Cornerstones of Leadership for Real World Success  – On and Off the Fireground

Join us as Chief Leeb shares over 40 years of leadership wisdom gained from his remarkable journey in the fire service, both in career and volunteer departments. Delving into his philosophy centered around training, teamwork, and mentorship, Chief Leeb will discuss the foundational principles that guided him as he rose through the ranks of the FDNY.

During this keynote, Chief Leeb will showcase multiple case studies, drawing from real-life fire and emergency incidents, many of which he was personally on the scene. He will emphasize the importance of the winning mindset, playing to win, training, teamwork, fireground strategy and tactics, extinguishment, search, and safety cultures, and how they coexist for optimal outcomes. These case studies will be dissected to provide attendees with fireground tactical and strategic insight and time-tested leadership lessons that will prepare you for the possible while serving as powerful examples of the pivotal connection between effective preparation, collaborative teamwork, and positive results in the field. A winning mindset dedicated to preparation starts with you. Because on game day, the time to prepare is over. From the chief to the newest firefighter, you will leave this presentation motivated and better prepared for any emergency response.

It's Your Ship – Achieving Breakthrough Performance

When Mike Abrashoff took command of the USS Benfold, morale was low, turnover was high and the ship’s performance ranked near the bottom of the Pacific Fleet. Just twelve months later Benfold was ranked #1 – using the very same crew. The lesson was clear – leadership matters and culture is everything.

This inspiring talk is for every individual and organization looking for practical and usable ways to take organizational performance to new heights. In Mike’s case, he realized that before the ship’s performance could change, he had to change his leadership style. Mike worked to create a culture of trust and empower his crew to take charge and use ingenuity and initiative to improve every aspect of the way things were done. Top down leadership is dead, so when the crew would present a problem, Mike became famous for responding “What would YOU do? It’s YOUR ship!” Mike’s presentation leaves audiences with the tools and inspiration to accomplish big goals.