I recently overheard an interesting conversation where a group of law enforcement officers were expressing their concerns about the actions of a new lieutenant. Their anxiety about the new manager revolved around a perception that the manager lacked concern about the officers’ well-being and previous accomplishments, and exhibited unnecessary aloofness, questionable guidance, and an apparent know-it all -attitude. One of those present made the comment, “That is just his leadership style.” I had to bite my tongue because it was clear to me that the real issue was the lack of leadership skills and not a deliberate leadership style.
The conversation served as a reminder that the development and daily exercise of solid leadership and supervisory practices are among the most important responsibilities of supervisors and managers. In every field of endeavor, and law enforcement is no exception, individuals who are newly appointed to positions of responsibility make mistakes and have room for growth. New carpenters make mistakes that are corrected with experience, new accountants make errors that are overcome with proficiency, and new chemists make mistakes that are resolved with better formulas. However, the mistakes made by new law enforcement supervisors and managers are reflected not in wood, numbers or chemicals, but instead translate into wear and tear and occasionally trauma to our employees.
While in most cases our employees are tolerant as we grow and develop, there are aggravated situations, which we can all point to where the poor skills of a superior translated into a very unhappy workplace, excessive absenteeism, workers compensation claims, disability retirements, and sometimes even divorces. Also, as we all recognize, the typically conscientious nature of law enforcement officers is such that, at least psychologically, our employees do take their problems home with them. But they have enough daily concerns without problems unnecessarily created by poor leadership
The phenomenal impact that supervisors and managers have on the lives of employees makes it critical that we recognize our solemn responsibility to continue our professional development and education, especially in leadership. Looking back on my performance as a new supervisor and later as a new manager, there is a mixture of pride, exhilaration, and a certain amount of embarrassment. Despite the best of intentions, some of my actions and guidance lacked the quality that comes with experience and continuing education. I can only hope that the wear and tear on my people during those periods, because of a weakness of leadership skills in certain areas, was not too severe!
I want to take this opportunity to encourage those who supervise and manage others, regardless of the assignment or department to be open-minded about your levels of proficiency, and to recognize a continued necessity for improvement in the development of leadership skills and practices. Become a student of leadership; read the abundance of articles, attend seminars and take classes. Of paramount importance is to always be sensitive to the strengths and weaknesses of other leaders with an internal commitment to capitalize upon their strengths and avoid their weaknesses. The men and women we are privileged to supervise and command deserve nothing less.
Keith Bushey retired from the Los Angeles Police Department as a commander, from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department as a deputy chief, and from the United States Marine Corps Reserve as a colonel. Other law enforcement experience includes having served as a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff, a State of California deputy game warden, and as the Marshal of San Bernardino County. He is an instructor emeritus for the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association and has lectured and written extensively in the areas of leadership, management and ethics. His entire eight booklet Leadership Series is in the public domain and may be downloaded without cost from KeithBushey.com. He may be contacted at kdbs255@aol.com