Excerpts from Larry and David Conley’s keynote “Powerless,” delivered at FDIC International 2021 on Opening Ceremony Day 2, Thursday, August 5, at the Indiana Convention Center Sagamore Ballroom in Indianapolis:
“Good morning. My name is Larry Conley. I am a 29-year veteran of the St. Louis (MO) Fire Department. As much as I hate to admit it, there have been times when I have felt … powerless. It is not something we like to talk about in the fire service. Still, the message gets out. There are more suicides in the fire service than line-of-duty deaths. Think about that for a second. Today, I am going to talk about how to maximize your greatest resource, YOU. I am going to show you how paying attention to 5 areas of your life can keep you refreshed and less likely to feel … powerless.
“David and I go around the country teaching a personal leadership model called the EMPOWER model. Our belief is when you internalize this model, you develop practices that improve your life. This model helps you realize, develop, and manage your power in a way that potentially makes yo”u the best version of yourself.
“The elements of the EMPOWER model are Endvision, Mutual Victory, Being Proactive, Organizing Priorities, Working Together, Empathetic Listening, and Recharge.
“Endvision involves creating a clear mental picture of your goal. What does the end look like? Imagine this goal in great detail. It is the blueprint to build, to create, to achieve, to become whatever you want. It is the compass that keeps you on your True North. One way to solidify your personal Endvision is to compose a personal Constitution. The personal constitution, like the American Constitution, will create an unshakable foundation to build your best self.
“Mutual Victory suggests thinking of every human interaction in a way that gets the best result for all parties involved. This principle works great for conflict resolution but even better for creating a psychologically safe environment for you and everyone around you. It relieves the stress and anxiety related to the need to win inherent in most interactions. Mastering this element is very important in promoting peace in your daily life.
“Proactive people are some of the most EMPOWERed people alive. They tend to be better prepared for stressful situations. This is because the way they live their lives promotes constant preparation. Being Proactive means you make things happen more than react to things happening to you.
“Organizing Priorities is about putting the things that matter most before the things that matter least. Though this seems obvious, a lot of us live our lives without prioritizing things like our health, our families, and our emotional well-being. When you master the ability to identify and prioritize things in your life from most important to least important, you are more efficient with time and with what you allow to stress and distract you.
“Working Together involves promoting the strengths of everyone in your circle. While identifying everyone’s strong suits, you validate the contributions of anyone in your circle. You treat everyone, including yourself, with equal high status. You promote unity and growth in relationships, building bridges instead of walls. This type of unity is crucial to an organization as tight knit as the fire service.
“Empathetic Listening addresses one of the greatest human needs–the need to be understood. You would be surprised how much richer your relationships become when you learn to really hear the other person’s point of view and they really hear yours. One thing that makes a person feel the most powerless is shouting into a void. What you drive, what you wear, your job– everything you do says hear me.
“Recharge is, to me, the most important element. It dramatically reduce