Tactics, command, leadership

of group is the constituted or organised group. In these cases, the
initiative comes from above. Here the members have a higher or
lower degree of free choice as to whether or not they belong to
the group. Examples of such organised groups are study circles
or sports teams. The third group is the natural group, which co-
mes into being spontaneously. Such groups are formed without
coercion or anyone taking the initiative, but rather due to chance
or other circumstances. Examples of such groups are circles of
friends in which group affiliation has developed over the years
without anyone knowing who started the group or how it came
into existence.
In rescue services, personnel are assigned to work teams, i.e.
to a group with no or minimal opportunities to determine them-
selves which group they will belong to. But with the passing of
time, all or parts of the group develop close relationships that
can even entail that group members meet during off­duty hours,
together with families and spouses. Common parties, trips and
similar activities are arranged. One naturally spends time with
those with which one shares common interests and needs. Work
teams can function as natural groups even if they have originally
been initiated from outside the group. The balance in the group
and the group­dynamic relationships can be detrimentally influ-
enced when, for example, a substitute enters the work team or
when firefighters change shifts with one another.
The professional role can suffer when co­workers and super-
visors have both a private and professional relationship. In con-
junction with emergency response operations, one could imagine
that the group will become more unified and thus conduct opera-
tions more effectively due to the members knowing one another’s
strengths and weaknesses, both privately and professionally. But
it is also conceivable that there are relationships in the group that
are perceived as limiting. An example of this is when one is to
provide feedback and it is felt that one must take consideration
to one another in a manner that hinders rather than develops
cooperation in the group. Another example can be that the group
takes substantial consideration to someone being in the midst of
a divorce and does not provide called­for criticism of a certain be-
haviour in conjunction with, for example, a response operation.
Consciously or unconsciously, the group often establishes infor-
mal rules as to how this is to be handled. Those who belong to a
municipal structure for providing rescue services should be suffi-