By Steven Sund
You can learn something from anyone. That’s been my philosophy since my first job as a teenager. After 30 years of policing, I still believe it’s true.
I have worked with a lot of good leaders who made you feel proud, empowered and interested in going to work and taking on challenges each day. These out-of-the-box thinkers inspired you to want to be the best police officer possible and to serve your team to the best of your ability. I have, however, also worked for several not-so-stellar leaders. People who demoralize, create confusion and hostilities, are overly punitive, and suck all the positive energy out of you, making you hate going to work. I have no doubt all of you have had to work with a “toxic boss.” The type who appears to thrive off stress and discontent within the workplace and relishes sowing discord within a unit. From these individuals, I learned how NOT to be a leader.
Poor leadership impacts recruitment and retention
In today’s law enforcement environment, we don’t have time for poor and ineffective leaders. With negative media coverage, politicians and various special interest groups constantly bashing our profession, budgets being slashed, massive staffing shortages, and punitive and restrictive legislation being pushed, it’s not hard to see why officers are leaving law enforcement in droves.
While the vilification of the police and the lack of political support has been a major cause for the recruiting and retention issues we are facing, poor leadership has also been identified as a significant factor in our inability to keep our most valuable resources and attract new personnel.
The quality of law enforcement leadership has been a consistent issue with police officers as reported in Police1’s “What Cops Want” survey. Almost half of the participants cited poor leadership as the reason they are considering leaving their department or law enforcement altogether, and almost a third listed it as the reason for not recommending a police career to others. The negative impact of poor leadership is noteworthy as it has been a recurring theme in the past three years of Police1’s surveys.
It is no secret that many agencies are facing staffing shortages often requiring mandatory overtime to fulfill basic mission requirements. As a result, officers are being overworked and face reduced training opportunities. Officers are feeling less prepared for an increasingly violent and confrontational patrol environment. This leads to sinking morale. Further compounding these issues is the impact ineffective leadership can have on officer stress levels, wellness, resiliency and work-home conflict. With more agencies competing for your personnel by offering lateral transfers and significant signing bonuses, one cannot afford to lose your most valuable resource due to poor leadership. Agency leaders must understand what their personnel are expecting of their leaders and identify deficiencies of leadership within the organization. This is a process that begins with sincere self-reflection.
What officers want from their leaders
Today’s law enforcement environment isn’t easy, for either the police officer or the leader. A leader needs to understand that the team is looking for some key leadership qualities and without them, one will never be able to recognize one’s full potential.
1. Leaders with integrity: First and foremost, a leader must be ethical, and lead with integrity. This is critical in building the trust and respect necessary to effectively lead the team. This trust is especially important when faced with a critical incident. Following a traumatic event, ethical and trusted leaders are more successful in uniting the force. A leader who is seen as not credible, disrespectful, unfair, or not personally adhering to the rules, will never gain the team’s trust and this will become an obstacle to success in the agency.
2. Leaders who show up: A staff wants a supportive leader who understands them. They want someone who genuinely cares about them and is willing to advocate for them. Supportive leader behavior means working special events, showing up on scenes late at night, on weekends, in inclement weather, or just stopping by to say thank you. They don’t want leaders who sit on their asses in the office all day or are retired on duty. So, if you want to be a leader you need to get out there!
3. Leaders who communicate: Honest and open communication is another mandatory skill for today’s leaders. The team wants a leader who is willing to attend roll calls and address the hard questions, who is willing to engage officers and civilian staff one on one in both the field and the office. The team wants to be informed on how the leader will move the agency forward, or right the ship if, and when, things go bad. The more uncertainty your officers feel in their daily work environment, the more they need effective communication with their leaders. A lack of communication by officials seen as “hiding” will be severely detrimental to the team, especially if this occurs following a critical incident. Remember, the staff also wants to be heard so don’t forget the importance of active listening. If a leader doesn’t take the time to communicate with the team, the team will feel abandoned, and all confidence in leadership will be lost.
The importance of relationships
I have been fortunate to work with two major law enforcement agencies and I believe my style of leadership helped me effectively transition as an outsider from the Metropolitan Police Department (MPDC) to the United States Capitol Police (USCP).
I left MPDC at the end of 2015 and started with USCP at the beginning of 2017, just weeks before Donald Trump’s inauguration. I found being an involved leader was welcomed by many at USCP. Officers appreciated a leader who took the time to get to know them and address their concerns.
My management style evolved over time, shaped by the various leaders I have known and the events I experienced throughout the years. Some of these influential figures weren’t agency heads or even ranking individuals. These were sworn and civilian members, who were unofficial leaders in their own right, with incredible stories and an equally impressive work ethic. Each one kept me grounded and helped me focus on what was important for the unit.
I have always sought to develop a relationship with my team to not only understand their job and what they face but to also understand who they are. I wanted my team to know that I respected and appreciated them for who they are and what they do every day. While I believe it is important to have that relationship, it cannot be to the detriment of strong discipline and accountability. One cannot be a pushover when it comes to following the rules.
The importance of discipline
A unit that lacks discipline and accountability reflects a lack of leadership! Fair and consistent discipline is essential to the health and wellbeing of the team and the longevity of the leader’s position.
