Last weekend, I had the privilege of speaking to a room full of high school students. Bright, eager, and genuinely curious about leadership and public service. As I walked in, the facilitator was teaching them how to shake hands. Not…
There’s a moment in every great relationship, professional or personal, where things shift. The posture relaxes. The formality fades. And you move from “Sir” or “Ma’am” or titles to first names, shared laughs, and honest conversations. In leadership, that shift…
Leadership isn’t tested in calm waters. It’s revealed in the storm. Right now, police leaders across the country are being called to walk one of the hardest lines in our profession: protecting the First Amendment rights of those who protest…
I remember sitting in on a police academy graduation years ago, listening to the stories of each recruit. One had been a teacher. Another was a chemical engineer. One had worked in social services. A few had overcome incredible adversity…
In the policing profession, we often associate courage with action: stepping into danger, making split-second decisions, protecting others at all costs. But there’s another kind of courage that’s less visible and just as essential: The courage to speak up. To…
In the 15th century, a goldsmith named Johannes Gutenberg changed the world with a machine no larger than a dining table. His invention, the printing press, broke the monopoly on knowledge held by the elite and gave rise to a…
The pace of change is accelerating. In the policing profession, we face complex decisions daily: public trust in flux, shifting societal expectations, technology outpacing policy, and new crises emerging faster than the last one can be resolved. It’s tempting to…
For generations, the policing profession has rewarded certainty. We promoted those with answers, not questions. We looked to leaders to be decisive, firm, and confident…especially in moments of chaos. And while decisiveness still matters, something else is becoming even more…
It was a routine community meeting in a neighborhood that had seen its share of tension. The department had just implemented a new policy, and a few officers were sent to explain it to residents. One officer stood at the…
There’s a truth in leadership that’s easy to overlook, especially in the policing profession where external challenges demand so much of our energy: You cannot lead others well if you’re not leading yourself first. Leadership isn’t about authority, it’s about…
The new chief had been on the job for about a year. Let’s call him Chief Example, to protect the identity of who he really is. Chief Example is well meaning and subscribes to a new vision of policing. Though…
At first glance, there might not seem to be much in common between policing and a bicycle company. But in a recent webinar between Simon Sinek and Trek Bicycles CEO John Burke, it became clear: the most powerful leadership lessons…