NCJ Number
195004
Journal
Police Chief Volume: 69 Issue: 3 Dated: March 2002 Pages: 41-44
Date Published
March 2002
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the phases of leadership growth and growth strategies for police leadership.
Abstract
Successful leaders are learners. The learning process is ongoing, a result of self-discipline and perseverance. The ability to make good decisions and do the job right comes from knowledge. Whether individuals do or do not have great natural ability for leadership, development, and progress will probably occur in four phases. The first phase is the “I don’t know what I don’t know” phase, the inability to recognize the value of leadership and see the opportunities available. The second phase is “I know what I don’t know” phase, where one realizes that leaders need to learn how to lead. The third phase is “I grow and know and it starts to grow” phase, creating and using time to plan focuses on priorities. The fourth phase is “I simply go because of what I know” phase, when growth becomes a regular part of a leader’s daily and weekly routine. Growth strategies are: (1) Always fail forward toward goals; (2) Hang out with great leaders; (3) Read; (4) Get a Mentor; (5) Exploit Reverse Engineering; (6) Practice What If; (7) Expand Horizons with Formal Studies; (8) Write Out a Personal and Professional Mission Statement; (9) Develop and Hone Teaching and Public Speaking Skills; and (10) Focus on Growing Others. Some leaders confuse their lack of success in their career with destiny. If leaders are not getting desired results, it may be a result of the approach. As they change the approach, the results change. The bottom line is it is never too late to begin to learn. The more a law enforcement manager knows how to do, and the better that manager does it, the more valuable he or she becomes. The better positioned a leader is, the greater his or her overall job security. 10 notes