Building an Organzitional Foundation for the Future

Andrew J. Harvey, Ed.D.

The modern world has become a place of constant change and transformation. In this environment, success depends on how well organizations recognize and adapt to change. Management theorist Tom Peters put it very well when he said that the most successful organizations in the future will be the ones that "thrive on chaos."(1) Those that cannot identify and act on emerging issues are doomed to, at least, inefficiency and ineffectiveness and, at most, disaster and possibly even destruction.

What does this trend mean to law enforcement? With its traditional, paramilitary structure, law enforcement has proven slow to adapt to change. While traditional methods have brought success in the past, relying on these techniques in the future may be dangerous.

To achieve success in the next century, law enforcement agencies must recognize and welcome emerging trends. Part of this means changing the way they operate, from their organizational structures to their management of human resources.

This article discusses the strategies that law enforcement agencies need to implement in order to build an organizational foundation for the future.

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Leadership Issues: Managing Change

By Rick Michelson

Changes in Latitudes, changes in Attitudes

             Perhaps Jimmy Buffet had it right; ones attitudes will change with ones perspective. Leadership in public safety agencies, particularly police agencies, is at a critical crossroads.  Early retirement incentives have enticed experienced personnel to leave their departments in mass numbers, creating a shortage of experienced supervisors.   In addition, there has been a graying of the department with the majority of the existing leaders in the Baby Boomer generation (those born between 1943 and 1960) all reaching retirement age at or about the same time.  A third contributing factor in the leadership crisis is budgetary constraints as a result of less government funding and under-funded pensions, resulting in fewer dollars for training.  The exodus of experienced supervisors has created a unique challenge for law enforcement agencies to fill openings quickly, while continuing to manage the daily operations (both administrative and tactical).  Unfortunately, little has been done to develop the next generational pool of candidates in terms of succession management or career development; many agencies have taken a laissez-faire approach to this growing crisis in public safety.  Without effective oversight from supervisors, police agencies leave themselves vulnerable to liability and lawsuits.

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Morale: Whose Job is it Anyways?

By Raymond E. Foster

           Karl Von Clausewitz, a Prussian military general and military theorist, identified morale as a fundamental military principle.  Since Clausewitz published “On War” morale has developed into a concept seen as critical to organizations, including law enforcement.  Unfortunately, morale is difficult to define and in many circles has become somewhat synonymous with motivation.  In this article we will look at a very different definition of morale, its potential effects and how the first line supervisor can affect it.

            Often times, people consider morale the same as motivation.  But, morale is not about motivation.  If it were, negative discipline could improve morale. There are times negative discipline is used to improve performance.  Negative consequences can be a powerful tool in shaping behavior.  So, if morale were about behavior or performance, negative discipline might be a tool for improving morale.

            That is not to say that improved morale does not improve performance; it does.  The point is that there is a clear separation between morale and motivation.  High morale can be very motivating.  High motivation can improve performance.  There is a linkage between morale and motivation but they are not he same.

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Jump Start Your Leadership

by Raymond E. Foster

             It’s your first day in your assignment.  Perhaps you are a newly appointed leader, or you have been transferred into a new assignment.  How do you establish leadership?  How do you get things moving in the right direction?  You have the positional authority, the stripes or bars or whatever symbol of leadership. The position is only one type of leadership power and for the most part the weakest.

            As you study your craft, leadership, you will find that there are several types of leader power.  Many people have a difficult time with the word “power;” It can carry negative connotations.  Recall our first article and think of our definition of leadership – “The art of influencing human behavior toward organizational goals.”  In the leader realm, power is the amount and type of influence the leader possesses.  First, let’s define four of the power bases you can work from as a new leader and then we will explore how to combine them into a plan to “jump start” your leadership.

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Defining Leadership

by Lieutenant Raymond E. Foster, LAPD (ret.), MPA 

          This series of articles is about small unit leadership.  Not leadership in a wider organization sense, but leadership down in the weeds.  We will be looking at the kind of leadership necessary for employees involved in highly complex problem-solving tasks (tactical situations to interpersonal communication skills).  The primary focus is for those leaders practicing their trade with street cops, small vice or narcotic units, or tactical teams. 

         Our first step will be to work out a definition of leadership.  As we progress through this series of articles we will explore how leadership skills can be gained, honed and applied.

         Nearly every promotional interview panel asks some type of leadership questions.  Indeed, they often simply ask the interviewee to define leadership.  Ask someone.  They will probably work backwards and use the words lead and leader to define leadership.  But, a working definition of the word is critical before we can apply the concepts to small units.

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