Portsmouth Business School
Firefighter finds the makings of a CEO
Fri, 28 Sep 2012 09:07:00 BST
A senior firefighter has set himself on course to achieve his dream of one day winning the top job in Hampshire’s Fire and Rescue Service.
Dan Tasker, 37, group manager in charge of fire stations in Eastleigh and the Test Valley, signed up for a course to give him a 360-degree view of business management, including everything from human resources to emotional intelligence.
He joined the Fire and Rescue Service at the age of 18 and has since attended more than 4,000 calls across Hampshire to everything from small vehicle fires to aircraft crashes, train derailments and major fires in high-rise buildings.
He has also undertaken highly specialised secondments in training, community safety and project management.
But despite his broad experience in the field, he didn’t have all the qualifications necessary to be considered for promotion to chief fire officer.
Dan, who is married with two young children, signed up for a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) because the qualification is widely seen as essential for modern managers. He also wanted to set himself a personal challenge to see if he could qualify for a high-level degree.
He said: “The MBA is nationally recognised by the Chief Fire Officer's Association as an absolute pre-requisite to the role of chief fire officer because it delivers the knowledge-base and senior management skills and attributes necessary to lead a modern Fire and Rescue Service.
“Most people know the service is under continual pressure from central government to deliver more for less and the entire operating model has become greatly attuned to the world of commerce. Our senior managers must now demonstrate the ability to perform like a chief executive.”
Dan signed up for the part time Executive MBA at Portsmouth Business School so he could study alongside his day job. The course can also be studied full-time over one year.
He said: “The MBA has without question developed my academic and personal skills to such a level that I now feel ready to take the step into senior management. That step now seems much smaller than before.
“One of the highlights was passing all my exams – I shocked myself. But there have been many other highlights.
“Learning about other cultures and commerce from international students on the course has been fascinating. I had never before encountered things like understanding how mannerisms and minor actions can cause huge offence in some countries, making trading impossible.
“Apart from revision, which was hard, the only real low comes from seeing the international students go back home to their countries; I have made some good friends and Facebook conversations just aren’t the same.”
As part of the course Dan studied a combination of business-critical subjects, including corporate finance, international human resource management, marketing and operations and strategy, and has taken part in master classes with international specialist tutors on subjects as varied as emotional intelligence and management consultancy.
Dan said: “The way the course is structured you get this wonderful combination of subjects which has provided me with a sound platform from which to lead any organisation in the modern business environment.
“The MBA cleverly integrates a range of subjects to form a melting pot of skills and assets that are vital for chief executives. The course is robustly underpinned by industry-proven and accredited tutors and highly specialised visiting lecturers from all over the world.
“But the MBA is not just about acquired knowledge and understanding – it is also about the continued application of what you are learning through assignments in the workplace. That combination is what makes it thorough as a preparation for senior management. You learn, you try it out, you refine and you are doing it well before you actually graduate.”
Since Dan was promoted to group manager in 2009, he has managed many large-scale incidents, including chemical hazards, explosions in large commercial premises, wide-scale forest fires and a major fire at a Southampton University. But now, with the combination of experience and academic knowledge he feels ready to seek out promotion.
The chain of command in the Fire and Rescue Service is firefighter, crew manager, watch manager, station manager, group manager, area manager, and brigade manager, which includes assistant chief officer, deputy chief officer and, finally, chief fire officer.
Dan said: “I have never made any secret of the fact that I am aspiring to become a chief fire officer but I still have three quite major steps in order to effectively complete this long-term career goal. However, with the MBA under my belt, I am now in line for achieving my ambition.”