What’s missing in American policing is the development of leaders — not managers — men and women who understand the difference between the “self-givingness” of a leader versus the “all about me” of a manager/supervisor.
Leaders care for other people and not only for those with whom they work, but also those whom they serve — those who receive the “services” they and their employees deliver.
That’s what makes a police leader unique — it means serving those within and outside the organization. Robert Greenleaf called it “Servant Leadership.” And it works!
Leaders deeply listen to others, are committed to their growth, and creatively help them adjust to future challenges to their organization. A leader looks out for those whom they are privileged to lead.
I served over 20 years as the chief of police in Madison (WI), four years as chief of the Burnsville (MN) Police Department, and before that as a police officer in Edina (MN) and the City of Minneapolis. I hold graduate degrees from the University of Minnesota and Edgewood College in Madison. I have written many articles over my years as a police leader calling for police improvement (for example, How To Rate Your Local Police, and with my wife, Sabine, Quality Policing: The Madison Experience). After retiring from the police department, I answered a call to ministry, attended seminary, and was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church. After 25 years leading two Episcopal Churches in Portage and North Lake, Wisconsin, I now serve as Associate Pastor in a growing, dynamic, and Spirit-filled Lutheran congregation in nearby Black Earth. After losing Sabine, my wife of 40 years to cancer, I met Christine, a retired nurse and widow. We were blessed to find love again and married in 2021.
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Improving Police: A Necessary Conversation 