Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast

Ever have a hard time winding down and falling asleep when at home? How about when you're at work and run a late night call or calls and just can't fall back asleep? Yea...Me too! But I have found a practice that has really helped not only my sleep but literally hundreds of other emergency responders. And the best part is it costs $0. Resources mentioned in this episode: ​ ​ Episode 16: Reframing...

Resilience to the stressors of the job as a first responder can be tough. But so can the stressors of just being a human. Some of this stress is good and our reactions to it are a completely natural and appropriate response from our autonomic nervous system. Other stressors can be a detriment to our overall performance both at work and off duty. This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast featur...

Firefighters work in environments that require the use of a finite air supply through their SCBA. Being efficient, conditioned, and resilient to all kinds of factors is extremely important for a host of reasons but one is due to this limited air supply. This is one reason why CO2 tolerance is so important but it's certainly not exclusive to firefighters! CO2 tolerance is equated to tolerance to st...

Planning firefighter training can be really tough. Keeping the crew and yourself engaged is sometimes a struggle and it’s easier at times just to wing it. However, winging it usually leads to unfocused actions and just doing the same thing over an over. Is there a concept out there that we can use to develop and plan relevant, useful and fun training?! In this episode we cover: What is Periodizati...

Have you ever felt completely overextended in work or your personal life? How much of this was because of choices or opportunities that were presented to you that may seem great at the beginning but in time proved to not meet your intended goals or outcomes? This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast we dive back into the fantastic Jim Collins book titled Good to Great and specifically look a t...

Have you ever been labeled as "too into the job" or struggled to bring a new concept back to your organization? Have you struggled to lead up or down the chain of command and are at a loss on where to start to get some buy-in and traction? Is the balance of being good at your job and good at home taking its toll? This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast features Preston Lyons from the Relentl...

On this week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast we’re going to dive into how to use your breath to help you calm down, have a clear mind, and even help you fall asleep or fall back asleep! In this episode we cover: What does CO2 have to do with respiration and why does it matter? 3 simple to use breath practices to help you refocus and mitigate stress How a box breath works and we practice this p...

On this week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast we’re going to dive into the Group Effect and how Behavioral Matching can hinder or elevate you as an instructor and/or leader in emergency services. This is an integral component as you try to maintain and build cultures you want to be a part of. In this episode we cover: What is the Group Effect and why is this foundational for positive change? Wh...

On this week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast we’re going to continue the discussion about communication and how to build better teams and feel more connected. "Feeling Heard" is a concept all of us have experienced both in a positive sense and a negative one. In this episode we cover: What are the 5 components of feeling heard? How do the 5 components interact with the 3 entities (Me, You, We)...

On this week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast we’re going to talk about communication and how to build better teams and feel more connected. "Feeling Heard" is a concept all of us have experienced both in a positive sense and a negative one. In this episode we cover: What are the entities involved in feeling heard? Why is feeling heard such a big deal and how does it tie into employee retention...

On this week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast we’re going to talk about efficiency and how to get more done using a simple concept called the Pomodoro Technique. In this episode we cover: What the heck is the Pomodoro Techniqe Why it works and how it increases engagement, accomplishment and motivation The research that supports it and how it increases overall awareness Put this technique in pla...

On this week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast we’re going to talk about Leadership. More specifically, we're starting a deep dive into the best selling book "Good to Great" by Jim Collins. An absolute must read! In this episode we cover: What the 5 Levels of Leadership identified in Good to Great are & how you can use them The 5 levels of leadership in conjunction with self-awareness to cha...

Why don’t we every so often take an appraisal ourselves? Do you ever really stop and think about why you do what you do or if your current situation is still meeting your intended goals and objectives? On this week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast we’re going to talk about Reappraisal (aka Reframing) and how you can use it to increase your performance and mindset In this episode we cover: What...

Have you noticed your career in emergency services has changed you? That your relationships both at work and off the job have diminished? On this week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast we’re going to talk about Building Your Tribe and why it's so important to focus on relationships to be happy, healthy and strong! In this episode we cover: Why can building culture be so difficult? How staffing m...

Are you looking for a creative way to get more out of your training? Where the option is free, easily accessible and will increase performance? On this week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast we’re going to talk about a heavily studied sports psychology principle that you definitely already use in your daily life. It’s called Imagery Training and it can absolutely level up your game and basic ski...

Have you wondered if there is a better shift schedule? One that potentially doesn't jeopardize your health or wellbeing? Or maybe you're frustrated by the "golden handcuff" narrative? This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast features James Geering from Behind the Shield Podcast and he brings the HEAT about emergency responder health, shift schedules, not believing our own lies and speaks abou...

Are you tired of performing well in one area of your life and completely struggling in another area? Do you have trouble falling asleep, turning your brain off, or falling back asleep after a wake-up or running a 911 call? This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast features part 2 of our conversation with Emily Hightower from Shift and she gives you some great tools to sleep better, connect wit...

Have you ever had a hard time turning your brain off when you got off duty? Have your relationships ever been strained as you tried to reintegrate into daily life off shift? This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast features Emily Hightower from Shift/Adapt and she gives you some great tools to be successful both at work and at home while playing the long game . Check it out here .​ In this ep...

On an emergency scene have you ever wondered why sometimes you didn't perform like you did hundreds of times in training? How about why you have a little more anxiety when you're in one situation vs another? Or even why you have an underlying anxiety when you're at work vs when you're not? This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast dives into anxiety and the differences of Trait Anxiety vs Stat...

On this weeks Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast we talk with Captain Sean Gray from Cobb County Fire Department. Check it out here! ​ In this episode we cover: How to be an agent of positive change in yourself & your fire department How a lifetime of fitness commitment transfers to our jobs as firefighters What the key is to play the long game in the emergency services Ways to increase your me...

Episode 12 of the Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast continues to expand upon the concepts of mindset and expectations. We explore how to set positive expectations of ourselves and explore the concept of talking to ourselves vs listening to ourselves. Ultimately it is up to you! Check it out here .​ In this episode we cover: What are your expectations of yourself and how do you define them? Are the...

This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast is up and we talk about how to set expectations at the crew level to be clear, concise, and build a cohesive team. Check it out here! ​ In this episode we cover: What are expectations and how do we define them? Who do the expectations actually belong to and how to get all members of the crew involved How do we build resilient cohesive teams through cle...

This week's Firefighter Craftsmanship podcast dives into Mindset and how we ultimately get to choose it. This choice can hinder us or it can propel us. Check it out here! ​ In this episode we cover: What are the types of Mindset? How do we develop a helpful Mindset? What myelin is and how it might be the actual superpower towards success 4 strategies to train mindset to be successful in all areas...

In this episode we talk about Psychological Detachment from Work and give you actionable tools to help bridge the gap between work life and off-work life In this episode we cover: What is Psychological Detachment? The research that supports this concept and its impact Ways to recognize where you are and what needs to happen to help keep you happy, healthy and strong as an emergency responder Strat...

This week on the Firefighter Craftsmanship Podcast we talk with Capt. Chris Van Luen about how to own your own health and steps you can take to proactively stay in the game. Since January is Cancer Awareness Month for Firefighters we dive into Chris' personal journey with cancer and get into some ways you can strengthen your ability to deal with some of the exposure issues we deal with as firefigh...