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2012 | Book

Introduction Read chapter Read first chapter

Police Leadership

A Primer for the Individual and the Organization

Author: Quinn McCarthy

Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan UK

Part of: Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" , Springer Professional "Wirtschaft"

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About this book

This volume goes beyond other books on police leadership by exploring the topic from a distinctively police perspective. Based on a leadership model developed specifically for the police leader, the book focuses on behaviour and how that behaviour shapes both the culture and the climate of an organization.

Table of Contents

Frontmatter

Introduction

Introduction
Abstract
So why do we need another book about police leadership? I struggled with this question for several years before coming to the conclusion that there was a need not only for another police leadership book but, more importantly, there is a need for a book written from the perspective and understanding of the uniqueness and challenges that police leaders face. The idea that a new book — read a new approach — was needed in the profession formed in my head as my agency slid into the throes of both a financial and leadership succession crisis brought on by a shaky economy and looming retirements. I began to have some doubts that we could just simply keep up with the status quo that had sustained the agency for the 15 plus years I had been working there. Early on in my career, the agency had undergone several quick changes in the chief of police, one leaving under a cloud of corruption, until the city was able to finally provide command stability by appointing a chief who would stay in place for nearly ten years. During this time of stability I observed that as commanders came and went, there was often very little real change to my corner of the world. This suggested to me that the development of leadership within the agency was fixed, purposeful, and obviously working. As I gained experience and tenure, I decide that I wanted to move up in the ranks.
Quinn McCarthy

