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LEADERSHIP BEST PRACTICES began to move toward social rights and equality, rather than just personal wealth. Ironically, this is the time period in which modern EMS was born. In this time of sweeping change the old leadership styles simply did not work. The situation theory was developed for executives to handle each new situation differently and appro- priately based on the level of job experi- ence and psychological maturity of the worker. A second contingency theory was developed which further stated that it's not employee maturity that makes a difference, but the executives' skills at leadership. This is where it was fi rst suggested that the boss is not the only leader and different leaders may be better suited to handle diverse situa- tions. These theories may correlate to why EMS systems are so diverse today. Moving from Management to Leadership All these theories can be polarized with transactional leadership on one end of the continuum and transforma- tional leadership on the other. Trans- actional leadership exchanges rewards for compliance and is often considered "management." It focuses on the here and now. You may have heard a super- visor say, "That's what I pay you for!" The opposite is transformational leadership. It is a collaborative decision-making process used to bring individuals together for the good of the organization long into the future. This style takes great leadership, motivation skills, employee empower- ment and vision. The next step of trans- formational leadership is servant leader- ship, which was highlighted in the May 2011 Leadership Best Practices column, "What's a Leader to Do?" Servant leadership focuses entirely on meeting the needs of others. While most EMS agencies and companies subscribe to the transfor- mational leadership theory, only 5% of EMS organizations fulfi ll their vision.2 Could it be that EMS leaders are still using old styles of leadership? If so, why? Research has shown that engaging and empowering your workforce is better for the employees, the organization, society and the leader. It is time to take off the crown and put away the scepter before your organization follows the path of previous kings and countries that no longer exist. REFERENCES 1. Stone GA, Patterson K. The History of Leadership Focus. School of Leadership Studies, Regent University. www.regent.edu/acad/global/publications/ sl_proceedings/2005/stone_history.pdf. 2. Evans BE, Dyar JT. Management of EMS. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson, 2010. Troy M. Hagen, MBA, EMT-P, is director of Ada County Paramedics in Boise, ID. He has more than 22 years of EMS experience, is president-elect of the National EMS Management Association and is a member of the EMS World editorial advisory board. EMERGENCY MEDICAL SCIENCE ONLINE DEGREE PROGRAM E ARN YOUR DEGREE ONLINE 6WDWH DQG 1DWLRQDO 3DUDPHGLFV HDUQ XS WR FUHGLWV WRZDUG DQ (PHUJHQF\ 0HGLFDO 6FLHQFH 'HJUHH IRU \RXU FXUUHQW FHUWL¿FDWLRQ 'HJUHH FODVVHV IRU FHUWL¿HG SDUDPHGLFV WRWDOO\ RQOLQH QR RQVLWH UHTXLUHPHQWV UHJLVWUDWLRQ DQG DGPLQLVWUDWLRQ FRPSOHWHG E\ SKRQH ID[ RU HPDLO 'HJUHH SURJUDP LV GHVLJQHG IRU GHPDQGLQJ (06 ZRUN VFKHGXOHV &RPSOHWH; WKH GHJUHH DW \RXU RZQ SDFH PARAMEDIC CERTIFICATION ONLINE (HYBRID PROGRAM) 7KLV +\EULG 3URJUDP LV RIIHUHG WR LQGLYLGXDOV ZLWKRXW DQ\ (06 WUDLQLQJ $OVR DYDLODEOH IRU FXUUHQW EDVLF RU DGYDQFHG (07V VHHNLQJ 3DUDPHGLF FHUWL¿FDWLRQ 3URJUDP RIIHUHG WKURXJK /&& &RQWLQXLQJ; (GXFDWLRQ 'HSDUWPHQW 2QO\ IRXU RQ VLWH YLVLWV IRU VNLOOV WUDLQLQJ DQG HYDOXDWLRQV DOO FODVVZRUN GRQH RQOLQH 7XLWLRQ LV RQO\ &RQWDFW; D SURJUDP VSHFLDOLVW DW H[W +Z\ 6RXWK .LQVWRQ 1& ZZZ OHQRLUFF HGX For More Information Circle 23 on Reader Service Card EMSWORLD.com | FEBRUARY 2012 25