SOCIAL STYLE Training Improves Teamwork for Fire and Emergency Professionals

TRACOM’s interpersonal skills model helps fire service leaders create positive relationships inside and outside their departments

Fire and emergency leaders who must interact with a variety of stakeholders now have a powerful tool kit at their disposal, thanks to a successful pilot program using The TRACOM Group’s SOCIAL STYLE Model™. The program was facilitated for the Naperville Illinois Fire Department by independent consultant Mike Worthington.

Fire and emergency leaders must forge successful relationships with outside agencies, governing bodies, unions, the people they lead and the communities in which they work and serve. Just as they must train to protect lives and property, these leaders also need interpersonal skills training to successfully manage their many relationships. Worthington worked with those in leadership at the fire department in Naperville, following up a 360-degree interpersonal skills assessment with a half-day training on TRACOM’s SOCIAL STYLE concepts and one-on-one sessions for greater self-awareness and application.

Mike Worthington is a former Fire Marshal in Pitt County, NC, a retired senior executive of a Fortune 100 global telecommunications company, an executive coach for a Fortune 100 global management and technology consulting firm, and serves as secretary/treasurer on the board of Directors of the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE).

Originally developed in the 1960s, SOCIAL STYLE is the world’s most effective model for improving interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence to create more effective working environments. TRACOM offers a variety of print, online and e-learning products centered on the SOCIAL STYLE Model and Versatility.

Mark J. Puknaitis, Fire Chief of the Naperville Fire Department, noted improvements within his department after the training. “People get along better, are more willing to work together as a team, and are more understanding of others’ behavioral preferences since receiving Social Style training. This training is an effective tool for fire service leaders in our ability to create positive working relationships with the many different Social Styles we come in contact with,” Puknaitis said.

“Social Style training creates an awareness of other people’s work style as well as your own,” said Worthington. “Any work environment, but especially a high-risk one like fire and emergency services, becomes more successful and productive when that awareness helps foster better communication, mutual respect and trust.”

Learn more about SOCIAL STYLE Training here.