Fire Service

Leadership Academy

Leadership Behavior Courses designed for the Fire Service

Structured, online courses built to change how fire service leaders actually behave on the job — not just what they know. Developed by a retired Fire Chief with more than 35 years of command experience.

Built for the job. Not for a classroom.

Most leadership training in the fire service is either too generic to be useful or too academic to be applied. These courses were built by someone who has done the job — and they are built the way fire service leaders actually learn.

Fire service specific — all the way through

Every scenario, every example, every framework is built around the firehouse, the command staff room, and the realities of public safety leadership. Nothing has been adapted from the corporate world and repackaged.

Built by someone who has been in the seat

Chief Chris Armstrong spent more than 35 years in operational and executive fire service leadership across two departments and three states. These courses reflect what that experience actually teaches — including what does not work.

You demonstrate competency, not just recall

Every module is built around scenario-based exercises, real firehouse situations, and structured knowledge checks that require you to apply what you are learning — not just recall it. You are not watching a lecture and answering multiple choice questions. You are working through the leadership behavior challenges you actually face on the job.

Interactive — not a video lecture

These are fully interactive Rise360 courses delivered on Reach360. Step-by-step sequences, scenario exercises, flashcard sets, knowledge checks, are built into every module. Officers engage with the content — they do not just watch it.

Rank specific — not one-size-fits-all

Each course is built for a specific officer tier. The company officer course does not overlap with the chief officer course. The leadership behavior challenges, the language, and the stakes are different at each level — and the courses treat them that way.

Grounded in published doctrine

These courses draw directly from a body of published fire service work focused on leadership behavior — Critical Conversations in Fire & EMS, and The Thinking Chief Leadership Manual. The doctrine behind the courses has been field-tested and published.

The conversation you keep postponing is the one driving the problem. These courses are built on that premise — and on 35 years of watching what happens to organizations and careers when leaders know what they should do and still can't bring themselves to do it.

— Chief Chris Armstrong, retired Fire Chief · Founder, The Thinking Chief Leadership Group

Leadership Academy

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Add Two 45 minute Coaching Sessions with Chief Armstrong

Most leadership development ends when the course ends. You close the final lesson, get your certificate, and go back to the firehouse with a head full of content and no one to think it through with. The crew is watching. The problems are real. And the gap between what you learned and how you actually behave when it matters is where most of the development gets lost. Direct Line closes that gap.

Two focused, one-on-one sessions with Chief Armstrong — used however serves you best. Bring your course content and what you're trying to apply. Bring the personnel situation you're not sure how to handle. Bring the organizational dynamic that's frustrating you. Bring whatever is actually in front of you right now.

This is not a debrief. It is not a check-in. It is a direct line to someone who has sat in the chair you are sitting in — and who will tell you what they actually think.

How to Use Your Sessions

Your two sessions are yours to use where you need them most. Most officers use them in one of two ways — or a combination of both.

Course Follow-Up and Application

You finished the course. You have an action plan. Now you want to make sure it actually holds up in the real world of your department — with your crew, your chain of command, and the specific dynamics you're dealing with.

Use your sessions to work through how the course content applies to your specific situation. What does setting the standard actually look like in your firehouse? How do you handle the officer who was passed over for the promotion you just got? What does your 90-day action plan look like when it hits the reality of shift work and organizational politics?

Live Leadership Challenge

You have something happening right now that needs more than a lesson and a knowledge check.

A personnel issue that's getting worse. A difficult conversation you've been avoiding. A budget fight you don't know how to navigate. A crew dynamic that isn't working and you can't figure out why. A decision coming that will define how people see you — and you're not sure you're calling it right.

Bring it. That's what these sessions are for.

What to Expect

Each session runs 45 minutes via video call. Chief Armstrong does not use a script or a pre-packaged coaching template. He listens to what you're dealing with, asks the questions that get to the real issue, and tells you what he thinks — directly and without padding it.

You will leave each session with a clearer picture of what you're facing, a more honest read on your own role in the situation, and specific actions you can take when you go back to work.

This is not therapy. It is not cheerleading. It is a direct conversation with someone who has led through the things you are learning to lead through — line-of-duty deaths, labor disputes, budget crises, political pressure, personnel failures, and the quiet daily work of holding a standard when no one is watching.

About Chief Armstrong

Chief Chris Armstrong is a retired Fire Chief with more than 35 years in public safety leadership across two departments and three states. He led organizations with hundreds of personnel through line-of-duty deaths, major incidents, budget crises, labor disputes, and political pressure from every direction.

