EMS Today

Emergent Leadership: Mentorship: From Rice Fields to Firehouses

In this episode, Pearland (TX) Fire Department’s Battalion Chief Jacob Johnson joins host Brett Lyle to share his personal journey and lessons of humility, mentorship and leadership.

In a fascinating account, Chief Johnson helps his father lead guided duck hunts at only three years old, becomes a volunteer firefighter before being old enough to drive, and through those experiences develops into the respected 20-year firefighting veteran he is today.

During the discussion, Chief Johnson opens up about overcoming an early setback in his career that left him doubting his ability to coach and lead his team.

Through reflection of what he calls a “failure,” he circled back to the fundamentals that made his mentors successful: love, accountability and providing the why.

Jacob shares his epiphany during training that it was leaders failing his profession’s newest members, as opposed to the current generation’s unwillingness to learn.

As a proposed solution, an instructor challenged him to attack the problem and develop a mentorship class that the Chief eventually cultivated into a proven program designed to help leader be better mentors to their crews.

Please join in and listen. What type of hardships or failures have you overcome as a leader that better equipped you to develop others?

Welcome to Emergent Leadership where we connect with passionate leaders who just have to share their stories, perspectives, and most importantly, lessons learned.

The need is urgent, the events are critical, and the you of tomorrow is just an episode away!

Join the conversation: If you have a leadership topic, experience, or lesson learned you would like to share or hear more about, send an email at brettlylecoaching@gmail.com or use and follow #emergentleadership to join the conversation. You can also connect to Brett directly through LinkedIn or follow her journey on YouTube.

Leadership Through the Eyes of an EMS Educator

Host Brett Lyle talks with David Blevins, director of EMS Education Programs for Roane State Community College (TN). They talk about legislation that have shaped the industry, education in the times of stay-at-home orders, and how to show that you care and lead through effective communication.

Welcome to Emergent Leadership where we connect with passionate leaders who just have to share their stories, perspectives, and most importantly, lessons learned.

The need is urgent, the events are critical, and the you of tomorrow is just an episode away!

Join the conversation: If you have a leadership topic, experience, or lesson learned you would like to share or hear more about, send an email at brettlylecoaching@gmail.com or use and follow #emergentleadership to join the conversation. You can also connect to Brett directly through LinkedIn or follow her journey on YouTube.

"We Speak 'Living Room:'" Education & Economics in Fire-Based EMS, from Milwaukee to London and Back

Jonathon Feit interviews Joshua Parish, Deputy Chief of Emergency Medical Services (EMS), Milwaukee Fire Dept.

Deputy Chief Joshua Parish of the Milwaukee (WI) Fire Department checks multiple "diversity" boxes as a Black man in an overwhelmingly white industry, who has risen through the ranks as an unabashed iconoclast.

He has a master's degree from the venerable London School of Economics in an industry that is torn about the fundamental question of whether post-high school education should be considered a "must have."

He is passionate about honing a worldly perspective and loves losing himself in new locales with no choice but to adapt and seek empathy.

It turns out, this same blend of characteristics makes for an excellent medic, because in the real world, biology and chemistry often come secondary to psychology and sociology: understanding human nature.

Following a deep-dive into his origin story, Chief Parish discusses strategies for turning "samurai swords" into "Gerber tools" when training team members – evolving from experts in a single function to team members who can flex as a community's needs evolve – as a way of "future-proofing ourselves." 

Also: Ensuring that mobile medical personnel, in management and on the line alike, reflect -- and embrace -- the mosaic of the communities in which they operate is "good for business" when it comes to recruiting high-potential candidates.

It helps when, say, convincing citizens to stay inside and wear a mask; or to manage diabetes both as a matter of self-care and as a way to show appreciation for their caregivers.

Perhaps most poignant, he reminds us that we need to talk about failures if we are going to learn from them.

In this timely, no-holds-barred interview, Chief Parish explains his approach to language and culture, to relationship-building, and to research (including the need for additional rigor) – these have swirled into a strange brew against the backdrop of the COVID-19 crisis, particularly in Wisconsin, where racial and socioeconomic tensions followed a shooting during protests in nearby Kenosha. 

Generations of Change: Untitled Leadership, Employee Engagement and a Consulting Vision

On this episode, host Brett Lyle is joined by Health Care Visions President Steve Athey. Steve has spent more than four decades in EMS and 30 years as a respected industry leaders and consultant. They discuss the differences between leading with and without titles, the power of influence and how time has affected the effectiveness of varying leadership and management styles and strategies. Steve offers some insight into his years of market research and leaves you with some powerful words of wisdom.

Resources mentioned: Crossing the Chasm by Geoffrey A. Moore; Go for No!: Yes Is the Destination, No Is How You Get There by Andrea Waltz and Richard Fenton; Course: The Science of Well-being, led by Dr. Laurie Santos of Yale University via Coursera.

Welcome to Emergent Leadership where we connect with passionate leaders who just have to share their stories, perspectives, and most importantly, lessons learned.

The need is urgent, the events are critical, and the you of tomorrow is just an episode away!

Join the conversation: If you have a leadership topic, experience, or lesson learned you would like to share or hear more about, send an email at brettlylecoaching@gmail.com or use and follow #emergentleadership to join the conversation. You can also connect to Brett directly through LinkedIn or follow her journey on YouTube.

