Truths about First Responder Chaplaincy: Trust and Integrity are Everything
Truth #5 about First Responder Chaplaincy: Trust and Integrity are Everything [1]
If you lose your integrity and the ability to be trusted, you lose your effectiveness to be a first responder chaplain
INTEGRITY and TRUST in First Responder Chaplains has five components:
Authenticity
the ability to be who you are on duty in uniform and off duty out of uniform.??Do you project to others exactly who you are????People pickup on when whether it’s your true self, or an act.??To be authentic is to be real; to know who and what you are; and understand that you internally know yourself and that is reflected by your actions.???Mother Teresa was authentic. She was honest with everyone. She was trusted by everyone. She had Integrity (congruence in her authentic self and what others saw). She was humble (she never sought out the spotlight). How do we know? She knew her purpose in life, she always love unconditionally everyone and she never judged..
Credibility
This goes to person others' view you.?Do your words line up with your actions???Do others see you a person with a purpose.?People can see your true intentions even when you think you are hiding them.???Credibility is being genuine. It means you follow the seal of confession. It means you do not try to be “one of the first responders”. You are not.??Credibility means you are a friend to all regardless of their beliefs, culture, ethnic origin. In other words, you treat everyone (First Responders, Survivors, a Gang to whom you make a Death Notification) as equally without judgment of who they are because we are all of one race - the human race.??If First Responders see you are equal in how you perform your duty without judgment and?with unconditional love for all (whether a First Responder, Dispatcher, one of their family members or a Gang member) - you have credibility - they see WHO YOU ARE (What they see is what they get) because you treat all with unconditional love, compassion, and kindness.?
Reliability
Being a First Responder Chaplain is being always available; sometime who on duty; sometimes when off duty.??Do you ALWAYS show up when dispatch deploys you to a scene? Do you always perform the work of a first responder chaplain when on scene (like taking care of emotional survivors) so first responders can do their job? Do you show up regularly at the fire house, roll calls, or shift changes??99% of a First Responder Chaplain is showing up, being present, and actively listening - bringing the sacred into the mundane.?Sometimes your presence alone reminds first responders of their oath to serve and protect ALL in need. The key is showing up when deployed or and being present at every opportunity you have with the first responders, dispatchers, their families as well as civilian employees of the agency.??For example, do you answer the 03:00 phone call from Firefighter Pam and?go to the hospital to simply sit with her because her husband had a heart attack? She didn’t call dispatch and ask for a chaplain - she called you.??Reliability is getting up and going because a first responder needs YOUR presence - brings her comfort.??Reliability is always showing up.
Dependability
This is different than reliability.??In world of mathematical statistics, data must be both reliable and valid.??This means that data can be reliable (producing the same results consistently, but is not based on the valid assumptions).??In First Responder Chaplaincy you can be reliable (always showing up) but not genuine. If you do not perform the role of a first responder chaplain every time you show up (i.e.??understanding and respecting chain of command; understanding you are a civilian; understanding you act when Crisis Intervention is required and not “prayer”; respecting scene protocols and procedures), then your reliability is called into question by commanders, supervisors, and first responders. You can be reliable (always showing up), but for the wrong reason (to be in the limelight; to be seen wearing "chaplain" on your shirt or jacket; or to be an "insider". To be dependable means you show up because you care about the first responders and how you can assist them either individually or because they need your help with a family who are survivors of a victim of homicide, suicide, traffic fatality, or you make a death notification compassionately.