He is a Harvard Kennedy School graduate, a John Maxwell-certified speaker and trainer, and the founder of The Thinking Chief Leadership Group. He is the author of Bugles Don't Make Leaders, Critical Conversations in Fire and EMS, Unspoken Rules, and the Fire Service Leadership Case Studies series.

He did not survive all of it perfectly. He learned from all of it. That is what he brings to every coaching session.

Scheduling

After completing your course, you will receive an email with instructions to schedule your two sessions directly with Chief Armstrong. Scheduling is handled via email to accommodate shift schedules, rotating days off, and the reality that your calendar does not run on a nine-to-five.

Sessions are available on a rolling basis and must be completed within 90 days of course completion.

Who This Is For

Direct Line is for the officer who takes the work seriously.

The newly promoted lieutenant who understands the principles but isn't sure how to translate them into the specific leadership behaviors the crew that's already testing them needs to see. The Battalion Chief navigating a personnel situation with political dimensions no course prepared them for. The Division Chief trying to figure out how to lead peer chiefs without losing credibility in every direction at once.

If you are looking for someone to tell you that you're doing great and everything will be fine — this is not that.

If you are looking for someone who will engage honestly with what you're facing, push back when your thinking is off, and help you leave the conversation with more clarity than you came in with — this is exactly that.

Add coaching to your cart alongside any course at checkout.

$229  |  Two 45-Minute Sessions  |  Scheduled via Email After Course Completion

$229.00
Critical Conversations in Fire & EMS

A leadership behavior course for all ranks

Most leadership failures in Fire and EMS don't happen on the fireground. They happen in the days before and after — in the feedback that never gets delivered, the standard that quietly drifts, the personnel situation that became a formal complaint because nobody said anything soon enough. Avoiding those conversations is a leadership behavior. So is having them. This course gives every officer at every rank a repeatable framework for building the behavior of having the conversations that shape crew performance, station culture, and organizational standards.

Modules:

01 — The Conversation You Keep Avoiding

02 — The Conversation Framework: The OSAAC Model

03 — Feedback That Changes Behavior

04 — Common Scenarios: The Five Core Personnel Types

05 — The Fire–EMS Divide

06 — Documentation and Progressive Discipline

07 — Evaluations That Actually Work

08 — The Leader in the Conversation

Format: Online, self-paced

Length: 8 modules · 16–20 contact hours

Window: Complete within 90 days

Who is this for: Lieutenants, captains, battalion chiefs, and division chiefs

$149.00
The Thinking Chief Leadership Course

Leadership behavior doctrine for fire service officers at every rank

This course translates the proven doctrines of The Thinking Chief Leadership Manual into changed leadership behavior for every rank in the fire service. Through real-world scenarios, self-audits, and case studies, you will develop the judgment, presence, and decision-making behaviors needed to lead teams, shape culture, and earn trust in the moments that matter most. Whether you are a new officer or a seasoned chief, this course will help you close the gap between what you know about leadership and how you actually lead when the pressure is on.

Modules:

01 — Foundations of Fire Service Leadership: The Leader Within

02 — Recognizing and Addressing Leadership Failure Patterns

03 — Decision-Making Under Pressure: Applying the 60-Second Reset

04 — Conducting a Personal Leadership Audit

05 — Mastering Decision Doctrines for Effective Leadership

06 — Integrating Human Impact and Decision Autopsies

07 — Timeliness and Accountability in Leadership Decisions

08 — Applying Leadership Doctrines to Personnel Challenges

09 — Shaping Organizational Culture and Leading Change

10 — Building Command Presence and Managing Reputation

11 — Modeling Accountability: Failure, Recovery, and Legacy

12 — Case Study Analysis and Leadership Script Application

13 — Synthesis and Action Planning: Your 90-Day Leadership Plan

Format: Online, self-paced

Length: 13 modules · 8-12 contact hours

Window: Complete within 90–120 days

Who is this for: Company officers through fire chief

$199.00
Bugles Don't Make Leaders: Full Officer Development System

A leadership behavior course for aspiring officers through battalion chief

Most fire service officers were never actually developed. They were just promoted. The badge arrives before the preparation does — and everything that follows, the first hard conversation, the crew that tests you, the board that evaluates you, the battalion you are now responsible for — happens without a roadmap. This course builds the leadership behaviors the rank requires — starting before the oral board and carrying through to leading officers at scale as a battalion chief.

