Leadership has Soul

Leadership for me is, above all, a privilege.

In my policing career, I considered myself privileged to be trusted with the responsibility for the lives, welfare, performance, professional development, and career progression of members of my teams or departments.

I never referred to my colleagues as those I 'commanded'.

Rather, I referred to 'the people I have responsibility for.'

I was proud to be regarded as a 'maverick ' for practising a coaching style of #leadership. This was in stark contrast to the still prevalent culture of #commandandcontrol.

I fully understood that I retained ultimate responsibility for the performance and actions of colleagues.

My belief in the fundamental importance of knowing my colleagues as people was seared into my psyche by my first day as an Acting Sergeant.

It was Thursday, April 14, 1988.

That day, I was excited at the prospect of supervising colleagues as part of the management team of that relief ( a team of officers who worked the same shifts ). I had thought my primary responsibility was to help and guide their professional service delivery.

I was due to commence duty at 1400 hours.

Unfortunately events that morning disabused me of that notion of management and leadership.

It was a beautifully sunny day.

A friend called Frank Mason was scheduled to start work at that time with the team.

Earlier that morning, Frank, then aged 27 years old, was walking his dog in Hemel Hempstead when he saw a security van being robbed by armed men.

Frank intervened and was murdered by being shot in the back.

I was part of the management team (Inspector and fellow Sergeants) who were assembled at the police station at 1300 hours.

The operational delivery for that shift was to be covered by other officers.

Our principal responsibility was to recognise and support the team at this horrendous time.

All were traumatised and in tears. Everyone wanted to know the details of the events and the progress of the investigation.

At that time, we were not automatons of uniformed police officers but grieving individuals who wore police uniforms.

I never forgot that lesson.

Whenever I subsequently inherited responsibility for units, teams or departments these were the four aspects of leadership that I adopted.

1. Know your people.
2. Be Authentic.
3. Do not Procrastinate.
4. Be Consistent.

I have written about my leadership journey in my police career in my first book 'The ESSENTIAL Heart of a Leader.'

https://bit.ly/3wVZYCj

#leadership is knowing ourselves and those we are responsible for as people and behaving accordingly.

#leadership #culture #management #policingforthepublic