NCJ Number
203008
Journal
Law and Order Volume: 51 Issue: 10 Dated: October 2003 Pages: 121-124
Date Published
October 2003
Length
4 pages
Annotation
This article discusses the features of "strategic leadership," which involves having a comprehensive strategy for the immediate future.
Abstract
Unlike strategic planning, which involves the development of a long-term plan for the whole organization, strategic leadership is short-term and designed for the executive and staff. Integral to the success of strategic leadership is the POLICE Leadership Methodology, which ensures that the strategic leadership process is grounded on a foundation of accountability. The POLICE Leadership Methodology involves Planning, Organizing, Liability, Information, Control, and Ethics. The implementation of strategic leadership first requires an introspective assessment of the programs, goals, and tasks of the organization. The second step involves questioning whether or not the department is doing the right thing. This consists of assessing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to each strategy, with attention to budgetary restraints and political implications for certain strategies and initiatives. The third step involves employing a facilitator who will meet with the executive and staff to identify the critical issues that must have priority, followed by a roundtable discussion. In the fourth step, the facilitator will meet individually with each member of the staff to review each of the critical issues assigned to him/her for the development of a strategy to achieve the goal of addressing the issues. In the fifth step, the facilitator will meet with each staff member with the executive present. During this session, the executive and the staff member will review each strategy the staff member has designed. In the sixth step, the facilitator meets with all the participants to review the strategies the executive and staff have developed. The facilitator will draft a final document that outlines the tasks and the strategies for fulfilling designated tasks, along with who is responsible for the task, when it is to be completed, the follow-up date, and whether the strategy has a budgetary impact. The final document will be distributed to all of the participants and the governing body.