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Leadership Issues: Managing Change
Managing despite the 3% at 50 rules and changing generations; From Boomers to
Nexters What's next?
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.
The Impact of Early Retirement
Incentives
In the early 1990s, state, county and city budgets (particularly in California)
were typically at a surplus and, consequently, police unions created early
retirement incentives for its members. Many agencies adopted what is coined,
the 3% at 50 program. This program allows any employee over the age of 50 to
collect an annual retirement salary calculated by multiplying 3% times the
number of years they have been employed by the department (i.e., 3% x 25 years =
75% of their existing salary as their new annual salary). For many, this is an
offer too good to pass up, given the option to begin a second career.
To counterbalance the exodus created by 3% at 50, some
departments,
such as San Diego Police Department, created a Deferred Retirement Option Plan
(DROP) Program. The DROP programs allows city executives to collect both their
regular pay and retirement pay during the last five years of their employment
(essentially allowing employees to double-dip) for continuing to work in the
City after retirement eligibility. Unfortunately, financial analysts
miscalculated the impact this expense would have the on the City of San Diego's
budget, resulting in a massive pension liability of 1.4 billion, ballooning to
$306 million annually
by Fiscal Year 2011, which is 21 percent of the City's General Fund (Roberts,
2005). Clearly, for government agencies already in a budget crisis unrelated to
retirement programs (as a result of reduced legislative funding and grants that
have been diverted to Homeland Security), finding the monies to recruit, train
and retain qualified leadership candidates has become an even greater
challenge.
As a result of the 3% at 50 retirement
incentives, agencies are
feeling the pinch of having to replace veteran leaders with younger candidates
who have not had the length of service in the field, and without experience in
leadership positions. Consequently, the need arises for more concentrated
efforts to identify leadership traits, to create a career development path, and
to prepare those replacements as supervisors.
For agencies, the cycle of bringing people into the organization,
preparing them for the job, and then keeping them in the organization, is
divided into three areas: Recruitment, Training and Retention. Each of these
areas could have a significant impact on the other, particularly with leadership
training and how it relates to promotions or employee development. It is this
issue that is the core of my thesis: that law enforcement agencies should do
more to develop their leaders. Studies show that many public administration
academics are, at best, ignoring leadership issues
and, at worst, rejecting the concept. Practitioners, on the other hand, are
trying to gain sufficient training or grounding in
leadership to deal with the relationship-based issues
they face daily (Fairholm, 2004).
When considering promoting individuals to leadership roles, the pool of
candidates may vary greatly in their values, behaviors and commitment to the
department. The issue of how committed they will be to the organization pivots
on whether the individuals needs are met; those needs are based on their shared
experiences as cohorts relating to the sociological, economic, and technological
developments during their formative years. Police managers need to adapt their
recruitment and development styles to match and motivate
the different workplace generations.
To hire them is one thing; to keep them is
another. When we look
at the four generations of cohorts that are working together, there are:
1. Veterans: those born between
1922 and 1943 (52 million people). These cohorts were born before or during
World War II and their earliest experiences are associated with that world
event. Some also remember the Great Depression.
2. The Baby Boomers: those born between
1943-1960 (73.2
million people). These people were born during or after World War II and raised
in an era of extreme optimism, opportunity, and progress. Boomers, for the most
part, grew up in two-parent households, safe schools, job security and post-war
prosperity. They represent about two-thirds of all U.S. workers. On the job,
they value loyalty, respect the organizational hierarchy, and generally wait
their turn for advancement.
3. Generation Xers: those born between 1960-1980
(70.1
million people). They were born after the Boomers into a rapidly changing social
climate and economic recession, including Asian competition. They grew up in
two-career families with rising divorce rates, downsizing, the dawning of the
high-tech age, and the information age. On the job, they can be fiercely
independent, like to be in control, and want fast feedback.
