Interim chiefs: Babysitters or substitute teachers?

摘要

When you were about 10 or 12 years old, two people likely put you on edge: the babysitter and the substitute teacher. I remember one babysitter we called Mrs. Mean and a substitute teacher nicknamed The Enforcer. These individuals meant a change in oversight - and likely the status quo. I started thinking about these adolescent terrors while reviewing a number of fire departments with interim or acting fire chiefs. These individuals come into an organization with no possibility of becoming a permanent member but with specific duties to perform. They are in some ways a combine babysitter/substitute teacher, as they perform both oversight and remedial activity in the same breath.