Sarah J McCrea-Dameron

Every End is a New Beginning

http://www.newfieldasia.com/3-signs-its-time-for-a-new-beginning-by-terrie-lupberger-mcc/

These past few years have been especially challenging for me, professionally and academically. Three years ago, I decided I needed to better prepare myself for the professional pathway I had begun and started to pursue a Master’s in Business Administration. The first year of the journey to MBA involved studying for and taking the GMAT, then applying to programs. Ultimately, I chose the University of Nevada, Reno’s Online Executive Master’s in Business Administration for the following reasons (in no particular order):

  1. Nationally ranked online MBA program by US News
  2. Nevada school, wanted to support the State that raised me and has provided me with opportunity and an excellent quality of life
  3. Online, offering flexibility in my full-time life of work and family
  4. Cohort, expectation to stay with my cohort and graduate in two years
  5. Curriculum, Executive MBA
  6. Faculty

I chose the MBA over other degrees such as a Master’s in Public Health or Public Administration or Nursing Education because I thought the MBA would provide me with the information, education, and training I needed to be competent in my new role as a member of the executive staff. My days were now filled with strategic planning, budgeting, and project management and I needed to be good at it. Also, the MBA is applicable across industry and would provide professional flexibility in the years to come. Finally, my husband and son are very entrepreneurial and I figured this would be a great way to support their efforts in the future.

The timing wasn’t awesome though perfect as I was concurrently promoted, absorbed additional divisions of responsibility, and implemented a new high-profile program. But, then again, nothing makes me more productive than having too much to do.

Two years, many sleepless nights, forgone vacations, and financial management tutoring sessions later, I have graduated, just as my oldest graduated from high school and began their college career. Here I stand, with a new degree and the associated training and education in hand, ready for the next chapter, proud of the progress made on the challenging road behind me and excited about the challenges before me.

Sarah J McCrea-Dameron

Choose the Hard Way to Breathe Easy

photo credit: https://from2005toeternity.wordpress.com/

Let’s face it, life is hard…if you’re living it right. The Austrian poet and novelist Rainer Maria Rilke said, “The easy path leads to the hard life, but the hard path leads to the easy life”. This has been my experience, most certainly. Seldom, if ever, has greatness come from any easy decision or easy chore in my life. Those things that mean the most to me and that have proven to be the most rewarding have taken great sacrifice and perseverance to achieve.

For example, getting into the fire service is no easy task but worth every minute of effort, I promise. Many fire departments are seeking candidates that have their EMT certification and fire science degrees. Better yet are the candidates that have survived a firefighter academy and have experience in first response either as an EMT or volunteer/wildland firefighter. This means that many of our candidates have already dedicated years of their lives to becoming a firefighter, in the hopes of being given the chance to go through our fire academy. It’s still no guarantee, but it’ll be worth it in the end.

The fire academy is no easy task, but worth every ounce of the blood, sweat, and tears sure to be lost during the experience. Ours is a twenty-two-week academy during which the recruit earns their state firefighter, hazardous material awareness, and advanced EMT certifications. They also learn about our values and culture, our strategies and tactics, and prove themselves time and again both mentally and physically. Twenty-two weeks of grueling tests and evaluations with the lingering and impending thought of potential failure and termination at every turn. It’s tough, but it’ll be worth it in the end.

Being a firefighter is no easy task, but worth every holiday away from family, every lost night of sleep, every sore back and stiff knee, every life lost for the chance to save another. It’s a career with purpose and honor, comradery and teamwork. It’s not easy to not only experience death and destruction, but to also be expected to stop the loss, save all viable life, and prevent any further injury or damage from happening, all within minutes. Firefighters are professional problem solvers and the pressure to always know what to do in every situation is enormous, especially because so much usually at stake. But it’s worth it in the end.

Being an administrator of a fire service agency is harder than I ever imagined it would be. As a firefighter, my focus was on the community and my crew. As an administrator, it is the community and the entire department, all divisions. With limited funding, aged resources, and political tensions, most days are littered with “no’s” and “not right now’s”, which are far better than the “never’s” and “what are you thinking’s”. It brings me great joy to know that my job is to serve the community through the hands and hearts of firefighters. Through it all, even though it has only gotten harder, it’s worth it.

The hard path has made my life easy, filled with purpose, pride, family, and security. And for that I am grateful, as I breathe easy.

Sarah J McCrea-Dameron

Lawnmower Leadership

https://gigazine.net/gsc_news/en/20181006-lawnmower-parent

I recently attended a new student orientation program at the college that my oldest child will be attending this fall. I was impressed with the event, specifically the portion during which they separated the parents from the students. While the students were touring with breakout groups specific to their majors, they provided parent-specific material and expectations.

Sitting there in the lecture hall with other parents going through a similar experience, many of us sending a child off to college for the first time, I listened to the professor describe what to expect in the coming months. There was a portion of the programming during which they encouraged us to reflect on our parenting styles, the examples provided were helicopter and lawnmower parenting. I had heard of helicopter parenting and was sure I hadn’t parented in that style, but lawnmower parenting? I hadn’t heard of it, and instantly became fearful I might have done just that.

Picture this, there’s a large area with high grass, a parent pushing a lawnmower, a child walking easily behind them in the neatly mowed grass path. The parent is doing all of the work, the child walks carelessly and effortlessly along. In a state of personal reflection, I acknowledge that as a parent and leader, I intentionally remove obstacles and attempt to set my children and subordinates up for success. A fellow team member on the executive staff with a similar leadership style likens himself to a bulldozer, leading his team down the road and removing obstacles along the way. What could possibly be wrong with this style? Isn’t this just advocacy and support? Isn’t that what I’m supposed to be doing?

Apparently not. Apparently, people are supposed to struggle a little. They have to experience hardship and challenges, failures and setbacks. It’s in those moments that they learn how to cope and overcome. They learn about innovation and perseverance. They might fall down, stumble, toss about, but they get up stronger. And most importantly, they learn how to get up and try again. We hear this all of the time, as individuals. Don’t give up! Try again! Believe in yourself! How do we practice this in leadership?

I asked my children if I was in-fact a lawnmower parent and they proceeded to laugh and say no. I pressed them a little, “then what kind of parent am I?”. They thought for a moment and then my son said, “maybe a weed-wacker”. He explained, “you get the big stuff out of the way and we know you are there for us, but you make us do most of it ourselves”. I’ll take that, while also making sure I am giving people ample opportunity to clear their own paths to success and personal growth.