Conference Presentation and Attendance
On April 12, 2016, I presented a training block at the state-wide Women in Criminal Justice conference in Bloomington, Illinois. The theme of the conference was, “Engaging in Collaborative Partnerships,” and was designed specifically around preparing women for for the future of law enforcement. The Servant Leadership presentation was specifically selected to be geared towards female members of upper command in police departments and corrections facilities. However, the conference was open to women of any rank and new officers were welcome to attend.
The presentation lasted 1 hour and 15 minutes. It was held in a lecture-discussion format and approximately 50 women attended.
The presentation was designed to provide women police officers of all ranks an introduction to servant leadership. They learned about the philosophy and how the practice of servant leadership can prepare others for the future. I introduced participants to a self-assessment and provided them with a tool based off of the 7 Pillars of Servant Leadership as described by Sipe and Frick (2009). The participants left with a 5-point Likert scale version of the self-assessment which they were welcome to reproduce for their own departments.
Self-assessment and colleague identification tool
Departmental assessment tool
While it was an introduction to the philosophy, we also tied it into the current and future states of policing.
In the presentation, I asked for contact information for those participants who were interested in follow-up information. They received an email with references, a copy of the self-assessment, a link to this site, as well as a link to a social media group through which we can reconnect, exchange ideas, and help each other progress. As more people begin to discover that they really are “Servant Leaders,” my hope is to start identifying policing organizations that are servant-led to research the effects of servant leadership on crime control and communities.
Program Competencies Used in the Presentation
Recognizing the role dialogue can play in leadership in contemporary America.
COML 619 – Peacebuilding through Dialogue/Gonzaga in Ireland
In the presentation, we shared stories about experiences we have had within our departments in developing officers to face the challenges in policing. By showing a shared or different experience, we helped create a small system of understanding of the issues that are facing police department in large cities, suburbs, and rural areas. Many of these stories were similar, but the different ones brought out new ideas which the participants found value.
Applying foresight into a systems view.
ORGL 537 – Foresight and Strategy
In policing, we tend to be myopic when it comes to evaluating our challenges; we tend to look to the past legal decisions and do not necessarily anticipate our future impacts. In presenting my project, I asked the formal leaders what the future challenges are for policing. We then turned it to the younger officers and asked what they needed to have in order to achieve success to mitigate the future challenges. The conversation came back around to training, understanding, and mentoring. Through this we also had some discovery as to who the upper command serve (community, politicians, and employees) and who the rank-and-file serve (the community at large). We were able to create an understanding of the human development that is required in preparing people for the future, as well as the listening required.
Conceptualize and articulate the philosophy of servant leadership.
ORGL 530 – Servant Leadership
In the conference presentation, it became very easy to define servant leadership in the policing profession. When we were waiting to go into the room, I heard one of the participants say, “I hate that word (servant).” According to Greenleaf (2001), “there may be a real contradiction in the servant as a leader.” We worked through the contradiction by simply following the natural professional progression from a rookie officer to a police chief. I asked the newest officer in the room, as if she was being interviewed, “why do you want to be a police officer?” Her answer was, “to help people in my community.” I asked a police chief, as if she was before a mayor being interviewed, “why do you want to be a chief?” She answered, “to help my officers.” Police officers have the natural feeling to serve. Those who make the conscious choice to be leaders – those who “aspire to lead” – also have the natural feeling to serve. That became the key element when we talked about humility, empathy, a system’s view, forgiveness, and the human development that occurs when we meet people where they are. We were able to point out that many people in policing are already servant leaders. By discovering this, it also helped us move forward away from the “servant” argument to see the possibilities.
Competency Applications Discovered
The Servant Leadership presentation leadership was only one block of training that was available to participants. In attending the larger general sessions, I was able to truly see how much the Organizational Leadership program competencies play into budding police reform. Dr. Tracie Keesee, Deputy Commissioner of Training at the New York City Police Department, spoke passionately to the need to serve officers through each juncture of their career so that they are able to provide the best service to their communities.
She spoke about breaking certain traditions that go against building a diverse policing organization such as archaic physical fitness standards that would exclude women from the ranks. She also spoke about meeting officers’ personal growth needs throughout their career. Officers struggle with the idea that the community questions long-practiced tactics that are designed to keep officers safe and go home alive. Dr. Keesee challenged police leaders to deal with the ethical paradoxes and conflicts through demonstrated empathy towards this struggle. This empathy comes at the same time that officers are asked to reconcile and restore their relationship with community.
Through her talk, competencies of two courses emerged that I plan add to future presentations.
Developing empathy based on competent intercultural communication
ORGL 506 – Leadership and Diversity
This is a competency that plays large in my profession, so much so that the state legislature has made diversity training a core to police officer training. This course really helped open my eyes to a different way of developing empathy through a heart of service. Without empathy between those who are being served and those who will provide the service, the policing profession will have a very difficult time overcoming the hurdles that we currently face. I have found that empathy based on intercultural communication has allowed me to overcome some of my own hurdles to better hear and learn from members of my own community. This empathy and understanding is also important internally if we are to develop police organizations that reflect the community.
Develop a cooperative community with shared values; and
Develop a strategy to analyze ethical dilemmas and recommend a course of action
ORGL 503 – Organizational Ethics
In a time where officers feel that they are being stripped of the necessary tools and power that will personally keep them safe, a community and world-view can help them navigate the ethical dilemmas that the policing profession faces. Community input and value development is necessary for policing organizations to best-serve their jurisdictions. Without officer input, however, police leaders will only create a working environment where officers will feel disaffected. In teaching officers to approach a problem using “moral imagination,” systems-thinking, and different ethical strategies (Werhane, 2002), we can help them overcome feelings as if they are being victimized by their community. We can also help them better serve their communities by creating a system of shared values.
Serving For Police 