Alchemy has been working in partnership with the Denver Fire Department for over two years. The focus of that work has been to:

• Create alignment between the chiefs and six division chiefs in leadership, communication, goals/direction and their annual action plan
• Assist with building trusted and lasting connections between the chiefs and the others throughout the department
• Communicate the shared vision of the department's leadership to assistant chiefs commitment and long range planning

Alchemy used a strengths-based approach to help the team better understand the individual leadership assets of the group. With these strengths in mind, the group created a mid- and long term strategic action plan, spanning from 2006 to 2010.

Commitment and buy-in was reinforced through the planning process and top-level leadership used a team charter to mutually agree on their role as a leadership team, a code of conduct, and outline their communication strategies. The focus on the planning and the charter enabled core issues around effectiveness to surface immediately. In a high performance environment, the team began to make the changes they needed to support their own success. In the space of six months, the leadership team had built better rapport amongst themselves and others while strengthening trust throughout the entire group.

As a regular user of Alchemy's Quarterly Tune Ups Denver Fire Department has embedded planning and follow up into their culture. This mindset is cascading into the operational side of the department with similarly rapid results.

The Denver Fire Department has shared vision of the Department. Within that shared vision, they also share responsibility for working toward and contributing to that vision. Their open relationships have increased communication, trust and the respect they have one for one another and others in the department. The department realized many significant benchmarks they established for themselves to include the acquisition of new infrastructure and apparatus and a $160,000 grant for a wellness initiative for the department's firemen and employees.