Police Department Leadership: Small Unit Leadership - Part I

This series of articles is about small unit leadership.  Not leadership in a wider organization sense, but leadership down in the weeds.  We will be looking at the kind of leadership necessary for employees involved in highly complex problem-solving tasks (tactical situations to interpersonal communication skills).  The primary focus is for those leaders practicing their trade with street cops, small vice or narcotic units, or tactical teams

READ THE ARTICLE

Police Department Leadership: Small Unit Leadership Part II - The Jump Start

It’s your first day in your assignment.  Perhaps you are a newly appointed leader, or you have been transferred into a new assignment.  How do you establish leadership?  How do you get things moving in the right direction?  You have the positional authority, the stripes or bars or whatever symbol of leadership. The position is only one type of leadership power and for the most part the weakest

READ THE ARTICLE

Police Department Leadership - Small Unit Leadership: Part III - Morale: Whose job is in anyway?

Karl Von Clausewitz, a Prussian military general and military theorist, identified morale as a fundamental military principle.  Since Clausewitz published On War morale has developed into a concept seen as critical to organizations, including law enforcement.  Unfortunately, morale is difficult to define and in many circles has become somewhat synonymous with motivation.  In this article we will look at a very different definition of morale, its potential effects and how the first line supervisor can affect it.

READ THE ARTICLE

Police Department Leadership: Leadership Issues: Managing Change

Managing despite the 3% at 50 rules and changing generations; From Boomers to Nexters What's next?

Rick Michelson

Changes in Latitudes, changes in Attitudes

             Perhaps Jimmy Buffet had it right; ones attitudes will change with ones perspective. Leadership in public safety agencies, particularly police agencies, is at a critical crossroads.  Early retirement incentives have enticed experienced personnel to leave their departments in mass numbers, creating a shortage of experienced supervisors.   In addition, there has been a graying of the department with the majority of the existing leaders in the Baby Boomer generation (those born between 1943 and 1960) all reaching retirement age at or about the same time.  A third contributing factor in the leadership crisis is budgetary constraints as a result of less government funding and under-funded pensions, resulting in fewer dollars for training.  The exodus of experienced supervisors has created a unique challenge for law enforcement agencies to fill openings quickly, while continuing to manage the daily operations (both administrative and tactical).  Unfortunately, little has been done to develop the next generational pool of candidates in terms of succession management or career development; many agencies have taken a laissez-faire approach to this growing crisis in public safety.  Without effective oversight from supervisors, police agencies leave themselves vulnerable to liability and lawsuits.

READ THE ARTICLE

Police Department Leadership: Change in Public Safety Organizations: It’s a Cultural Thing

 Ken Myers, PhD

Being in a public safety organization leadership role, you’re likely aware of the considerable difficulty involved in making significant changes to technology, procedure, administrative rules, etc.  If you have attempted a determined organizational push for some major change, (sometimes even a fairly small one) which met with surprisingly limited success, probably the culture thing got you.

READ THE ARTICLE

by Inspector Gord Schumacher L.L.B., Winnipeg Police Service

"My name's Friday, the story you are about to see is true."

Most police leaders at the senior and executive levels will remember that phrase recited near daily by Sgt. Jack Webb from the 1950's police show "Dragnet." This show was at the time revered as being as close to the real thing as you could get on television, and may have influenced some of us to become police officers in the first place.

READ THE ARTICLE