Incident Commander Leadership Style Analysis

Analyzing Leadership Styles of Incident Commanders

Dissertation
Submitted to Northcentral University
Graduate Faculty of the School of Business and Technology Management in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

by
Jeffrey C. Fox
Prescott Valley, Arizona
August 30, 2009

Copyright 2009
Jeffrey C. Fox

APPROVAL

Analyzing Leadership Styles of Incident Commanders by Jeffrey C. Fox
Approved by:

_Olin O. Oedekoven, Ph.D._________________________ ________________
Chair: (Type name and degree)
Date
Member: Yvonne Doll, Ph.D.
Member: Lionel Rawlins, Ph.D.
Certified by:
_______________________________________________ ________________
School Chair (Lynn Payne, Ph.D.)
Date

ABSTRACT
In this mixed methods
Recommendations.......................................................................................144
Conclusions .................................................................................................146
REFERENCES..................................................................................................148
APPENDIXES ...................................................................................................162
Appendix A Initial Data Collection Interview Form .....................................163
Appendix B Informed Consent Form...........................................................165
Appendix C Cover Letter / Instructions .......................................................167
Appendix D Incident Commander Form of the Descriptive Index ...............169
Appendix E Multifactor Leadership Questionnaires (MLQ) .........................173

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LIST OF TABLES
Table 1 Cross-Tabulation of Experience and Team Performance in Fire/EMS
Leaders ..............................................................................................................93
Table 2 Cross-Tabulation Indicating Team Performance and Incident Difficulty in
Fire/EMS Leaders
Table 18 Descriptive Table Indicating Dominant Leadership Outcome Among
Fire/EMS, Police, and Transportation Incident Commanders ...........................114
Table 19 Independent Samples t Test Results for Fire/EMS Versus Police and
Transportation Leadership Styles......................................................................115
Table 20 Independent Samples t Test Results for Fire/EMS Versus Police and
Transportation Leadership Outcomes ...............................................................117
Table 21 Independent Samples t Test Results for Police Versus Fire/EMS and
Transportation Leadership Styles......................................................................119
Table 22 Independent Samples t Test Results for Police Versus Fire/EMS and
Transportation Leadership Outcomes ...............................................................121

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Table 23 Independent Samples t Test Results for Transportation Versus Police and Fire/EMS Leadership Styles.......................................................................123
Table 24 Independent Samples t Test Results for Transportation Versus Police and Fire/EMS Leadership Outcomes