We recently had a great workshop hosted by Clackamas Fire Dept. #1. Thank you to Carrie Szabo and her crew for all their work to make it a powerful and enjoyable learning experience for all of us.
Here is a brief summary of our sessions:
The leadership session emphasized the traits of effective leaders: the need to be responsible and accountable, mistakes and errors to avoid, to seek wise counsel, and to be transparent. Leadership is influence, which makes all of us leaders as we influence others every day.
An interactive session on Harassment Policies stressed the importance of having this policy in place, what should be included in it, and the definitions and types of harassment. Everyone was reminded to always show and expect respect, and how to look at behaviors and respond appropriately.
After lunch we got a hands-on look at the sugars and fat we ingest when eating certain foods (specifically, fast foods), how to make alternative and better nutritional choices, and that healthy eating takes planning. We reviewed the outstanding wellness program that Clackamas Fire offers their personnel. We learned about the importance of good posture (the 3 curves that keep our spine strong) and other ways to prevent back injuries.
Everyone enjoyed the Workplace Violence role playing on Thursday afternoon. Although initially apprehensive, we all shared and learned a lot from our presenters and each other about handling possible violent or volatile situations that may arise in the workplace. Different scenarios included a disgruntled employee that was recently let go, an unhappy citizen, a walk-in medical emergency with anxious relatives to deal with, and a wife fleeing an abusive husband and saw the fire station as a safe haven.
The workshop wrapped up on Friday morning with a presentation on Communication in the Workplace. We learned that effective communication is a life-long process that takes practice; that the best communication skill is listening – listening without thinking about what you plan to say or how you plan to respond – listening with focused attention on the speaker – listening with desire to understand and to learn.
We also enjoyed some special gifts from our hosts for Administrative Professionals Day and took some time to network and meet our newest members.
Thank you again to all of our presenters and to our Workshop and Education committee members.
WELL DONE!
~ submitted by Rhonda Grant, President