Consistency
Every time you attend a roll call, visit a fire house, attend an event, and especially when deployed to a scene, you follow your First Responder chaplaincy training, agency's general orders and protocols. When working with survivors of a homicide, Suicide, traffic fatality or making a death notification, do the First Responders know you will do job consistently, compassionately every time the same way every time????Though every scene is different, to you approach every scene in a methodical consistent manner? Always do a 60 second assessment when arriving on scene to see the greatest need???Always ask permission before entering a scene and speak with the incident commander for the scene? Always request the same information you need to perform the task the first responder needs.??Do you end your information gather from the Incident Commander with “where do you need me most?”? Consistency is the ability for first responders to know what to expect from you whether visiting them at roll call, fire house, shift change or ride along? Consistency means regardless of the chaplain on call, they always follow the same procedure and format so first responders, regardless of the chaplain, know what to expect??Do you treat everyone the same regardless of rank, color, cultural or religious differences???Do you exude unconditional love while following your protocols, procedures, etc.? Consistency is not just a individual quality - it is the core quality of an effective chaplain team.
If you lose your reputation because you have lost your integrity and lost the trust of First Responders, you lose your effectiveness to be a first responder chaplain, and ultimately lose the ability to be a First Responder Chaplain.
In her article “Integrity is Everything” [2], Brigette Hyacinth [3] lists seven deal-breaking behaviors which cause you to lose trust of others and destroys your integrity.??
This especially applies to First Responder Chaplains.??Everyone a First Responder Chaplan interacts (on or off duty) including your fellow Chaplains. Borrowing 99% from Ms. Hyacinth, here are 7 behaviors which will definitely result loss of your trust and your integrity as a First Responder Chaplain:
1. Taking credit for someone’s work.
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2. Blaming others and not standing up for y8our [Chaplain or First Responder] team.
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3. False promises to get someone to do something.
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4. Favoritism and being unfair.
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5. Downplaying… [others]…accomplishments to make oneself look better.
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6. Not appreciating loyalty, hard-work and efforts of others.
7. Treating others poorly – not showing respect or empathy, micromanaging… [others]… , not trusting them to do their job.[4]
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Endnotes?
[1] Integrity implies trust, but trust does not always imply integrity. Therefore I have chosen to use "Trust and Integrity is everything" rather than "Integrity is Everything"
[2]??Hyacinth, Bridgette, “Integrity is Everything”, Nov 20, 2020,?https://brigettehyacinth.com/integrity-is-everything/, copyright (c) 2020, Bridgette Hyacinth, All Rights Reserved, Trinidad and Tobago.
[3] Brigette Hyacinth is a Leadership Consultant, International Keynote Speaker, Author, Founder and Director of the MBA Caribbean Organization.?For more information, visit her website at https://www.brigettehyacinth.com.
[4]??Hyacinth, Bridgette, from “Integrity is Everything”, subtitled "7 Deal-Breakin behaviours that makes employees lost their trust in leaders", Nov 20, 2020,?https://brigettehyacinth.com/integrity-is-everything/, copyright (c) 2020, Bridgette Hyacinth, All Rights Reserved, Trinidad and Tobago. Modified (one word in brackets) to apply to First Responder Chaplains
Image (Meme) quote by Nelson Mandela (see?https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nelson_Mandela) for more information on Nelson Mandela.
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Did you miss the first 4 Truths about First Responder Chaplaincy?
Truth #1 visit https://lnkd.in/eY2FzGCZ
Truth #2 visit https://lnkd.in/e4Wa2d4z
Truth #3 visit https://lnkd.in/eJcZ_Qr2
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About the Author
Fr Jeff is the Director of the Spiritual Care Association's First Responder Chaplain Division (Fire, Police, EMS, and Disaster Chaplains); a Crisis and Trauma Specialist (CTS); a Contributing Editor, Writer, and content provider for ChaplainUSA.org; Adjunct Professor for the SCA University of Theology and Spirituality; a Chaplain with the Indiana Guard Reserve (IGR), under 81st Troop Command as a member of the Chaplain Corps (US Army protocol) and a graduate of the IGR MP Academy; a member of The American Institute of Stress (https://stress.org); a member of the Military Chaplains Association; and a Hon. Ambassador for Senatus Consultum “Conscritus Electus”, a global Think Tank
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