4. Generation Nexters: those born between
1980-2000 (69.7
million people to date). Those born of Boomer parents and early Xers into our
current high-tech, neo-optimistic times. Although the youngest workers, they
represent the most technologically adept. They are fast learners and tend to be
impatient (Zemke, 2005).
Cultural diversity and sensitivity
training should be expanded
to capture the internal cultures created by the generational variances in the
workplace. This concept is foreign to law enforcements paramilitary,
hierarchical structure of leadership, which typically purports top-down
communication according to rank. The Gen Xers and Nexters typically prefer to
work in teams with more bottom-up (open) communication channels. As a result of
natural attrition and retirements, law enforcement agencies are attempting to
replace their Baby Boomers with Gen Xers or Nexters and are challenged by each
generations perspective on leadership, teamwork, desire for autonomy, and most
importantly, commitment to the organization and the profession.
Organizational Commitment
Organizational commitment
can be divided into two dominant dimensions: Affective commitment and
calculated (or continuance) commitment. The first form of commitment
(affective) is essentially an attitudinal phenomenon related to personality
traits and job-related factors, and leads to the willingness of an employee to
support organizational goals (Brown, 1990). This applicant is driven by their
own altruistic passion and will seek out the position based on their intrinsic
qualities and desire to effect change. Typically, this individual is
self-motivated, stable, and exhibits a higher level of commitment.
Calculative commitment is the result of employees perception
that
merely by being part of the organization, their self-interest will be served.
This commitment tends to be more transitory. The calculative applicant needs to
be sold through an aggressive (extrinsic) marketing campaign. They need to be
able to identify with a popular or specialized group that exhibits a strong
sense of pride and accomplishment. Interestingly, the tougher it is to join
certain specialized groups and the higher the demand and mystique of the group
(such as the military's Special Forces, or the police SWAT team), the greater
the impact on the calculative commitment. In addition, lucrative benefit
packages, specialized assignments, and recognition and rewards (coupled with a
good match of personality and temperament), can help cement the calculative
commitment.
Whether an individual is intrinsically or extrinsically motivated, they have
similar expectations of their leadership. Six qualities have been identified as
beneficial for police administrators in creating a committed workforce. These
include:
1. Vision: Having a clear sense of
direction, communicating the direction to others and developing a level of
enthusiasm among subordinates for the direction.
2. Charisma: Having the ability to
interact with subordinates and inspire them toward organizational objectives.
3. Symbolism: Offering special
awards and holding ceremonies to recognize excellence and identify heroic or
outstanding performance.
4. Empowerment: Delegating truly
challenging work and helping others develop (personally and professionally;
giving them the responsibility and the authority to do their jobs).
5. Intellectual Stimulation:
Creating an atmosphere whereby subordinates begin to think about problems and
use their creativity to solve them.
6. Integrity: Being honest and open
to all members of the organization and consistently adhering to the high
standards of ethics and morality (Gains, 2003).
Beyond the aforementioned
ideal
characteristics of a leader, the challenge remains: how does a leader keep their
workforce engaged? What is it that will motivate employees enough to want to
remain in the organization? Empirical studies suggest that the bond between
employees and their organization is strengthened by a number of factors
including job scope, job challenge, leader communication, participative
management, occupational commitment, job involvement, and job satisfaction.
Conversely, role ambiguity, conflict, and work overload lower the commitment of
the employees towards the organization (Brown, 1990). Ideally, the commitment
to an organization or the profession would be considered a desirable trait since
it ideally would result in lower turnover and contribute to greater productivity
(Hom, 1995). In a sense, commitment should be a dimension desired in recruiting
and testing efforts and applicants could be screened for their values,
integrity, character, and willingness to serve a long-term commitment. Various
psychometric tests such as the Myers Briggs, Keirsey Temperament, and
Supervisory Skills Inventory could be utilized in hiring, rather than merely
having candidates answer questions from an oral panel (which is considered
subjective in nature) to determine leadership characteristics.
