Leadership in the Line of Fire

Over this last summer I stepped away from my Infrastructure Consulting work with @aurecon to help battle the bushfires that raged across the east coast of Australia. Over several deployments, my fellow Volunteer Bushfire Fighters and I saw conditions and fire activity like we'd never seen before. The fire situations became more and more demanding and extreme. In this video I describe one of those deployments to Bells Line of Road in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney on a catastrophic fire danger day. I reflect on the experience of that day through the importance of team work and decisive leadership. Whether one is facing an out-of-control bushfire or a seemingly impossible deadline, then strong, focused, visible leadership will inspire collaborative teamwork in any situation thereby delivering positive results.

Another aspect that became obvious during this last summer was the depth of community spirit and resilience in Australia. Other countries envy our volunteering culture thanks to companies like @aurecon who empower their workers to volunteer selflessly for others. Every time I returned to work I received overwhelming gratitude from my fellow workers, who were empathetic to the impact of the bushfires on our communities, even though they themselves were not directly or personally affected.

No doubt we will be better prepared for the next catastrophic fire season due to our ongoing collaborative approach to rebuilding from this past devastation.