I meet Kevin Body at my department’s Strategic Planning process. From my first interaction with Chief Body, I knew he had a unique insight into how an organization builds towards specific goals and objectives to build success for the future. Listening to Chief’s Body’s wisdom, I knew he would be a tremendous mentor to work with. On our last day of the Strategic planning process, I asked Chief Body if he would mentor me to become a better leader and prepare me to test for the rank of Lieutenant. He agreed and we started the mentorship process right away. We worked every week for six months for me to obtain a promotion to Lieutenant. Kevin started assigning me assignments to identify who I was as a leader and man. He had me recognize the importance of creating my Mission, Vision, and Values and how it helps with being an effective leader and making sound decisions at work and in life.
For the mentorship process to be effective as possible, Kevin had to know who I was to my core for me to reach my potential. He has a transparent and organized way of getting the most out of the people he works with. Kevin does anything and everything in his power for his peers to reach their goals. I became successful in my promotion by digging deep into the man I knew I was and the leader I wanted to become. Some examples that Kevin did was for me to identify what I believe a leader is. We would have conversations from my past and present leadership experiences for me to expand on being an effective leader. I would be given more assignments on how I would lead my team. We would then have deep conversations to ensure my leadership styles were working. This was an ongoing process. I would implement his strategies into my work environment. Then I would give Kevin feedback on what was and wasn’t working, and then we would explore different avenues for my leadership to be more effective. Through the consistent feedback that took place, I saw tremendous growth in myself as a leader. One of Kevin's most effective tactics was for me to pick seven coworkers to perform a 360 survey of myself to improve on my weakness. Kevin then emailed those individuals. Kevin came up with specific questions for those coworkers to answer to give honest feedback on how I could improve. From there, Kevin and I would discuss different scenarios using my weaknesses for me to improve and recognize how to become more successful in my career. Kevin’s attention to detail is outstanding. One of Kevin’s biggest strengths is his active listening skills and in-depth conversations about his life experiences and how other successful people in the fire world and business world became successful. This allowed me to see how others were successful in their different professions. Kevin was also an outstanding counselor. With work troubles and in my personal life. This, in turn, allowed me to look within myself to become a better friend, family member, and coworker. I would also share with Kevin how station life was going and how to improve that aspect of the job. Station life is essential for fire service success. Because successful station life spills over into the fire ground. We consistently worked on that aspect of my mentorship process. Which directly impacted the crew and the leadership process. We would find ways to empower crew members to create a culture of buy-in and growth.
Once we identified my core values and leadership styles, the real work began. It was time to test prep. We started practicing my oral resume and oral board questions. Kevin would give specific instructions and examples on how to be the best interviewer I could be. Kevin used his own past experiences for my prep. Kevin has thirty-plus years in the fire service. Kevin’s life experiences are unmatched. When I would answer an interview question, Kevin would give honest feedback for me to improve. Then Kevin would detail how to make my answer more effective. Kevin would then relate the question to the real world, and we would role-play. This was so effective for understanding the value of the questions and the answers. In turn, I would know how it correlates to the Lieutenant position. Kevin’s main goal for practical interviewing skills is to see how one’s training, education, and experiences relate to the job you’re applying for.
The next phase of test prep was fire-based scenarios. This enhanced my knowledge on the fire ground. We would take pictures from previous fires around the country and go over strategy and tactics using the three-deep model of Blue Card. Kevin would go in-depth in building construction, life safety, Incident stabilization, and property conservation. This wasn’t just test prep for me to obtain the position of Lieutenant. It also improved my knowledge of the fire service. We also went over scenarios for MCI and Hazmat incidents. So, I was increasing my knowledge and command presence for the fire officer position. I also would share calls and training I did with my crew while on duty with Kevin. We would dissect the calls and training so continuing growth would occur within the crew and me. We then attacked what it is to be a servant leader within the crew, community, and fire department. I would share past life experiences of servant leadership and how I was already a servant leader within my department. Kevin came up with questions and scenarios so I would understand how to continue improving as a servant leader and how to build community equality that creates a successful fire department. These are just some tactics Kevin did for me to grow in my position and for test prep.
I tested for the position of Lieutenant with my department in September 2022. I ended up getting promoted to Lieutenant. Suppose I would never meet Kevin Body. I wouldn’t have been promoted. Kevin’s insight into life, leadership, building crew dynamics, fire ground strategies, and tactics is unmeasurable. The number one attribute Kevin has is his way of bringing out what’s already inside of you and how we individuals have what it takes to succeed. Kevin’s in-depth mentorship process involves goal setting, leadership dynamics, culture building, accountability, and perspective. Working with Kevin will set anyone up for success. Kevin not only works with firefighters and fire departments but also with people from all walks of life. I highly recommend anyone to use Kevin’s knowledge and life experiences to grow people toward their goals. I’m glad I can call Chief Body a mentor, coach, friend, and brother from another mother.
