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LEADERSHIP BEST PRACTICES 1-800-752-8786 www.plcustom.com Simply the best Simply put, PL Custom designs and manufactures the best ambulances on the market. We have built our reputation on the reliability, durability, and safety of our vehicles. It's a difference you see the moment you step inside and once you've worked in a PL, you'll never want anything else. PL Custom has been serving the fre and EMS industry with customized vehicle solutions for 67 years. As a privately owned company, we answer to our customers, not stockholders and we will exceed your expectations. Let us show you how. Simply the best For More Information Circle 43 on Reader Service Card Team members, however, must be provided with an explanation of why these rules exist and proper training on how to carry them out. EMS managers must understand that they bear the responsibility for how things work or don't within an organization. Leaders must ensure that their expectations are reasonable and effectively communi- cated. As a practical matter they must also ensure it is possible to follow the rules that are created. Failure to expend effort on well-constructed, reasonable and easy-to-follow rules will not go unnoticed and will cause teams to become resistant and dysfunctional. For example, it is always a danger sign to fnd an organization that requires its employees to sign for a 300-page policy or protocol manual without an extensive orientation and/ or feld-training program. Even more concerning are organizations without established policies or procedures that expect new members to simply fgure things out based on informal or nonexistent orientation programs and traditions. Volunteer organiza- tions are particularly at risk for these scenarios based on the limited time and resources available to members and leaders. Ideally members of the organization, practitioners and leaders alike, should be held accountable for their portion of any particular error. This account- ability should lead to a collective desire to understand and correct the causes of the mistake. This desire, however, can be easily stifed if the fear of punishment replaces the curiosity and trust needed to be critical of individual and team performance. As you can see from this overview, accountability is a complex topic made up of individual responsibility, effective and enlightened leadership, and organi - zational culture. At the end of the day, a healthy EMS organization will leverage the professionalism of its team members and the fairness of its leadership to learn from its mistakes, improve its processes and continuously strive for excellence. The best way to start down this path is to model accountable behavior, be answerable to external authority and manage in a responsible, equitable and just manner. Tools to accomplish this include effective screening of employees and leaders, accountable governance structures, high-quality orientation programs and the use of Just Culture methodologies. Sean Caffrey, MBA, CEMSO, NRP, is a 25-year EMS professional currently managing the Colorado EMS for Children Program. He also serves as a board member of the National EMS Management Association and remains active part-time as a paramedic in Grand County, CO. EMSWORLD.com | APRIL 2014 25 EMS_24-25_LeaderBP0414.indd 25 3/13/14 2:34 PM