Week 4 - What Would Cause Today's Law Enforcement Officer to Gravitate towards a Transformational Leader?

Last week we focused on a study concerning what leadership style resonates with today’s multi-generational cross-sectional law enforcement officers.  The Larson (2017) study shows that today’s law enforcement officers gravitate towards transformational leadership.  The research only quantifies the data to demonstrate the preferred leadership philosophy but gives little to no details as to why law enforcement officers of today gravitate towards transformational leadership.

What is transformational leadership?

Transformational leadership, as first attributed to Downton (1973), and as Burns (1979) asserts, looks to the “leaders and followers [to] help each other to advance to a higher level of morale and motivation” (p. 382).  Riggio (2013) explains that transformational leadership describes how a leader’s influence or motivation replaces a person’s or others’ current or habitual actions with those actions or deeds necessary to achieve a lofty vision, paramount productivity, and insurmountable performance, while seemingly engaging the follower to realize their emerging leadership through idealized influence, inspirational motivation, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation.  Bass (1985) further explains that transformational leadership looks to how a leader influences the follower to exceed the leader’s or even the follower’s original expectation in achieving and carrying out more than either requires.  Bass (1985) describes how a transformational leader increases the follower’s intensity towards expected outcomes, along with their significance and the means in which to attain the goals.  The transformational leader encourages the follower to lay aside egocentricities for oneself and motivates the follower to focus on the greater good, while at the same time increasing the follower’s needs (Maslow’s hierarchy) from that of an environmental dimension to that of intellectual and spiritual dimensions (Bass, 1985).  Scholars of transformational leadership tend to associate this leadership philosophy to many of the characteristics of Robert House’s theory of charismatic leadership (1976), where Robert J. House and Phillip M. Podsakoff, as cited by Miner (2005), compare the outstanding leadership theory to various concepts of the two-aforementioned leadership philosophies, transformational and charismatic.

Why Transformational Leadership?

Larson (2017) does not show why today’s law enforcement officers gravitate towards transformational leaders.  However, one may argue that given the characteristics of transformational leadership, along with demonstrative examples, a cross-sectional, multi-generational law enforcement officer will undoubtedly decide what is best and choose the effective leadership philosophy to follow as a subordinate.

Leaders making Leaders

One may argue that a transformational leader’s ability and capacity to transmogrify others from being followers into becoming leaders could be a valid reason that multi-generational law enforcement officers look to this leadership philosophy.  Whether it is the charismatic or idealized influence that a leader exhibits or the individualized consideration of knowing a follower’s goals and intrinsic motivators, the leader that applies this behavioral philosophy towards leading others will undoubtedly allow the follower to transcend into the leader’s position when the time presents itself.

Stressful Environment

For Arnold, Loughlin, & Walsh (2016) an extreme context or stressful environment is “one in which individuals may face uncertainty, time pressure and crises and where decisions of leaders and/or organizational members have the potential for catastrophic consequences” (p. 775).  Bass (1985) argues that transformational leaders will appear and give effective leadership when a situation becomes stressful and chaotic.  Bass, as cited by Miner (2005), contend that this leadership philosophy and the actions that those who exhibit this model “will act to reduce feelings of burnout and symptoms of stress” in the followers and the leaders (p. 366).  Miner (2005) asserts that leaders who adopt and exhibit the transformational philosophy of leading others to appreciate the benefits of the model, especially with how transformational leadership and its actions improve the expected outcomes, along with developing the overall effects of stressful situations and environments.

Not Only Walks the Talk but Teach Others the Walk

Riggio (2013) says that an effective transformational leader not only talks the talk but “walks the talk,” thereby exhibiting the actions that demonstratively show the leader as an exemplary role model of behavior and action to those under the leader’s direction and influence.  Bass (1985) asserts that effective leaders that had effective leaders that modeled the appropriate behavior and effects of this leadership philosophy speak highly of those leaders and the influence that those leaders had on them.  Law enforcement officers have a moral compass that seems to be saddled with the ability to figure out when a person is selling the officer a line of bull.  This not only goes for those people in the criminal enterprise but to the managers and those in leadership positions above the officer.  An astute law enforcement officer appreciates leaders that are truthful and forthcoming, just as the leader values the same. 

Thinking Outside the Bun

Arnold et al. (2016) suggest that instead of holding the officer by a short leash, that leader should encourage the would-be leader (follower) to develop and present contemporary solutions to address past issues, allowing the leader to stimulate the officer intellectually.  An effective transformational leader also allows the follower to think outside the bun if you will.  This way the follower seeks understanding while exhibiting the desire and willingness to provide insight into issues facing the organization.  The follower feels valued, and the leader has the buy in to project focus and efforts to meet the goals and mission of the group.

In my nearly twenty-five years as a law enforcement officer, I would undoubtedly gravitate to a leader who embraced and exhibited a transformational leadership philosophy with those under the leader’s charge.  A charismatic leader, who charges me with inspirational motivation and nurtures my desire of continuous learning, would find a young law enforcement officer that would break down doors and chew nails to carry out the leader’s expectations.  Knowing what I know now, I strive daily to project and exhibit this leadership philosophy to those under my charge.  I want to make other leaders that are as infectious as I would like to be so we can continue to move forward in the right direction needed to achieve more. 

References

Bass, B. M. (1985). Leadership: Good, better, best. Organizational Dynamics, 13(3), 26-40.

Burns, J. M. (1979). Two excerpts from leadership. Educational Leadership, 36(3), 380-383.

Downton, J. V. (1973). Rebel leadership: Commitment and charisma in a revolutionary process. New York: Free Press.

House, R. J. (1976, October). A 1976 theory of charismatic leadership. Retrieved from ERIC database (ED133827). https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED133827.pdf

Larson, T. S. (2017). Generational preferences: A study in police leadership. (Doctoral Dissertation). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (No. 10640983)

Miner, J. B. (2005). Organizational behavior 1: Essential theories of motivation and leadership. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, Inc.

Riggio, R. E. (2013, November 13). Ronald Riggio: Transformational leadership [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/ZvezV2Zhihg