The Linemen's Three B's

by Bob "Henny" Henriksen

You will find that most linemens' personalities are made up from an old saying, "The Three B’s": bold, brash, and boastful. Linemen tend to be "bold" (courageous and daring), most are usually "brash" (hasty, rash and impetuous), and have you ever heard of a lineman who does not like to "boast" (to speak with exaggeration and pride)? This fits the mold for most linemen who work in the electric utility field in all types of weather, to keep the lights on. What a fraternity.

Every one of these linemen comes with their own attitude. Because the work is so dangerous, the wrong attitude’s can promote an avenue for accidents. Can you control everyone’s attitudes? More than likely not, but you can try to foster a positive work environment and safety-minded attitudes. How is that done? Start by treating the linemen on your crew the way you would like to be treated. Respectful, considerate, understanding, and not asking anyone to do something that you would not do. Does this change their attitudes? Maybe not right away, but it points them in the right direction. When you give respect, you usually get respect back.

Trying to keep bad attitudes from spreading throughout your work force is not easy. Management and union relationships can sometimes cause many of these attitude problems. Both parties should be working daily towards a goal of doing the work in a timely fashion and in the safest manner possible. Getting the job done on time, correctly and with no accidents promotes respect from both sides. It also gives the linemen a sense of pride and accomplishment. Granted, there are some people on both sides who will never change their attitudes. They are born complainers and find fault with everything and everyone. If they would just put as much effort into doing the job as they do trying not to do it, the job could be finished with time to spare. These individuals always are blaming others for their problems. It is up to management and the union to bring these people in line, which is sometimes difficult.

Linemen are a unique breed. Every day when they go out to work on high voltage lines and equipment for six to seven hours a day, they are looking down the barrel of a gun, where the gun is loaded and the trigger cocked – just one screw up and out the chamber comes the bullet. With line work, you might get only that one mistake. Maybe this is why most linemen are of the "3 B’s" variety. It might also be why some attitudes are stronger or a tad strange. But you also will notice that when the lights are out and the storm is blowing, they all seem to pull together to put the lights back on. It is a great profession with lots of rewards over the years, and that is why these bold, brash and boastful linemen love it so much. They are the high voltage "heroes" who want to be the one to close those cutouts and turn on that neighborhood. Remember even police and firemen need heroes to look up to.