Hunting the Firehouse Villains

If you’ve been to any fire conference lately, you’ve heard the warning: three leadership “types” to avoid in the fire service—the dark triad. The Narcissist, the Psychopath, and the Machiavellian.

They’re presented like predators lurking in your station, waiting to strike. Spot them early. Steer clear. Protect yourself.

But here’s the problem with pop psychology and self-diagnosis: it turns way too easily into a witch hunt.

The moment we slap a label on someone, our judgment fogs over. We stop seeing a complex human and instead see a caricature—static, predictable, “bad.” And once we cast them as the villain in our internal storyline, guess who automatically becomes the victim?

Us.

Here’s a truth most people don’t like to admit: Everyone uses emotional and behavioral strategies to influence each other.

That’s what a strategy is—an attempt to shape an outcome.

Even love is a strategy. Loving someone is, in part, a bid to be loved back. If they don’t reciprocate, it hurts. It’s a gentler strategy than narcissistic manipulation, sure—but it’s still a strategy.

Most people are doing the best they can with the tools they’ve got. And even the best leaders aren’t saints. They want power, certainty, predictability—just like you do. We all want our strategies to work.

So before you declare your Fire Chief a narcissist, I’d ask you this: What about you allows his/her behavior to have so much power over your inner world? Do you hold a belief that fire chiefs should always be noble, respectful, dignified—and if they aren’t, something is fundamentally wrong with them?

Your Fire Chief lives in the bucket labeled Things You Can’t Control. Trying to diagnose, wrestle with, or reshape what’s in that bucket is a guaranteed path to frustration.

And here’s the kicker: you probably use some Dark Triad strategies yourself.

So before you go hunting monsters, look inward.

Does labeling and blaming people actually help YOU? Or does it just keep you locked inside a feeling of powerlessness?

I’m betting it’s the latter. Break that lock.