Like most professions, policing is built on rules, regulations and laws. However, unlike other professions, policing uses rules, laws and regulations to uphold the law. Those upholding the law and policing others must be of exemplary character. Having authority over others comes with great responsibility. To maintain the trust and support of staff and the communities served, leaders must hold themselves to the highest standards. Ensuring the team knows the rules and what the consequences of violating the rules is an essential part of developing high morale and loyalty within the unit, or the esprit de corps.
Consider an organization with one of the highest levels of pride and commitment in its workforce, the United States Marine Corps (USMC), a disciplined organization that holds its troops to the highest standards. For those who meet the high standards, it is a source of pride that in turn instills a sense of loyalty to the group and each other. They know they are “the few and the proud” and they know they are held in high regard, respected and admired by many outside the group. They hold themselves to those high standards. Few would dare tarnish the name, reputation, or legacy of the USMC. Why shouldn’t police feel the same?
The best way to demoralize staff and devastate an organization is to lower the standards and expectations. Overlooking discipline and accountability does not make a “cool boss.” It gives staff the impression that no one truly cares about them or the mission. A lack of discipline, such as allowing officers to wear mismatched and unsanctioned uniform apparel, or overlooking a less-than-polished appearance contributes to negative impressions of an organization to outsiders. Individual officers not holding themselves accountable and up to standards lowers the reputation of the entire group and lowers morale. Do you think kids would want to become police officers if all they ever saw were slovenly dressed overweight cops?
I am not advocating being overly harsh or punitive, but it must be consistent and commensurate with the violation. Agencies get into trouble when they implement discipline that is outside established norms. Leaders and organizations should adhere to established policies and procedures, rules and regulations. A leader can correct behavior and address actions in a respectful and meaningful way. Don’t be afraid to explain the violation and why the behavior needs to be corrected. Take the time to communicate with your people. It matters to them, and it matters how the profession is perceived.
Good leaders reduce organizational stress, improve wellness
In addition to supporting the essential law enforcement mission, effective leaders can also develop a sense of loyalty and commitment to the agency and play a very important role in officer wellness. How a leader reacts in a stressful situation impacts the employees’ reaction and ability to mitigate a stressful critical situation. It is equally important for the leader and staff to understand how leadership style can greatly affect the stress of those around them.
A leader’s management style can be a significant stress moderator for the employees. A leader who is seen as ethical, levelheaded and able to communicate is likely to develop a team with a high level of cohesion that will be less impacted by harsh working conditions or critical incidents.
Adopt a new mantra
We need great leaders in law enforcement now more than ever. Leadership can happen at any level regardless of where one is in the rank structure, and one doesn’t need to wait for others to step up before acting. There are few things more frustrating than watching an agency in a death spiral saturated with officials at all ranks just waiting around for someone else to step up. Regardless of rank or position, one can be a leader. Adopt a new mantra: Today is the day that I no longer accept mediocrity and push to be my best. Leadership, ethics and integrity need to be constantly reinforced. Consider it preventive maintenance, like you do to keep your car running at optimal performance.
We have some great leaders in our profession and many working to rise through the ranks for the right reasons. With such officials, there is hope for the future. I have always said that policing is an honorable and noble profession, and it takes a special person to become a police officer. More than ever our society needs good cops to keep our neighborhoods safe, serve our communities, and consistently and fairly uphold the rule of law. But we are at a critical time in our profession. Agencies are seeing reduced recruiting numbers and of greater concern is that many agencies are losing seasoned personnel. The caliber of leadership within an agency significantly impacts these numbers.
My advice to current and prospective leaders is to find a successful motivational leader to emulate. Be your own person but be willing to learn from those around you. Continue learning from organizations like the Lexipol and be a tenacious, hardworking professional who always looks out for the troops!
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About the author
Steven Sund is a 30-year law enforcement veteran, author and adjunct instructor. Sund served for over 25 years with the Metropolitan Police Department in Washington DC where he rose through the ranks to become the commander (Deputy Chief) of the elite Special Operations Division. In 2017, he was selected as the Assistant Chief of Police for the United States Capitol Police, and on June 13, 2019, Sund was named as the tenth Chief of Police for the United States Capitol Police where he served for 18 months.
Sund has extensive experience in critical incident management, special event security, and active shooter preparedness and response. Sund has lectured on leadership, crisis management and cross-functional security planning for various organizations and has taught special event management and incident command for the United States Secret Service and George Washington University. Sund has been one of the lead planners on numerous major events designated as National Special Security Events (NSSE), and other high-profile events requiring extensive coordination with the US Secret Service, FBI, the military, and the deployment of thousands of law enforcement personnel.
In January 2023, he published a best-selling book about the institutional failings that occurred on January 6, entitled “Courage Under Fire, Under Siege and Outnumbered 58 to 1 on January 6.” Sund has received various awards and recognitions throughout his career, most recently receiving the American Security Today 2023 Homeland Security Award for Excellence.
Chief Sund received his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Johns Hopkins University, and a Master of Arts in Homeland Security from the Naval Postgraduate School. He also completed the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior Management Institute for Police and the FBI’s National Executive Institute.
