Leadership, Policing and Ethics: Why the study of Leadership is difficult
In policing and leadership competence, effective and ethical leadership is essential and yet leadership itself is difficult to define and often misunderstood (Meese & Ortmeier, 2004). There exist many definitions and theories of leadership but sometimes the leadership process can be vague. Meese & Ortmeier go on further to state that the study of leadership may also appear rather confusing, abstract, dull and quite uninteresting. However, it has been noted that a broad based knowledge in leadership provides the basis of leadership development. More so, the education and correct training as well as the practice of leadership skills are essential for leaders (police officers) in society.
According to Ortmeier (2002), leadership as the ability to influence or mobilize a group of individuals, businesses, private and public agencies to act together and participate in activities aimed at implementing solutions to community problems. For a very long time the study of leadership has always been centered on leadership traits, an approach that suggests that there are certain characteristics which differentiate leaders from those who are not. A research to this approach (leadership quality) revealed few consistent and significant findings. This approach further suggests that a leader is the focal point or the nucleus of the society and the people as instruments or machines that can be manipulated by the leaders. This approach mainly focused on the output rather than the input.
However, as the human relations movement emerged, human relation theorists emphasized that a group or organization develops around the members and the leader is attentive to the human feelings and attitudes. This puts the individual needs into main focus rather than the group or organizational needs. This approach suggests leadership as social process involving acts of persuasion and inspiration rather than the direct threat of coercion. Leadership behavior cannot be constructed in a vacuum as they must contain elements of situations as well as the individuals. This situational approach focuses on observed behavior rather than the inborn and acquired traits. Both theorists (trait and situational) attempted to explain leadership as result of single set of forces. The definition of leadership in terms of the ability to influence, motivate, inspire and persuade has been viewed as a major step towards understanding leadership. The further characterization of leaders into transactional leaders and transformational leaders by James McGregor further proved a breakthrough in the understanding of leadership. As it can be seen leadership cannot only be studied in terms of the leadership qualities one possesses but further how he/she interacts with groups of individuals gives a clear understanding of what leadership really is.
References
Meese, E., & Ortmeier, P. J. (2004). Leadership, ethics, and policing: Challenges for the 21st century. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall.
Ortmeier, P. J. (2002). Policing the community: A guide for patrol operations. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Merrill
