Leadership for the Personnel Challenges Ahead

Our most recent articles have focused largely on the challenges in recruitment many departments are facing, and others soon may be, primarily looking at how agencies can make a career in law enforcement desirable to a new and very different generation of potential recruits.  But recruitment is only part of the picture; unless we can retain young officers once they graduate the academy, recruiting will become a never-ending crisis.

Effective leadership can make or break the effectiveness and cohesion of a unit, a shift team, or even a department.  As we’ve addressed recruitment and retention we’ve touched on leadership somewhat peripherally, but its importance must be acknowledged.  Strong leadership (as opposed to management, also vitally important but inadequate on its own) increases trust, buy in, and morale.  And strong leadership doesn’t necessarily come just from formal, hierarchical appointments but also through the informal power structures and influencers; leadership may or may not follow command structure, and can and should come from various sources.   

12 RESEARCH TESTED TRAITS OF EFFECTIVE LEADERS

We have both led and been led in various settings, and have learned certain truths from both.  We’ve drawn from our own experiences, and studied the research of others, and come to several conclusions.  Effective leaders focus on developing a culture of rewards versus a culture of punishment. They take seriously the adage of “leading by example” and “front line leadership.”  They are not threatened to share power or leadership, even when that means sharing it with others who may not be as high up in the hierarchy.  They promote the leadership of others, especially when it comes to specialized knowledge or skills.  And they tend to possess certain traits that increase the likelihood of their success, as follow:  

1. They live their values — Effective leaders are governed by a strong moral compass and have taken the time to name and define their values. The way they treat others – particularly those beneath them hierarchically and those from whom they can gain nothing – and their behaviors reflect those values and their words.
2. They realize position does not define leadership — Leadership is not defined by their rank or position in the organization.  Reliance on title or position to influence others often does not seem to work well with others, especially if relationship skills are lacking.  Leaders who lead by their hierarchal position do not lead well, according to author Josh Maxwell, because they fail to acknowledge that leadership is about working with people.
3. They set goals for interpersonal skill development — Like tactical skills, personal and professional development is ongoing throughout our entire lives. Effective leaders know their personality strengths and occupational talents and continually work to make them stronger. They also identify where they are not as strong and set achievable goals for improvement.  This may mean abandoning past beliefs, practices, or conventional wisdom when evidence points toward better options, and this requires the ability to own where they have been wrong or that they now know better. 
4. They say “Thank You” often — Good leaders take the time to appreciate the strengths of others with an encouraging word or gesture, recognize the good work of others publicly and in private, and show gratitude. They know a word of acknowledgement and gratitude goes far, and that praised effort is repeated effort.
5. They admit their mistakes — Leaders approach their mistakes with humility instead of justification and defensiveness. This allows the organization to move forward instead of being stuck on the blame and shame and models the behavior and expectations they should have of subordinates.  A good leader understands neither position nor experience renders them infallible, and only by owning where they’ve failed can they make corrections for the future.
6. They are mentors and coaches — They believe in sharing knowledge so that others can rise up to be better leaders themselves. High-level leaders encourage the people around them to reach their highest potential, ideally minimizing their necessity at the most basic operational level.  This frees them to creatively move the organization forward, focus on higher level management tasks, and delegate and promote leadership opportunities for subordinates.
7. They accept influence — Strong leaders seek out opportunities to learn and grow from anyone instead of assuming they hold all the answers merely because of rank or experience.  They understand a leader’s role as managing and working within the collective intelligence of the team, and that no one person – themselves included – hold all the cards, or should.  
8. They hold people accountable — They are able to lead in tough situations and able to negotiate conflict with authority and decisiveness without degrading another person, yet won’t shrink from the role of disciplinarian when called for.  Discipline is understood to be restorative rather than punitive, with an eye toward full trust and forward movement for all.
9. They are not afraid to delegate to the expert in the room — A true leader is able to hand over projects to the most qualified around or under them instead of letting their ego or political ambitions hurt the culture around them. A true leader knows and remembers how to follow and will gladly move to that role when there is someone better to lead, but steps up to lead when there is a gap in knowledge or skill level, or where direction is needed in pursuit of the larger goal.
10. They can “vision cast” goals — They possess the ability to set goals for that are clear and concise and generates momentum towards productivity. Most leaders approach goal setting as a dictator rather than a vision caster. A dictator generates resentment and low morale whereas a vision caster generates excitement and buy-in of the goals.
11. They forgive — A leader understands all will fail and fall from time to time, remembers their own stumbles and blinders, and forgives those of others.  Grudges are released, scorecards torn up, and opportunities to do better extended without qualification.  And a leader can be bested in a dispute without resentment.  According to Robert Sutton, PhD, in Good Boss, Bad Boss, from the “Eleven Commandments for Wise Bosses”: “Do not hold grudges after losing an argument. Instead, help the victors implement their ideas with all your might.”
12. They are solution-oriented — Identifying problems is easy; Listen in at any department for just a few minutes and you’ll find everyone grumbling about their pet problem. Finding solutions requires actual creativity and brain power. Effective leaders don’t waste time complaining, they consider what needs attention, involve others in problem-solving, and work it over until a feasible solution is found.

As police agencies confront their coming challenges they will need strong leaders, including not just those who hold rank and formal authority, but also from the front line, informal leadership structures that exist in all organizations.