your first year as chief?
In my first year, I hope to learn about what it鈥檚 like to work as a SCCAD paramedic.
What challenges and difficulties do they have on a day-to-day basis?
What barriers lie in the way of our paramedics feeling inspired to show up every day to be the best they can be for their patients, coworkers and organization as a whole?
What do they enjoy most about their job?
What does success look like, in their eyes, and how can I best help achieve that?
How will you create an organizational culture that people want to be a part of, to join and to stay?
Connection is the key. For all employees, I want to drive connection between themselves and their coworkers, including their bosses, their subordinates and their peers. I also want to help everyone feel a stronger connection between the work that they put in, which includes preparation, training and readiness (physical, emotional and skill) and the impact that their work has on patient, organizational and community outcomes.
How are you going to support and stand up for your personnel, internally and externally, to show that you care about them as a person and a professional?
I will show support and stand up for our personnel in a multitude of ways. They will soon come to understand that I am their biggest advocate. There is nothing I want more than for each and every one of our people to be successful and enjoy a rewarding career.
As the chief executive, I will be focused on working with elected and other public officials to avoid any harmful public policy that could interfere with our paramedics鈥� ability to perform their best for our community. From an internal perspective, I will be ensuring that our culture continues to provide a strong culture of support and inclusivity for everyone.
Finally, accountability plays a role. Sometimes the best support is holding someone accountable to their own values and standards to make sure they are being the best version of themselves.
How do you demonstrate servant leadership?
The classic answer to this question is, 鈥渁s the chief, I am not afraid to mop the floors,鈥� but I don鈥檛 think role confusion is helpful. I demonstrate servant leadership by showing everyone that the organizational chart is not a hierarchy of who鈥檚 鈥渂etter than鈥� or more important than who.
I demonstrate on a daily basis that everyone鈥檚 role is important and that everyone brings value. I do this by taking time to speak to people and to build relationships that transcend the executive suite. Servant Leadership, to me, is about making people feel valued and seen.
Leadership lightning round
- What is a leadership book, podcast or seminar you鈥檝e found invaluable?
- If you knew the budget request would be approved, what鈥檚 a big purchase you鈥檇 make for your department today? A defined benefit retirement plan
- How do you recharge/improve your resiliency? Exercise always helps me feel like a more resilient and inspired version of myself!
