After more than a decade with a high-street fashion brand, Yvonne Devereux CMgr MCMI joined Derbyshire Fire & Rescue Service in 2018, where she is now an organisational development partner and employee network lead. 

“It’s been an interesting journey,” she says. “The fire service can be viewed by some as a male-dominated world, but it isn’t. I adore it and I love working on their leadership agenda.” 

Historically, in the fire service, there’s been more of an emphasis on command-and-control style leadership, rather than the empathetic and supportive style. Yvonne believes there is a time and a place for command and control – in particular in safety-critical fireground situations – “but there’s also room for emotional intelligence to support the positive and inclusive culture the sector is working to evolve”.

Read more at: https://www.managers.org.uk/knowledge-and-insights/article/the-fire-service-reignited-my-passion-for-developing-female-leaders/