Accountability in action: Building a culture that sticks in EMS

Inside EMS

In this week’s episode of the Inside EMS podcast, cohosts Chris Cebollero and Kelly Grayson dive into a vital topic: the culture of accountability in EMS. Sparked by FireRescue1’s Chief Marc Bashoor’s thought-provoking article, "Where is our culture of accountability?", the hosts explore why change is so difficult to embrace, how leadership impacts culture and what steps agencies can take to help foster accountability across an organization. From managing expectations to addressing fairness in discipline, our cohosts discuss the challenges of enforcing standards and avoiding the normalization of deviance. Whether it's implementing safety protocols or shifting organizational norms, this episode unpacks how leaders and teams can work together to inspire meaningful change.

Quotable takeaways

• “The only one who likes change is a wet baby.” — Kelly Grayson
• “If you don’t correct something, that thing becomes the new standard.” — Kelly Grayson
• “Vision is where we’re going; strategy is how we’re going to get there and culture is the behavior of the organization in reaching the vision.” — Chris Cebollero
• “Turnover isn’t the end of the world.” — Kelly Grayson

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