True Leaders

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True leaders are hard to come by, especially when they are selected based on political favor. But, when that leader is selected through the political process they have an opportunity for positive growth. Just like public speaking, the following leadership qualities can be learned especially when given eight years to do so.

A leader needs to be resilient. There’s so much change afoot in the workplace today and when change occurs, individuals who have resilience generally are also resourceful and agile. They have the ability to take on change and adapt to what’s happening around them and to them as the workplace changes. Individuals who have resilience/grit are able to take good risks and are open to change.

Being transparent is the most important trait of an effective leader. Especially when it comes to working with millennials and the younger workforce, it is important for them to understand the big picture. That is, you shouldn’t just ask (or tell) them to do something without explaining how this task or function integrates within the larger business initiative. When they are able to see the connection, they often feel much more empowered and motivated to do a better job.

Good leaders improve their emotional intelligence by making a concerted effort to understand the reasons behind an employee’s behavior. It could be a lack of trust, a bad past experience or a fear behind a bad decision. When you understand this, it’s easier to react with dignity to any type of situation. Simply firing people is not the answer.

Engagement is the secret sauce to attractive law enforcement agencies. With engagement you gain huge amounts of discretionary work effort which goes well above and beyond what is merely required for any given role. Like it or not, the Sheriff is the Cultural icon of the agency and passion for the job, passion for the brotherhood, passion for the goals, passion for the successes and passion for the inevitable twist and turns is the key to widespread engagement. And the opposite is even more true – the lack of passion leads to tragic disengagement.

Empathy not only allows great leaders to understand their employees and their community better, but it also is known to enhance pro-social (aka helping) behaviors. Because of this, empathy enables leaders to address issues faster and with more precision, and it makes them more flexible to respond to an ever-changing working environment.

A leader should empower their subordinates by delegating tasks appropriately, providing proper guidance and limits, and supporting the decisions of the subordinates. When the subordinate leaders are empowered, their intelligence and talents can be unleashed to help the organization grow. When they are stifled, only the minimum gets accomplished because few are motivated to help an organization that is overbearing.

The ability to not be closed off to new ideas or challenges to established norms is what sets apart an open-minded leader. A person who can look at the best lessons of the past and current while being open to the ideas of the future has the best opportunity to create success in themselves, their organization and employees. Being able to change with the times, flexible when needed and decisive when required are rare qualities of current leadership.

Patience is a defining characteristic of great leaders. Patiently wait for the right opportunity and don’t swing at every pitch. More so, understanding that success doesn’t happen overnight, and obsessing over the process- not the result- will cultivate a culture of patience and ensure long-term success.

No task is beneath you (even menial tasks). Just because you are a high up executive does not mean that you are above taking a call, or doing a security check in a housing unit. Take the initiative to do small tasks around the office– lead by example. You may just get more votes too!

A great leader has to be able to say, I’m sorry. If you want your organization to be constantly innovating and improving, your team members must be reflective and self-aware. You need them to know when they’ve made mistakes and correct them so they can get better. This is only a realistic expectation if the leader of the organization is willing to do the same thing. A good leader will say, I made a mistake, I’m sorry, and here’s what I’m doing to get better. If the leader can do this, it will set the right tone for the rest of the organization.

The ability to lead through influence, rather than authority, is the most important quality of a great leader. Influence requires strong coaching, emotional intelligence, effective communication, negotiation and consensus building skills. Leaders who employ these skills to influence office members and citizens produce greater employee and community engagement, increased collaboration and innovation, and ultimately drive greater excellence for the organization they lead compared to those who attempt to use their position and authority to demand it.

Great leaders are able to help their team members understand the big picture so they can connect their success back to the success of the agency. The vision should be big enough to inspire and broad enough to be inclusive. Doing so allows everyone in the agency to understand the importance of the role they play in bringing that vision to reality.

Integrity matters in three ways: leaders with great integrity foster critical trust amongst colleagues and direct deports, and demonstrate a commitment to moral and ethical behaviors. Leaders who do NOT value integrity will not gain the trust and buy-in of their teams and colleagues, which will negatively impact engagement and performance. And leading with integrity doesn’t mean never making mistakes, but recognizing and owning them, which leads to continual self-development, and demonstrates humility to others.

What separates great leaders from the rest of the crowd is their ability to see the bigger picture instead of becoming lost in the details. The best leaders understand how each member of their team works to contribute to the overall goals of their agency, and ensures that everybody understands which tasks they’re responsible for. By keeping the end objective in sight, they can push their agency towards their long-term goals, rather than becoming stuck at the short-term goals.

For great leaders, the secret to success is attentive listening to the people your work with. Great leaders listen and respond to employee suggestions for continuous improvement and use those ideas to solidify the agency. They also openly listen and respond to messages coming from other metrics like employee turnover, as well as do proactive listening through organizational surveys and a liberal open door policy.

The ability to praise is one of the most underrated leadership qualities out there. Recognition and appreciation serve to not only motivate and boost employee morale but also make employees continue to strive to impress you. It creates a mutual respect; I work for them just as much as they work for me. And I'm not talking about quarterly awards, which is just a photo op for your PIO team. I'm talking one on one conversation.

These are the qualities YOU deserve from all of your leadership. Ask yourself, how many in your command staff have even one of these qualities? Please, in your comments, be professional and don't call out individuals out by name unless it's positive.

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This post should be deleted for its length alone. Thanks for the copy and paste of that book.