Modules:

  • 01 — Selection vs. Entitlement: The Mindset of Promotion

  • 02 — Reputation and Credibility: Auditing Your Leadership Brand

  • 03 — Competence and Judgment: Building Non-Negotiable Skills

  • 04 — Initiative Without Ego: Taking Action That Builds Trust

  • 05 — The Candidate File: Telling the Story Your Habits Create

  • 06 — Peer Influence and Station Standards: Leading Without Rank

  • 07 — Mapping and Managing Informal Leaders

  • 08 — Oral Boards and Scenario Responses: Structuring Defensible Answers

  • 09 — The Expectations Talk: Setting the Standard as a New Officer

  • 10 — Correction and Coaching: Addressing Performance with Consistency

  • 11 — Documentation and Upward Communication: Protecting Standards and Preventing Surprises

  • 12 — Fairness and Culture: Consistency in Leadership Decisions

  • 13 — First 90 Days: Building Momentum as a New Officer or BC

  • 14 — From Crew to System: Leading Officers and Managing Consistency as a BC

  • 15 — Assessment Center Readiness: Demonstrating Leadership Under Pressure

Course details:

  • Format: Online, self-paced

  • Length: 15 lessons · self-paced

  • Window: Complete within 90 days

  • Who is this for: Firefighters preparing for promotion through battalion chief

$199.00
Chief Officer Development Series: The Chair Is Different Up Here

A leadership behavior course for Battalion Chiefs, Division Chiefs, and Fire Chiefs

This course guides newly promoted Battalion and Division Chiefs through the behavioral shift that executive leadership demands. Operational expertise got you here — it will not be enough to keep you effective. Through real-world scenarios and actionable strategies, you will identify and build the specific leadership behaviors that drive command-level judgment, organizational influence, and lasting culture — not just the title and the responsibilities that come with them.

Modules:

01 — Transitioning from Company Officer to Chief Officer

02 — Understanding Executive Authority and Its Boundaries

03 — Command Staff's Role in Strategy and Governance

04 — Failure Patterns and Leadership Pitfalls for New Chiefs

05 — Developing a Personal Executive Leadership Philosophy

06 — On-Duty Authority and Upward Communication

07 — Mastering Administrative and Fiscal Responsibilities

08 — Navigating Organizational Governance and Legal Frameworks

09 — Understanding and Managing Organizational Politics

10 — Leading Across Divisions and Managing Peer Relationships

11 — Personnel Management at the Command Level

12 — Public Exposure, Media Relations, and Crisis Communication

13 — Shaping Organizational Culture and Building a Leadership Legacy

Format: Online, self-paced

Length: 13 modules · 20–26 contact hours

Window: Complete within 90–120 days

Who is this for: Battalion, Division Chiefs, and Fire Chiefs

$219.00
Executive Decision-Making and Leadership Culture in the Fire Service

A leadership behavior course for senior fire service leaders

When the pressure is on, what does your decision-making behavior actually look like — and is it producing the outcomes your organization needs? This course goes directly at the executive leadership behaviors that define success in the fire service: how judgment holds or fails under pressure, how culture is shaped by the decisions leaders make in rooms most people never see, and how the habits of executive decision-making either build or erode organizational trust. Expect to challenge your own assumptions, surface blind spots in your current behavior, and leave with specific changes you can put into practice when you go back to work.

Modules:

01 — Framing Executive Leadership Under Pressure

02 — Judgment Versus Policy: Navigating High-Pressure Decisions

03 — Organizational Culture in Meetings and Decision Forums

04 — Decision Ownership and Anticipating Consequences

05 — Facilitating and Navigating Dissent

06 — Redesigning Executive Decision-Making Habits

07 — Personal Leadership Patterns and Organizational Signals

08 — Strategic Influence: Leading Up, Out, and Across

09 — Integration and Executive Commitment

Format: Online, self-paced

Length: 9 modules · 20–28 contact hours

Window: Complete within 90–120 days

Who is this for: Deputy chiefs, assistant chiefs, and fire chiefs

$219.00

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Bulk Enrollment for Fire Departments

Enroll your entire Command Staff

Departments building a structured leadership behavior development pipeline can enroll multiple officers at a reduced per-seat rate. Simply complete the contact form below to get your bulk rate pricing.

Each Officer will receive an enrollment link to access the course(s). Each officer registers, works through the course at their own pace, and receives a certificate of completion — all tracked individually through Reach360.