What Leadership Values do You Embrace?

[Anonymous]

[Wayne Griffin]

I believe that a leader has to have several key attributes. All the great leaders I had through my military career and police officer career had some of these attributes and I have tried to mirror myself after them. Honest, Integrity, Dependability are just a few to start off with. I believe I possess these characteristics, and try to instill them in the guys that I lead. You have to be trustworthy and ethical. These are just a few of the characteristics I think a great leader should possess.

[Anthony Kies]

A great leader has to be both credible and ethical. I believe these two value complement each other very nicely and allow a leader to be respected. For a leader to be credible he/she has to be able to be trustworthy, loyal and accountable to decisions that he/she makes. A credible leader is someone who is respected and will be a driving force to productivity in an agency. As a leader I strive to make decisions based on facts. For instance a leader who promotes a friend up the ranks when it is apparent that the friend is not qualified or there are better applicants will ruin his credibility as a leader. Thus, that leader will not be credible within an organization and in fact ruin moral within an agency.

An ethical leader is also of upmost importance. For a leader to be ethical he/she must show this in and out of work. This is important as this follows the same path of integrity. A leader must always do what is right even when no one is looking. That is what will make distinguish you from a supervisor to a leader. You will demand respect based on your daily actions with out even trying. An ethical leader, even when making a tough decision, will be supported by subordinates as long as they are making an ethical decision. Lack of making a ethical decision will ruin your credibility and will in turn make your leadership toxic and will have the potential of bringing down an agency.

[Jeffrey Brown]

I value integrity and honesty. An effective leader must also possess a moral compass to guide them. In my experience, I have found that I am willing to follow people with these attributes. Leadership develop can be effective, but only if the candidate has the underlying values to support the training. I have followed leaders that failed to display some of these traits only because it was my duty to do so. I have tried to emulate the best leaders I have been exposed to.

[Jacob Taylor]

While leaders must be honest and have a high degree of integrity, they must also be consistent. Consistency builds trust and allows for cohesiveness amongst the group. When team members know what is expected and standards are high, they succeed. This success does not just affect them, but radiates into other areas and builds new leaders.

[Max Yakovlev]

Trust is a big one for me. Leaders must have an ability to trust people the lead until proven otherwise. Staying humble is another key for me. Ego gets in a way of many decisions. staying humble and keeping your ego in check will make things easier in the long run.

[Chris Eklund]

I embrace the leadership values of courage, commitment, competence, compassion, honesty, and integrity. We must be courageous in our own actions and in having to make decisions in crisis. Leaders need to be committed to their cause and to the people they lead. Leaders should not be in place just because of seniority or a ‘good ole boy’ situation. They must be competent in necessary skills and abilities. We should take time to understand those we lead and put ourselves in their position when we ask them to complete a task. We cannot gain trust without honesty and we always need to act in accordance with the values and practices we demand of those we are leading.

[Jon Thompson]

Humility, first and foremost. Good leaders must be able to listen to their followers, rather than just hearing them. I can’t effectively listen if I believe my opinion is better than the guy talking. I as the leader have to be able to swallow my pride and admit when my idea or plan isn’t the best option or even stupid, and defer to the officer on the ground who may have a eye-level view of the situation in real-time.

[Jesse Laintz]

What Leadership Values do You Embrace?

I am going to try and do something a little different and go with technical, interpersonal and conceptual skills all come together as critical traits for a leader. Technical skills are those that you are proficient in such as firearms, emergency vehicle operation, or report writing. A tactical leader need to be well rounded member of many things. He needs to be able to know about everything listed on the NTOA training website, but they do not need to be a master of any of them. Interpersonal skills consist of negotiations, active listening, and being able to connect with people on all levels inside of the agency as well as outside. With the millennial generation coming aboard this is more important now. A leader needs to communicate well with everyone around them and have the knowledge and ability to recognize how certain people communicate and what their work habits and abilities are. Perhaps the most important skill is conceptual skills. To have goals and a vision for every facet of the job.

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