Liability Versus Leadership

Being a leader has always been a difficult challenge. However, being a leader in today’s world is complicated by a myriad of sociological and legal factors. Fire service leaders are no exception.

At one time our leaders were held in high regard, and their decisions were granted a considerable degree of deference by the average person. Fortunately or unfortunately, that is no longer the case. On the contrary, leaders in all walks of life are constantly under attack by those who disagree or are negatively affected by the inevitable decisions that leaders must make. It could be the president of the local Little League, the principal of the local school, the chief of the local fire department, or even the president of the local firefighter’s union or volunteer fire company - someone will not like a decision that is made, and will choose to react by making some sort of an attack. Sometimes these attacks take the form of personal attacks, political attacks, or attempts to garner opposition through putting a certain “spin” on a story. Other times these attacks come in the form of a law suit or legal challenge.

Leaders can become paralyzed by concerns over the legal consequences of their decisions. At the same time leaders can ill afford to blunder into a poor decision with negative legal consequences simply because they did not understand the legal issues involved.

As a result, legal considerations have become important factors in the every day decisions that leaders must make. Leaders in all walks of life need to be knowledgeable about the law in order to lead their organizations effectively. Some leaders believe that legal concerns can be addressed simply by obtaining legal advice from an attorney. No doubt, access to good legal advice is an important part of modern leadership. However, reliance upon legal counsel is not a substitute for leadership. Leaders must understand the proper role of an attorney, and then be capable of incorporating the attorney’s advice into their decision making.