The competition for qualified candidates has grown strong
with
greater variances in starting salaries, incentives and benefits relating to each
departments financial strength. Money is a big deal. It is what is driving
some officers to leave the San Diego Police Department as a result of taking pay
cuts to offset the pension deficit (Hasemyer, 2005). In the midst of
recruitment and retention efforts, some departments are facing cutbacks due to
the municipal or county financial woes and are losing experienced officers based
solely on dollars and cents. Police Chief, William Lansdowne, fears the
resignations have just begun, stating, "We have to fix this problem. We can't
continue to lose the most valuable members of our police department." The
salary and benefit rollbacks spurred 15 officers, to leave as of October of
2005. Eighteen left last year. By comparison, only eight officers left five
years ago, when the City's financial future was brighter (Manolatos, 2005). As
a leadership issue, the retention of personnel has become a primary concern.
Circling back to the issue of attrition, in one
California city, city
leaders realized they were facing a potential leadership vacuum when, within
four to five years, 11 of 15 department heads would become eligible to retire.
The city
recognized the impending loss of these key leaders and considered these two
questions:
1. Did the
city have qualified people ready to fill key positions now and grow the
organization in the next three to five years?
2. Will there
be a sufficient number of qualified candidates ready to fill key positions in
five to ten years? (Western, 2001)
The
answers to these two questions led to the creation of a program to identify,
develop and support the city's future leaders. Through interviews with the
city's department heads, the following eight dimensions were identified as
crucial to the success of future city leaders: communication; decision-making;
interpersonal effectiveness; leadership style; administrative effectiveness;
flexibility; planning and organization; and developmental orientation (Panza,
2003). These qualities and capabilities can be measured in an Assessment Center
setting.
Assessment
Centers as a Screening and Development Tool
Many police agencies utilize assessment centers,
managed by outside
consultants, as a promotional process. An assessment center is typically an
eight-hour interview comprised of job-related activities designed to assess an
individuals knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) as they relate to the
dimensions of the next promotional rank. Multiple assessors observe and score
candidates in simulations, mock-subordinate counseling sessions and community
meetings (with role players), a timed in-basket, and writing exercises (such as
a squad briefing on a new policy or a press release). Most agencies still
incorporate some form of an oral interview requiring the candidate to provide an
overview of his or her readiness and accomplishments, although this is unrelated
to the KSAs, and is the most subjective and least quantifiable aspect of a
promotional process. Unfortunately, oral panels have eliminated many very
qualified candidates as potential supervisors simply because they could not talk
about themselves in describing their accomplishments. The obvious question
remains: if the assessment center is effectively utilized as a screening tool
for promotional purposes, why are not more agencies also using it as a
preparatory/screening tool to identify their future leaders? Currently, this
opportunity is untapped in the public sector, yet it has been highly utilized in
the private sector, and was originated by AT&T.
William Byham, Chairman and CEO of Development Dimensions
International (DDI), a leading-edge human resources consultancy firm that
specializes in the identification and development of leadership talent,
addresses this in his book, Grow Your Own Leaders. Byham proposes
Acceleration Pools as a new method of nomination for succession management. (Byham,
2002). In these pools, people who show high potential can have their
development needs diagnosed and an individualistic outline can be designed for
purposes of mentoring their strengths and coaching their weaknesses.
Expectations of Leaders in a
Changing Environment
Contrary to popular belief, leaders are typically
made, and born (Bennis,
1989). In law enforcement, officers must learn to grapple with constant
evolutionary changes in an effort to meet the public expectations, address new
and evolving threats to public safety, manage governmental and political
mandates, and contend with changes in management and philosophy. Only with
coaching and professional development, can staff contend with these issues and a
multi-generational workforce during the changing-of-the-guard from seasoned,
veteran leaders to the next generation. Paul Hersey and Kenneth Blanchard
describe this phenomenon as Situational Leadership, wherein a supervisor must
assess each subordinates readiness to follow instruction based on their
confidence and competence in their effort to be effective in policing (Hersey,
1988).