 

The Passion of a Serial Entrepreneur: To-Do Lists, Coaching and Spilled Coffee

Should you say no to good things to save space for the great ones? How do you know which opportunities are good versus great? Join Kris Kaull, chief marketing officer for Pulsara and co-founder of EMS1, as he opens up to hostess Brett Lyle about some of the challenges he has faced as a serial entrepreneur. He discusses the tools he used to overcome them and explains how he intentionally designed his career to be personally fulfilling and professionally valuable to the industry. We discuss tangible practices that define and reshape mindsets. We talk daily to-do lists and lifelong goals and accomplishments. We talk mentorship and the differences between servant leadership and coaching. "If you're an art history major.. if you're an engineer... we need [you] in EMS."

Welcome to Emergent Leadership where we connect with passionate leaders who just have to share their stories, perspectives, and most importantly, lessons learned.

The need is urgent, the events are critical, and the you of tomorrow is just an episode away!

Join the conversation: If you have a leadership topic, experience, or lesson learned you would like to share or hear more about, send an email at brettlylecoaching@gmail.com or use and follow #emergentleadership to join the conversation. You can also connect to Brett directly through LinkedIn or follow her journey on YouTube.

Social Media Pros and Cons in EMS

On this episode of Another Dose, Dr. Candice McDonald and Robin Goldinger, RN, are joined by Fire Chief/Attorney Chip Comstock, Paramedic/Attorney Matthew Streger, and EMT/Journalist Richard Huff. They discuss the pros and cons of social media in EMS.  

Paving Your Path: Energy, Responsibilities and Feedback

This week, host Brett Lyle is joined by Steve Dralle, South region president for Global Medical Response (GMR), as he opens up about his first leadership experience as a manager at McDonald’s at 17 years old and his path since then. Steve shares a few management lessons and leadership principles he still uses today, discusses the roles of energy and mindset and the challenging transition from a frontline clinician to a leadership role.

They discuss the differences between leading, managing and having charisma – and the value of each of them. They talk tough conversations. They talk social interactions and interpersonal relationships. They talk feedback. They talk sacrifice.

Steve talks about the burden placed on today’s leaders, explores the value in asking for help and emphasizes the importance of the people you surround yourself with as you navigate your path. 

Welcome to Emergent Leadership where we connect with passionate leaders who just have to share their stories, perspectives, and most importantly, lessons learned.

The need is urgent, the events are critical, and the you of tomorrow is just an episode away!

Join the conversation: If you have a leadership topic, experience, or lesson learned you would like to share or hear more about, send an email at brettlylecoaching@gmail.com or use and follow #emergentleadership to join the conversation. You can also connect to Brett directly through LinkedIn or follow her journey on YouTube.

Clarifying an Exposure

Let’s Get it Straight host Katherine West goes over the basics of exposure and what body fluids do and do not pose a risk.

History in the Present: Storytelling, Artifacts and Resilience

Can “this is how we’ve always done it” actually serve as valuable insight? Can the past be a part of the solution for the future? Can understanding the journey be a part of a healing or resilience plan? 

This week, Brett is joined by Kristy Van Hoven, director of the National EMS Museum, museum expert, and PhD candidate who is determined to understand how the past plays into the present and how it can be used as a tool for cultural breakthroughs and understanding and progress. 

Kristy shares stories about her time at Mayo Clinic working to understand how artifacts and collections may directly affect brain disorders, explains how the Minneapolis Institute of Art used pain and loss as a way to heal a community, and how museums are able to facilitate emotional progress and strength. 

Storytelling is the first step to healing, and only when we are confident and ready to embrace vulnerability are we able to effectively drive and lead sustainable change. 

Welcome to Emergent Leadership where we connect with passionate leaders who just have to share their stories, perspectives, and most importantly, lessons learned.

The need is urgent, the events are critical, and the you of tomorrow is just an episode away!

Join the conversation: If you have a leadership topic, experience, or lesson learned you would like to share or hear more about, send an email at brettlylecoaching@gmail.com or use and follow #emergentleadership to join the conversation. You can also connect to Brett directly through LinkedIn or follow her journey on YouTube.

Better than Survival: Environments, Education and EMS Identity

Should EMS be called healthcare? Does the answer depend on the type of agency in discussion? Where does emergency medicine begin and end?

This week, Brett is joined by Justin Fairless, medical director for Air Methods, practicing emergency medicine physician for TeamHealth, and assistant professor for Texas Christian University and University of North Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine in Fort Worth.

Dr. Fairless opens up about his personal experiences from the different perspectives and environments where emergent medicine is learned and practiced — prehospital ground and air, hospitals and higher-level education. Justin shares stories about real-time teaching moments and offers solutions on how to get the most out of clinical rotations, while building relationships within the healthcare continuum and your local community.

Justin shares his mindset that allows him to manage multiple career responsibilities simultaneously, and leaves you with a philosophy that transcends environments, will help you become a stronger clinician and will stand the test of time for true #emergentleadership.

Welcome to Emergent Leadership where we connect with passionate leaders who just have to share their stories, perspectives, and most importantly, lessons learned.

The need is urgent, the events are critical, and the you of tomorrow is just an episode away!

Join the conversation: If you have a leadership topic, experience, or lesson learned you would like to share or hear more about, send an email at brettlylecoaching@gmail.com or use and follow #emergentleadership to join the conversation. You can also connect to Brett directly through LinkedIn or follow her journey on YouTube.