Tuesday, April 20, 2021

L-180 & L-280 - A Word from Our CMLs

Human Factors and Followership to Leadership

L-180 and L-280 are the foundational courses of our leadership curriculum. They are both currently being updated to a new format, and to include more information on resilience, self-development, self and team care, and communication.

L-180: Human Factors

This course introduces student to what it feels like to be a wildland firefighter: How we make decisions, how the fire environment affects us, how stress can affect the team, individuals, and decision making, and an education on universal communication responsibilities.

Some changes to look for in the next iteration:
  • Student will read Leading in The Wildland Fire Service and be introduced to our core values (Duty, Integrity, and Respect) and principles.
  • Stronger emphasis on stress: identifying and managing stress, self-care, resiliency, and authenticity.
It’s important to understand that individual welfare affects team welfare and taking care of each other leads to team resiliency. It’s all connected!

L-280: Followership to Leadership

This course discusses the transition an individual goes through when asked to start taking on the responsibilities of the designated leader. It seeks to answer questions such as: 
  • How does your role within the team change? 
  • How does it change your relationships and responsibilities? 
  • How can you still be a leader when you're not in charge? How do you incorporate the values and principles into your everyday work and interactions? 
This course also gives students the opportunity to practice skills as a new leader, teaches key communication tools like briefing and debriefing, and introduces students to all the tools in the Leadership Toolbox.

Some changes to look for in the next iteration:
  • Students will have new course pre-work book options, be introduced to the art of facilitation, and the course will be overall less ”fire-centric” and more universal to the topic of leadership, as leadership studies can be applied to all aspects of our lives.
  • Stronger emphasis on resilience, compassion, and authenticity. 
Team cohesion relies on members being real, compassionate, and willing to stand up for each other. As a leader you must learn to cultivate these skills within yourself and your team to make the team stronger.

Ashleigh D'Antonio and Brandon Selk are the Curriculum Management Leads for L-180 and L-280. Contact them for questions or concerns regarding these courses.

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