Police leaders are concerned with being effective as well
as
efficient. The measurement of effectiveness is arguable. Productivity in
policing can often be a tenuous term and spurns the question: how does one
measure an individuals effectiveness in policing? Is it simply based on
productivity (i.e., the number of citations and arrests)? Perhaps effectiveness
is measured in the absence of citizen complaints, or more importantly, the
absence of crime.
Most agencies produce an Annual Report which highlights
their
accomplishments and gives the public an overview of the departments
activities. It will generally include a statistical presentation of their
cumulative activities and includes the number of sworn and non-sworn personnel,
number of crime reports taken, the number of arrests, and expenditures.
Featured programs, such as Juvenile Delinquency Prevention, and the Gang or Drug
Awareness programs, demonstrate the wide diversity of local policing efforts.
In response to citizen concerns about locally-based issues, many agencies have
partnered with the community, and diverted resources toward Community Based
Policing (COP) and Problem Oriented Policing (POP) programs.
The
leadership competencies required of a candidate for law enforcement to be
successful in managing a COP/POP project, as ranked by police managers and
chiefs are: (1) Communications and related interpersonal competencies; (2)
Problem-solving competencies; (3) Motivational competencies; (4) Planning and
organizing competencies, and (5) Actuation/ Implementation competencies
(Ortmeier, 1996). You will note in the ranking of these competencies, the
ability to demonstrate effective verbal communication skills was at the top of
the priority list by respondents (police managers and chiefs). Ideally, these
competencies could be identified early on and mentored as an officer progresses
in rank and faces new challenges. To truly be effective, officers must operate
collaboratively with internal and external stakeholders to work through and with
others in a constantly changing environment. The planning, organizing,
problem-solving, implementing, and communicating skills involved are essential
in effecting organizational change, and all are measurable in an assessment
center setting.
The concept of organizational change refers to planned,
organization-wide change. How is that change managed in police agencies? Are
agencies actually working toward training and developing their succession
management to anticipate the need for change and to develop strategies for
implementing those changes? In addition, are the tools of leadership
development honed to a fine art within the organization or left to the vagaries
of personalities and competing agendas within the criminal justice system (i.e.,
police, courts and corrections)?
Police managers and supervisors must be ready to address
the
challenges facing policing today including: restricted budgets, population
demands (i.e., politics), change in priorities, succession management, and
frequent changes of leadership (Mitchell, 2004). Many agencies must contend
with a resolving door in the position of top-cop or sheriff with the job-hopping
occurring with chiefs of police. With a change in leadership, each chief brings
a new vision and mission. Supervisors must be able to adapt and implement those
changes for homeostasis to occur within the department.
William Bratton, formerly the chief of police for the New
York
Police Department, created the following mission statement just after being
hired as Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department: It is the mission of the
Los Angeles Police Department to safeguard the lives and property of the people
we serve, to reduce the incidence and fear of crime, and to enhance public
safety while working with the diverse communities to improve their quality of
life. Our mandate is to do so with honor and integrity, while at all times
conducting ourselves with the highest ethical standards to maintain public
confidence. (http://www.lapdonline.org).
This mission statement abides by the concerns of the community for oversight and
accountability. By comparison, his mission at the New York City Police
Department was, The Mission of the New York City Police Department is to
enhance the quality of life in our City by working in partnership with the
community and in accordance with constitutional rights to enforce the laws,
preserve the peace, reduce fear, and provide for a safe environment. (http://www.nyc.gov/html/nypd/html/mission.html).
Conversely, much of Bratton's call for change when he took over the NYPD was the
quality of life issues that plagued New York. Since moving to Los Angeles,
his message to the community and his officers is similar, but due to local
politics, and the ever present specter of racism and abuse of force issues,
Bratton had to adjust his mission to reflect realistic conditions in order to
affect change.
