It’s time to change how we develop leaders during their law enforcement careers.
For most law enforcement agencies, leadership training doesn’t begin until right before or after an officer promotes. This forces them to learn how to lead while they are actively doing the job. Not only does this create a liability for the agency, but it also forces a new supervisor to learn how to lead in a high stakes environment. This is like trying to build a plane while you are flying it!
The integration of leadership training should be throughout all stages of a police officer’s career. Much like resilience, leadership can be learned. I authored a blog called Cultivating Leaders Not of Rank. It discusses how a leader within the line level officers can be an asset to their department.
Leadership training should start in the academy. We ask our officers to be leaders in the community by managing a chaotic scene, influencing peers, and interacting with the community. Teaching leadership from the beginning will create more well-rounded officers and will foster a culture of both initiative and accountability.
Academy based training also sets a foundation for career growth. Officers that understand the basic principles of leadership are better equipped to transition into a leadership role. Employees with a clear career path are more likely to stay and excel within their department.
There are a lot of leadership philosophies that are available to model training. If starting training earlier in an officer’s career, the training should be basic, but effective. Here are some skills that should be the focus of early leadership training:
Communication- Leaders must possess the ability to communicate. Newer officers would also find value in increased communication skills when dealing with the community, suspects, and other officers.
Decision-making under stress - I recently wrote about training for chaos in another blog post. You can read it here. Every officer must deal with high pressure situations on an almost daily basis, no matter if they’ve been on the job for two months, or twenty years. Effective leaders get things done under pressure. The skill to handle decision-making under pressure can be learned through quality critical incident training.
Strategic thinking - Developing the ability to see the big picture when confronted with a situation is rare in new officers. Throughout my career I have seen officers make decisions that were not necessarily wrong, but didn’t take into consideration how they affected the department and the community as a whole.
By starting leadership training at the academy level, officers will be equipped with the tools they need to navigate the complicated nature of policing in 2025.
They will be given the opportunity to be leaders who communicate effectively and show empathy. They will be able to create a positive work environment, which in turn increases job satisfaction. Increased job satisfaction increases retention.
I say it in my classes all the time. Good leaders can make a bad team good, and bad leaders can make a good team bad. It really is that simple. Quality leaders will increase the performance of the workforce in every category.
To build resilient police departments, we must invest in leadership from day one. Leadership isn’t just for those with stripes on their sleeves; leadership is for every officer that wears a badge and protects their community.
The plane flies smoother when it is built on the ground. Let’s prepare our next generation of law enforcement officers to be leaders on their departments, and in the community.
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