The firefighter's firefighter Jeremy Fewtrell on leadership, purpose and architecting resilient cultures
What does resilient leadership look like when every decision can affect lives?
Fire and Rescue NSW Commissioner Jeremy Fewtrell believes great leadership is built through continuous adaptation, disciplined reflection and trusted partnerships. Drawing on nearly three decades in emergency services, he explains why organisations must evolve before change is forced upon them, why culture is strengthened through preparation rather than pressure, and why collaboration across sectors is essential for solving increasingly complex challenges. These lessons extend well beyond emergency services and provide practical guidance for CEOs leading organisations through uncertainty.
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The need-to-know:
The greatest organisational risk is standing still. Organisations that continuously adapt avoid the disruptive consequences of change imposed from outside.
Culture is tested long before a crisis begins. Teams respond under pressure according to the quality of their preparation, training and leadership habits.
Partnerships become strategic when they move beyond transactions. Lasting collaboration is built on shared purpose, mutual trust and a commitment to solving problems together.
Let’s go a little further
Leadership is often measured by outcomes. In emergency services, those outcomes can involve lives, communities and critical infrastructure. That reality creates a discipline that every CEO can learn from.
Jeremy Fewtrell has spent almost three decades leading within Fire and Rescue NSW, progressing from frontline operational roles to Commissioner. Throughout that journey, one lesson has remained constant: organisations cannot afford to become static.
One of the defining moments in his leadership development came during an exchange with Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service following a prolonged industrial dispute. The experience demonstrated what happens when an organisation fails to evolve alongside the world around it. Rather than allowing change to accumulate until it becomes unavoidable, leaders have a responsibility to adapt continuously.
That philosophy extends well beyond emergency services.
Many organisations wait until performance declines, markets shift or disruption arrives before making meaningful changes. By then, options are limited and transformation becomes significantly harder. Strong leadership creates momentum for evolution before external pressure demands it.
Jeremy also highlights another leadership discipline that is increasingly rare: deliberate reflection.
Modern executives often fill every available moment with meetings and decisions. Yet thoughtful leadership requires space to think. Whether during long cycling rides or daily commutes, Jeremy intentionally creates time to review decisions, examine what worked, identify what could improve and prepare mentally for future challenges.
Reflection is not a luxury. It is part of disciplined leadership.
Culture provides another important lesson.
Emergency services operate in environments where uncertainty is expected rather than exceptional. Calm decision-making during crises does not happen by accident. It is built through training, repetition and shared understanding long before teams arrive at an incident.
Businesses face different pressures, but the principle remains identical. Organisations rarely rise to the occasion under pressure. They fall back on the quality of their preparation.
Perhaps the strongest leadership lesson from this conversation centres on partnerships.
Jeremy describes how Fire and Rescue NSW led a broad coalition of government agencies, manufacturers, industry bodies and educators to address the growing risks associated with lithium-ion batteries. No single organisation possessed the authority or capability to solve the issue alone. Progress only emerged because multiple organisations aligned around a common purpose while contributing their respective expertise.
For CEOs, this reinforces an increasingly important reality.
The challenges facing organisations today are rarely solved within organisational boundaries. Competitive advantage increasingly depends on building trusted partnerships that extend capability, improve decision-making and create better outcomes for customers and communities.
Leadership is therefore no longer defined solely by directing internal teams.
It is equally defined by creating environments where collaboration, trust and continuous adaptation become organisational strengths.
Jeremy's experience reminds us that resilience is not built during a crisis. It is built every day through preparation, thoughtful leadership and a willingness to evolve before circumstances demand it.
Question for you
Where in your organisation are you waiting for change instead of deliberately leading it before it becomes unavoidable?
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