Four Secrets to Habit Change in the Firehouse

Behavioral health in the fire service can seem overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. The entire topic can be boiled down to one critical skill: habit change.

Upgrading our habits is the key to successfully being well and staying well.

As a fire service leader, you have the power to drive meaningful change by focusing on motivating your crew to make different choices that add up to the outcomes you’re looking to achieve. With the right strategies, you can easily promote well-being over disfunction with a few small adjustments.

In the book Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard by Chip & Dan Heath, several practical tips are outlined that can help you do just that. Here are our favorite four maneuvers:

1. Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
   Look to other departments or organizations that are already achieving positive results with their wellness initiatives. Find out what has worked for them and replicate their process. Most leaders are open to sharing what they’ve learned, allowing you to avoid unnecessary trial and error.

2. Identify 1-2 Key Moves
   Rather than trying to address everything at once, focus on 1-2 specific behaviors that will have the most impact. Encourage them and them only through repetitive messaging and positive reinforcement. Don’t underestimate the impact of one group changing one habit en masse. Often this is all it takes to see lasting and noticeable results.

3. Highlight the Destination
   To inspire lasting change, your crew needs to understand why you’re collectively setting sail to a new goal. Paint a compelling picture of a healthier, more resilient department and emphasize the long-term benefits of improved wellness. Trigger as much emotion as possible. When everyone sees the value of arriving at the destination, they’ll be more motivated to be part of the transformation and less likely to get left behind.

4. Adjust Your Environment
   Behavior often changes naturally when the environment is aligned with the desired outcome. Whether it's removing barriers or introducing new practices, shape your environment to encourage the desired behaviors. Just as the removal of coin-operated telephones got us all on board with using our cell phones, a well-structured environment can make the change process a no-brainer.

Try one or more of these strategies to get buy-in from your crews and make the path to operational success an inspiring and clear one.

If you’re ready to take action and improve your department’s behavioral health, let’s talk. Our mental mapping process leverages these strategies to effectively train your department to self-rescue and choose mindfulness over drama and trauma. Book a free consultation call today to discuss your game plan.