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As a leader throughout high school, my time in emergency services, and most recently my freshman year in college, I get asked all the time, “What is leadership?” I almost always answer what I learned through high school Air Force Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps: it is the “art of influencing and directing people to accomplish the mission/common goal” (Air University). This can be carried out by becoming familiar with the people you work with, guiding those who need guidance, and sometimes getting in the dirt with your followers. Despite my extensive experience in followership and leadership, when asked “what does social justice mean?” I used to draw a blank, only able to guess at what the correct answer, or even what I thought it was. Through research and diverse opportunities to experience social justice itself, I learned that it is equity and open-mindedness in interacting with diverse people groups, with no regard for religion, gender, race, and belief. Social justice can be carried out by exactly that – to open one’s eyes to see through a different perspective, so that one may understand another’s situation and contribute to solutions to societal problems if need be. This best reminds me of what I was taught in the emergency management school: “doing the greatest good for the greatest number.”
There is a relationship between leadership and social justice, and the best way I know how to explain this is using my own experience as a Firefighter, Emergency Medical Technician, and Emergency Manager. A fire engine is used primarily for initial fire attack and rescue, and is generally staffed by four key players: the Driver, the Captain, and two Firefighters.
The Driver is responsible for getting to the emergency, and once there, in charge of his vehicle, pumping water to the hoses used for fire attack, and ensuring members have everything they need to safely battle a blaze. In relation to social justice and leadership, the Drivers are similar to the leaders of organizations whose purpose is to serve their community and create change within their scope. Drivers prepare their members for community service events such as road cleanups or marches, and also assist in the transition from task to task. Fun fact too: many Drivers lead their crew in training drills at their respective station, so it can also be said that Drivers are the teachers within their organization who prepare you to tackle the goal!
The Captain is responsible for overseeing operations, delegating duties, and ensuring the balance between his crew’s safety and the common goal of life safety and property preservation. The analogy made here could be to our public elected officials. Elected officials usually oversee what change the public is asking for, then either creates legislature needed for change or delegates that to another official. Elected officials are also a key player in balancing government agency operations in regards what their tasks are.
The firefighters are, you guessed it, the ones in charge of fighting the fire! However, firefighting throughout the years has become more complex than throwing a bucket of water at a flame. Firefighters are now required to be medical first responders, technical rescuers, hazardous materials technicians, and community relations agents. Firefighters are the members of an organization or the public who literally fight for the common goal. An example could be a member in a social change organization such as the NAACP or a citizen who visits their local government regularly to speak on community issues. Firefighter type players make up most of the population, and often are the driving force of change within the community.
Now here is where everything comes around: the other two of the crew, the Driver and Captain, also used to be the firefighters in the backseat themselves! In order to be a Driver or Captain, the leader must first crawl through hundreds of burning houses (perspectives), before being assigned to step back and look at the bigger picture. This analogy then proves that in order to be an effective leader who seeks social justice for a group of people or even themselves, one must first see through many different lenses and understand what members of society and their members are going though.
In conclusion, the relationship between leadership and social justice is complex, yet simple. Leadership and members must have clear roles, responsibilities, and communication, especially about the common goal there are trying to accomplish – just like Firefighters, Drivers, and Captains are doing on a fire ground. Leadership must also have an open mind and be able to see through different perspectives on a vast variety of issues. In the words of Captain Seth Barker of the Big Sky Fire Department in Montana, you have to have “brilliance in the basics” to effectively accomplish the goal.
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Source by Daniel C Tizon