The Individual as a Leader

Frontmatter
1. Why We Need a New Approach
“Do We Want Leaders or Administrators?”
Abstract
This book is different. If you are looking for a theoretical treatise, this book is not for you. This book is about hard-nosed, practical police leadership based on a simple but effective model of competency-based leadership. It is my belief that we do not need an overly complicated model of leadership that moves along theoretical or abstract lines. We are better served by a simple common-sense model that is suited for all levels of leadership. I am all about common sense when it comes to leadership. Common sense — in essence — dictates that we look for the easiest and most effective solution to problems and issues. So creating police leaders should be no different. Yet we still struggle to find the best way to consistently create leaders. Some of this has to do with the fact that, in my research, I have found that most of the leadership development programs used by police departments are based on business management theories or adopted military programs. While these leadership programs have merit, they lack a specific and direct connection to the uniqueness of police work. Despite attempts by many in the academic field to distill police work into a business management model, approach, or strategy, the profession will always be resistant to fitting so neatly into these models because of the very non-business/academic environment police officers work in.
Quinn McCarthy
2. The Principles of Leadership
“Back to Basics Works But Only if You Understand the Basics”
Abstract
This chapter will lay the foundation for the CORE Leadership Model: Competency in Leadership, Organizational Climate, Responsibility, and Extending Influence. The Model can serve as the foundation for leadership, but it will not work unless you, the leader, put effort into it. There is no substitute for self-development as a leader. At the same time, random, unconnected development will never be beneficial or constructive. There is always a need for a framework from which to build. Leadership development comes from trial and error. It comes from focusing on character, knowledge, and integrity. More importantly, it comes from adhering to a set of principles that withstand the test of time.
Quinn McCarthy
3. The CORE Leadership Model
“I Tried Doing What the Books Say But It Isn’t Working. Now What?”
Abstract
What is a leadership model? More often than not, a leadership model is portrayed as a series of connected components such as self-development, institutional education, values, and ethics. The concept is that it takes different developmental strategies for each functional area of the model. In fact, many theories on leadership models state that the overriding goal of the model is to provide a means to disperse leadership training throughout the entire organization. A leadership model should further provide a well-defined means for understanding how a leader acts when faced with challenges. I agree with this concept wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, many of the current models on the market — at least in my research — lack a necessary and critically important behavioral aspect of leadership, focusing instead on the theories of leadership. The idea is that by learning and understanding theory, the leader will be able to apply it. The results have been mixed at best. I do believe that we may be providing better academic leadership education to our leaders, but without creating a direct correlation between learning, operational application, and then evaluating for effectiveness, we will always have a disconnect where the rubber meets the road.
Quinn McCarthy
4. Competency in Leadership
“Trust Me: I Know What I am Doing”
Abstract
The title of this chapter was designed to get a chuckle out of you. If it did, understand that you are not alone. While we can appreciate this sentiment from someone who knows what they are doing, I also think that most of us have worked for or have at least been around someone who has said this but who was, in essence, clueless. Leadership is more than just being in a leadership position or providing guidance to subordinates; it involves striking a balance between self, others, and the organization. This balance — emotional, physical, and mental — is extremely important to you as a leader. It provides a context for handling a crisis, maintaining the acceptable standards of performance and setting examples for others to follow. But what it means, in the context of this discussion, is the importance required of you — as a leader — in understanding the job and related tasks that your subordinates need to perform in order to be successful. Failing to gain this understanding and an appreciation of the challenges faced by your subordinates may result in you throwing the organization into chaos through unrealistic, unattainable, or even unnecessary expectations. This may seem to be a strong statement, but take a moment and consider it carefully. The expectations that a leader sets for their subordinates have a direct and indisputable effect on the overall efficiency of the organization.
Quinn McCarthy
5. Organizational Climate
“It’s OK to Make an Honest, Weil-Thought-Out Mistake”
Abstract
I hope that this title has given you some pause. Back in Chapter 2, we discussed the second principle of leadership, which states that “being right requires follow-through.” This is what climate is all about — a leader taking action to demonstrate their commitment to their subordinates. How a leader deals with their subordinates’ successes and failures is tantamount to leading a sound and effective climate. The climate within an organization is much like the ocean tide. It ebbs and flows, and being able to predict these tides is a skill that all leaders must learn to master. In continuing with this ocean analogy, you could consider levels of leadership as the gravitational forces of the sun and moon which have effect on the tides. In my experience, the manner in which direction coming from the “top” of the organizational chain of command is not only accepted but is also understood depends heavily on “street-level” leaders. This is where climate comes into play. As discussed earlier, climate and culture are interrelated but separate concepts. It is important to understand the differences between the two. Fundamentally, climate is about tangible leadership, which can be felt and understood by both subordinates and peers alike. As a leader, you have a profound and direct effect on the climate of your agency by the environment that your leadership creates.
Quinn McCarthy
6. Responsibility
“Your People are You”
Abstract
Leadership is the ability to positively motivate and influence people both inside and outside of the chain of command to achieve organizational goals, A leader shapes the organization now and in the future through the decisions they make. Moreover, a leader is responsible to their subordinates through their own actions and deeds.
Quinn McCarthy
7. Extending Influence
“Perception is Reality”
Abstract
In the previous chapter, I purposely left an unflattering remark about seeking diverse ideas and points of view unaddressed. Here it is: “While many of us like to believe that we are capable of doing this [seeking diverse points of view and ideas], it has been my experience that leaders are jealous about guarding their careers. For some leaders (and I admit that this can be more of a perception than a reality), it seems that there is a need or want to protect their power base by ensuring that successful outcomes borne out of ideas coming from their subordinates or command provide some degree of recognition and credit to themselves.” This remark can be viewed as unflattering because it is seemingly attacking not only the credibility but also the motivation of leaders. The implication is that a majority of leaders fall into this category simply by virtue of their position as leaders. I will let you decide if this a true statement based on your own experiences. What I want you to really focus on in this statement is “and I admit that this can be more of a perception than a reality.” The key word here is perception. In fact, perception is a very powerful tool, acting both as a constructive and a destructive force operating within an agency. The perception that subordinates have of their leaders is often one of the most noteworthy factors in their decision to follow or not follow a particular leader.
Quinn McCarthy

