A NEW MINDSET OF LEADERSHIP THINKING

‘We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.’

– Albert Einstein

A new mindset of leadership thinking is needed to address the many challenges that we face in the modern world. The traditional hierarchical model of leadership does no longer handle the complexity and interconnectedness of most issues. We need leaders who are able to think critically, empathise with others, and collaborate with diverse stakeholders in order to develop innovative solutions. A new mindset of leadership thinking must also prioritise sustainability and ethical decision-making, as well as recognise the importance of diversity in creating a more equitable workforce. By shifting our focus from individual gain to collective benefit, we can create a more resilient and equitable future.

Increasingly, the world is facing many challenges and there is a growing desire across the globe for change. It is widely acceptable to consider complexity and chaos as indispensable partners of our ever-changing global environment, more so within law enforcement.

In the increasingly VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) global environment, leadership challenges, many of which have potentially disastrous implications, present regularly. What is true today is no longer true tomorrow. More than ever, we live with a lack of predictability and the ever-present prospect of surprise. Old certainties have disappeared in a mist of haziness, grey areas, and misinterpretation. We can no longer operate in a binary way to think in a complex world. The abundant availability of information has created a fog in which it becomes increasingly difficult to find clarity.

Effective leadership is pivotal to organisational success. Many have strived to understand the essence of leadership success for decades, if not centuries. The normative approach to leadership has focused on how leaders must lead from within their organisation. Traditionally, law enforcement organisations have focused their leadership development on chains of command and matrix-type capability, where leaders operate across more than one reporting line, usually across functional or business teams. But this outdated model is no longer fit for purpose.

Traditional leadership frameworks are founded on linear thinking, hierarchical structures, rigid top-down controls, imposed plans and solutions, and an over-obsession with efficiency. As a result, leaders cannot just iterate, recalibrate, reconfigure, or reorganise their way to prosperity. Future-proofing law enforcement leadership requires new thinking, metaphors, assumptions, and values to lead during dynamic and chaotic times. Leaders must introduce new strategies for increasing engagement and motivation and developing emotional and spiritual intelligence so that all members of the institution are empowered to think and act in ways that transcend themselves and their institutions. Simply put, the leadership methods that got us here won’t get us where we need to be.

Leaders of senior law enforcement officers have a significant position of influence within their organisations. Their position requires the balancing of fundamental and often conflicting values in environments just as volatile as any competitive global profession.

This can be seen through the recent seismic shift in how organisational middle leaders undertake their work. As cost pressures keep rising, the pressure to do more with less escalates and the desire for workers to experience the hybrid work environment in the workplace environment is being reshaped. Along with new artificial intelligence and automation technologies, some analysts expect organisations to need fewer people for traditional middle leadership tasks like overseeing daily operations, administrative responsibilities, and approving operational workflows.

An alternative view is that, in the modern hybrid workplace, middle leaders will become more important than ever in bringing teams together and fostering a sense of belonging within organisations. Middle leaders will continue to play a critical role in workplaces of the future — but their capabilities and career pathways will need to grow.

We need to move away from the mindset of leaders and managers as monitors as middle leaders play a vital role in nurturing talent, forging strong team connections, and supporting teams in achieving their goals.

With the introduction of technology and automation, leaders can fix a lot of the issues that are in the traditional remit of the middle leader, from breaking down silos, helping connect people to each other, and simplifying and speeding up processes through workflows and automation. Used successfully, these tools remove the need for middle leaders to manually track whether employees are showing up to work on time or to constantly track project status, operational and tactical activity, and other departmental administrative obligations. This means middle leaders can shift from monitoring inputs to a more effective strategy of focusing on outcomes.

As a result, forward-thinking organisations are increasingly looking to middle leaders to provide coaching and mentorship for staff, build trust and improve diversity and inclusiveness, communicate with senior leadership and staff to ensure people are aligned with the broader departmental vision, and come up with the great ideas that departments need to work more effectively together. Basically, we’re moving towards redesigning the role of leaders as enablers and as people who can coach and develop the individuals on their team, because that’s what people are truly looking for and what organisations need to thrive.