Course Details

Shaping the Future

Course Hours: 16.0 Hours

Course Description

This course will focus on the skills and techniques that a mid-level manager needs to provide leadership and direction for his or her fire department. The first module will have students focus on identifying opportunities (or problems). This will include discussions on the use of environmental scanning as a tool, the concept of paradigm shifts, and methods to re-frame problems accurately. Mobilizing people to solve problems as groups, rather than continually using only the traditional fire service groups is the focus of the second module. It will include topics such as problem-solving strategies, a discussion of benchmarking, and the need to involve resources outside the fire department and government. The third module will focus on the need to quantify, justify, and communicate decisions so they will be implemented effectively. Managing change will be discussed in the final module of the course. Why people resist change, overcoming that resistance, and monitoring and evaluating the change before, during, and after its implementation are topics that will be covered in this module.

Prerequisites

N/A

Who Should Attend

First- and second-level supervisors and COs who are upwardly mobile within their organizations and whose department head wishes to prepare them for increased managerial responsibility. Administrative officers who are responsible for significant staff functions within the organization and who report directly to top management. Emergency service workers assigned to positions with decision-making responsibilities.

Special Notes