Called to Significant Service Servant-Based Strategic Leadership for Law Enforcement
Called to Significant Service Servant-Based Strategic Leadership for Law Enforcement
Tyson Gage | 2017
Abstract
The law enforcement profession is in a current leadership crisis. There are nearly 18,000 state and local law enforcement agencies in the United States which employ more than 1.1 million full-time, and approximately 100,000 part-time employees. Unfortunately, among this population, there is a general lack of leadership training along with a generation of personnel that is entering retirement. Many skills taught in criminal justice programs and academies have not evolved quickly enough to provide relevant training. There is a shift from one generation of leaders to the next without adequate preparation. Training has focused on the technical aspects of the profession and not on leading people. Promotional practices have often focused on seniority or technical competencies instead of leadership abilities and additionally focus on promoting without an identifiable leadership model. Some agencies have attempted to develop and implement leadership programs; however, those often are only offered to specified ranks of employees and focus on intensity instead of consistency.
Law enforcement agencies are uniquely structured government entities. They have differing hiring needs and requirements, organizational structures, cultures, demands, and challenges. They require leadership that is uniquely situated to deal with these factors. However, as with all organizations, a lack of leadership subsequently results in the ineffective organization of the agency. While there has always been a need for competent law enforcement leadership, in today’s climate, the need is greater than ever. The solution is for leaders to embark on an infinite journey and gain the ability to execute servant-based strategic leadership reforms within their organization.
This manuscript serves as a consultancy guide that specializes in servant-based strategic leadership in order to facilitate executive level leadership education to law enforcement agencies by providing specified subject matter expertise in criminal justice and strategic leadership. The provided content is relevant and industry-specific strategic leadership information for the entirety of organizational personnel delivered in a manner that is easily understood, resonates, and transpires throughout the organizational culture. As a note, information throughout this manuscript is rooted in research concerning both the public and private sectors. It stems from newspaper, academic and industry journal articles, universities, government entities, Bible, academia, industry experts, industry-specific personnel, and the social sciences. Examples of leadership concepts may specifically point to the private sector because there has been little to no research as related to law enforcement. With that said, that is a partial point of this manuscript; to introduce private sector leadership concepts to the public sector. References may be specific to general government, the federal government, law enforcement, or private sector industries; however, all have a specified relevance to servant-based strategic leadership for law enforcement.
The shared knowledge, information, and data facilitate the development of systems to solve law enforcement agency leadership puzzles. This serves as a facilitator of change by mutually engaging in dialogue, analysis, and reflection; encouraging an agency driven approach, and utilizing the agency’s expertise in creating a sustainable leadership platform. It creates an environment in which information is received by serving as an outside subject matter expert and a neutral party. This assists to bridge the gap between those who may have differing opinions of the facilitation of the agency mission. The results yielded from law enforcement specific leadership consulting will aid in targeting agency-specific missions and the allocation of agency resources to identify, create, and sustain a strategic leadership culture, develop workforce engagement, and create a lasting leadership legacy.