Course Syllabus
University of Wisconsin Oshkosh
Division of Online and Continuing Education
Wisconsin Emergency Services Academy
Chief Officer Program
Course: Leadership
Dates and Location: On-line offering
Instructor: Mitchell R. Waite, Ph.D.
Phone: 715-213-2166
E-mail: mrwaite57@charter.net
Course Description:
This module will be an introduction to the science and art of leadership through an understanding of organizational design, effective communication, leadership theory, leadership styles, leadership traits, team building, mentoring, human resources, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, safety and training. Included in the course will be individual exercises.
Upon successful completion of this course participants will be able to:
- Differentiate between the various organizational designs and identify key components of each type of design.
- Identify and differentiate between the various leadership theories, styles, and traits.
- Understand the differences between leadership and management.
- Compare and contrast various concepts related to effective communication.
- Comprehend the base concepts related to decision making, emotional intelligence, and conflict resolution.
- Differentiate between groups and teams.
- Address the multitude of challenges related to personnel management, including hiring and promotional processes.
- Be able to explain organizational climate and its relationship to culture and change.
- Understand the concept of mentorship and its relationship to effective leadership.
- Identify the variables related to professional development.
- Be able to explain the relationship safety and training has to leadership.
- Comprehend the importance of customer service.
- Explain the components of strategic planning.
- Know the importance of systems and processes to organizational success.
Course Learning Objectives:
This Chief Officer Program is designed to further the professional development of fire service leaders through enhanced knowledge relative to the science and art of leadership and organizational effectiveness. This class will focus upon the many variables necessary for effective leadership in today’s fire service environment. Upon successful completion of this course participants will be able to:
- Demonstrate leadership and enhanced decision making ability through the development of a personal leadership philosophy.
- Create a personal career blueprint.
- Identify their dominant leadership style.
- Develop a 360 degree evaluation.
- Develop an organizational climate survey.
Required Materials:
Reading assignments from other sources will be required. Reading assignments will be made available through the Canvas learning site.
Course Expectations:
Class will meet on-line for 4 weeks. A different session will be opened at 6:00 am each Sunday, beginning April 3rd, 2022. Each session will have a learning plan consisting of a narrative powerpoint presentation, reading assignment, research, and discussion question. There will also be some individual exercises and an individual project due at the end of the course. Students must complete all assignments and the final project in order to receive credit for the course. Except in cases of emergency, or unless prior arrangements are made with the instructor, all class assignments are due prior to the end of the course.
Course Requirements:
Reading Assignments (in Canvas folder).
Individual exercises.
Discussion questions.
Course Activities:
Leadership quiz (individual exercise), identification of dominant personality traits (individual exercise/4 colors), identification of key leadership attributes in comparison to GLOBE study (individual exercise), decision making scenario-based exercise (individual exercise), generation gap exercise (individual exercise), identification of various leadership styles (video presentations).
Grading:
Students must receive a “satisfactory” grade on all assignments in order to pass the course. Upon successful completion of the course students will be awarded a grade of “Pass” and will receive course credit toward the program certificate. Students who do not successfully complete one or more of the course requirements will receive a grade of “Fail” and will not receive the credit.
Academic Integrity:
Students are expected to participate in this class with respect for each other, the university and the fire service, and conduct themselves responsibly and ethically. Students are responsible for the honest completion of their work. Use of outside sources in submitted assignments must include appropriate citations. Failure to do so may result in academic penalties, including failure of the course.
Course Evaluation:
Students successfully completing the course will receive an e-mailed link to an electronic course survey. We encourage you to complete the survey in order to help us improve our courses and programs.
Quick Reference Guides:
Developed for each module of instruction, as well as a recommended list of resources for further inquiry into the topic.
Related Resources and Recommended Reading:
Gonzales, Laurence. Deep Survival, PennWell Publishers, 2010, Chapter 6
International Association of Fire Chiefs and National Fire Protection Association, Chief Officer: Principles & Practice, Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2012, Chapter 2.
Waite, Mitchell, R. EMS Leadership Challenge – A Call to Action, Booklocker, Inc., 2010.
Waite, Mitchell, R. Fire Service Leadership; Theories and Practices, Jones and Bartlett Publishers, 2007.
Waite, Mitchell, R. It’s All About Leadership, BookLocker, Inc., 2016.
Wisconsin Emergency Services Academy
Chief Officer Program
Module One
Quick Reference Guide
Organizational Designs
Bureaucracy
Adhocracy
Ledocracy
Leadership Theory
Great man
Trait
Social-psychological
Conflict
Military
Leadership Styles
Autocratic
Democratic/participatory
Transformational
Transactional
Laissez-faire/delegative/collaborative
Chameleon/adaptive
Leadership Traits:
Universally accepted traits
Cultural specific
Business and educational perspectives
Military perspectives
Leadership vs Managers
Traits of leaders and managers
How each relates to organizational effectiveness
Leadership Philosophy
Components
Personal philosophy
Expectation management
Effective Communication
Sender and receiver
Modes of transmission
Technology vs old school
Decision Making
How stress affects decision making
Importance of emotional intelligence
Conflict resolution
Decision point leadership
Committee Action Teams (CATs)
Groups vs teams
Value of diversification
Personnel Management
Hiring the best and brightest
Promoting your most capable
Correlation to effective leadership
Professional development
Performance evaluations
Mentorship
Organizational Design
Organizational climate
Changing a culture
Customer Service
The value
The need
The future
Safety
Relationship to leadership
Creating a safety culture
Training
Relationship to leadership
Value of training
Creating instinct
Cost effective training
Strategic Planning
Collective vision
Mission statement
Objectives/tasks
Action officers
Timeline
Systems and Processes
SOPs, SOGs, rules and regulations
Course Summary:
| Date | Details | Due |
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