Accountability and Supervisory
Oversight
The Los Angeles Police Department has had its own
challenges for
years, and has taken severe criticism for the now infamous Rodney King (beating)
incident, the resulting riots after the LAPD officers were acquitted in a local
court of abuse charges, the resulting Christopher Commission report, and finally
the Rampart Executive Report, ten years after the King incident. The Rampart
Report revealed systemic abuse and corruption within a relatively small group of
officers in the CRASH Unit (Community Resources Against Street Hoodlums). In
fact, every commission created to study police misconduct or corruption as far
back as the Wickersham Commission in 1931, has cited the crucial role of the
police supervisor in detecting and preventing unethical behavior.
The former Los Angeles Police Chief, Bernard Parks, now
a Los
Angeles City Councilman, blamed, in large measure, the lax departmental
management for allowing misconduct within the Rampart Division to occur. The
report offered 108 recommendations, including the improvement of hiring
practices, supervisory oversight and police training. Ironically, some of the
same recommendations (related to the crucial role of the first-line supervisor
in terms of oversight) have been found to be true in other commissions on police
misconduct, starting with the 1931 Report on Lawlessness in Law Enforcement by
the Wickersham Commission
It was the first systematic investigation of police misconduct and became a
catalyst for reforms involving new forms of accountability for the police,
although at times, it may appear that contemporary police may be unaware of it
or its impact (Wickersham, 1997). While there were earlier studies, such as the
Chicago Crime Commission (1919), and the Cleveland Survey of Criminal Justice
(1927), which served as the model for the Wickersham Commission, it is the
Wickersham commission that conducted the first national study of the
administration of justice in the United States and was a precursor to the
President's Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice
(1965-1967), popularly known as the President's Crime Commission. Misconduct can only be mitigated by effective and consistent
oversight, with
supervisors who hold their officers accountable. This will only become a
priority at the behest of the chief or sheriff. The chief must make it a
priority to proactively train supervisors to recognize the red-flag warning
signs (such as: absenteeism, a sense of entitlement, misuse of the badge,
accusations of excessive use of force, and bad arrests) which typically precede
misconduct. Too often, newly promoted supervisors are sent to supervisory
training months after they have assumed the role. This lack of experience can
leave a department vulnerable to mistakes and liability from the consequences of
apathy. Ultimately, recurrent transgressions can place a police department
under federal consent decree.
Conclusion
To create change within an organization, such as
creating a
leadership development program, an agency must have a clear vision of the need
for change, a base line from which to start, and a barometer by which to measure
the results. To develop their employees into leaders, organizations must use
the available tools to assess leadership potential and growth. In developing
leaders, psychometric instruments, such as the Leadership Skills Inventory could
be used to help develop leadership potential. Early feedback indicates that
police agencies have not validated the relevance of early identification of
leadership potential to actual future leaders. Ideally, departments should
follow a blueprint designed by James Collins in his book, Good to Great,
wherein the goal is to get the right people on the bus, get the wrong people off
the bus, and get the right people in the right seats (2001). Without solid
leadership, and the knowledge, skills and abilities to plan, organize and direct
others, an organizations ability to even recognize the need for change, much
less the ability to carry it out, can be jeopardized.
About
the Author
Richard,
Rick Michelson, MPA, and PhD candidate, has a background in law enforcement
spanning 30 years, starting with the San Diego Police Department. His experience
includes, SWAT sergeant, Crime Prevention Unit director, Community Relations,
Emergency Planning and Hostage Negotiations. He has served as a Lieutenant and
as an interim Chief. He has written numerous articles on related policing
topics, and has co-authored the text, Preparing for Promotion: A Guide for
Public Safety Assessment Centers, published by Law Tech, who publish the Qwik-Codes.
He is a criminal justice professor for a community college in San Diego. He is
an adjunct professor for both the Union Institute & University and Webster
University's Graduate Program in Security Management. He is also the director of
KSA, Ltd., a training company that conducts workshops for agencies and future
police/corrections and fire service leaders to help them develop their
leadership skills. He may be reached at (619) 203-3073, or through email, at
rmichels@cox.net. The website for KSA, Ltd., is
http://assessmentcenter.org
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