The Organization as a Leader

Frontmatter
8. The Levels, Stages, and Interrelationships of Police Leadership
“I Haven’t Changed! I Just Understand the Big Picture Now”
Abstract
I had been a sergeant for about 18 months when I was transferred back to the patrol division I was promoted out of. I was looking forward to returning home to the division where I had cut my teeth as an officer. In fact, I was feeling comfortable and confident that I would not only get a warm reception but that I would slip right back into being one of the guys. However, I was not met with the homecoming I had anticipated. Instead, I was treated with the same restraint as the other sergeants in the division were. After several weeks of this cautious relationship with my subordinates, I approached a trusted officer friend and asked him if I had done something to make everyone so anxious around me. He smiled and said: “You know how it is. We are all waiting to see if you have changed.” I asked him, “Changed what?” His reply was delivered with a sly smile: “Into a sergeant.”
Quinn McCarthy
9. Training Leaders
“Getting the Most Out of What Precious Little Time We Have”
Abstract
Training police officers has never been an easy task; training police leaders can be even more challenging. Unlike any other profession, police officers and leaders are faced with rapidly changing environments and threat levels, often within the same shift or even call for service, all of which require their own specific set of rules of engagement from both a tactical and a supervision perspective. Attempting to deal with every possible variable in training would not only be costly and time-consuming, it would also greatly reduce the effectiveness of the overall ability of an agency to teach core or fundamental skills. In the last eight chapters we have walked through the process of defining leadership and building the framework for evaluating a leader’s individual effectiveness. The next step is to understand the mechanism for imparting knowledge and instituting sustainable leadership training. In simpler terms, it is about the organization as a leader. While we could rely on (and in most cases already do) the individual taking it upon themselves to take what they have learned and make it work for the organization, this approach is not only unrealistic but can also be frustrating when you hit that organizational brick wall known as leadership complacency.
Quinn McCarthy
10. Promoting Leaders
“Now that Promotional List Makes Sense!”
Abstract
Some of the most-often given pieces of advice to leaders about being successful is to surround themselves with good people. I like this advice, believing that it has both merit and truth, but in terms of the policing profession, we have to realize that due to the rules and procedures of the civil service process, it is not always possible for a police leader to select their subordinate leaders. I have come to see that the better and far more operative advice for police leaders is to make sure that the process used to create a promotional list is designed to identify good people for you. It can be argued that it has always been the long-standing goal of promotional processes to meet this need while ensuring that the process is also fair, equitable, and non-discriminatory for all those participating in it. Although there are many companies that can provide promotional services to police agencies, the one concern that comes to mind is the strength of the correlation that these external processes have to the agency’s actual leadership philosophy, practices, and training. In many cases, the correlation that exists between the process and the agency’s practices is more generic than specific in nature. This generic correlation is due to these processes being based on what can be considered universal practices for the position being tested. Yes, there are similarities between the job performed by a Boston Police Department sergeant and those same duties performed by a Phoenix Police Department sergeant.
Quinn McCarthy

The Leadership Primer

Frontmatter
11. Learning to Deal with Leadership Failure and Success
“How the Heck Did That Happen?”
Abstract
Failure is easy to deal with; it is success that gives us the bigger problems. Let me clarify this statement. When things go wrong, we look to identify the problems and then develop the solutions for them. However, when things go right, we rarely look for improvements; instead, we often choose to congratulate ourselves or become enamored with our success. In other words, success breeds complacency. I discussed the complacent leadership environment and the negative effects it has on organizational change back in Chapter 9. Here I want to expand upon this idea. In the late 1990s, after a rather blemished response to a riot involving a sport-related celebration that got out of hand, my agency focused on making changes to our response protocols. In the next several years we standardized our force response structure, provided training to our officers, and have, in my opinion, become very adept at dealing with unruly crowds. The problem is that the response protocols have been so successful that we often find ourselves, because of the way we respond, being criticized for sending officers in riot gear to what the public perceives to be peaceful gatherings. On more than one occasion, the agency has provided an almost industry-standard response to questions regarding this type of officer deployment, which is that the officers were operating within departmental policy and procedures in order to enhance officer and public safety.
Quinn McCarthy
Backmatter
Metadata
Title
Police Leadership
Author
Quinn McCarthy
Copyright Year
2012
Publisher
Palgrave Macmillan UK
Electronic ISBN
978-1-137-00593-9
Print ISBN
978-1-349-43489-3
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1057/9781137005939