When I began examining the path to succession planning and intentional leadership, I first gave thought to my own path. This contemplation brought me back through 23 years of my professional career to a point where I realized as I was being led, and how I was strongly being influenced by my surroundings, informal, and formal leaders.
I worked for a county sheriff’s department where I was part of a group of young deputies and state troopers who supported and stretched one another’s professional abilities. Through our collaboration and efforts, we were constantly making what we “knew” was a difference. And through this difference, we were building our reputations, our resumés, and little would I realize, blindly interviewing for positions that were not conceivable at the time. In my position at the county, I moved through some of the rank structure, was exposed to additional responsibility, and gained experience in law enforcement that has served me all of my career—and it became my foundation.
Upon continual encouragement from members of the Tennessee Highway Patrol whom I interacted with regularly in the course of my duties, I committed and applied to the agency, and, in January 2005, I was headed to the state with sights set on becoming a Tennessee State Trooper.
In 2011, through my journey as a state trooper, I found my way back to where becoming a state trooper began for me, the training center. There I was interviewing against others, some had more seniority, all had varying experiences and skill sets. A sergeant, who had watched me work for a number of years while I was a deputy, had pushed me to do more and set my sights higher, and had mentored me to the point of becoming a state trooper, was now the captain of the training center. He knew the importance of making sure the agency was on the path to leaving a legacy through the building of a brand, which includes finding and encouraging the right people. In essence, I had unknowingly been on an interview that had taken seven years to culminate.
Building a Brand
Why is it so important for an agency to build a brand? More important, why would someone want to be part of such an effort? In December 2019, the Tennessee Highway Patrol, built collectively through a strong and forward-thinking legacy, turned 90 years old. What the agency has been building over the past number of years as it moved toward its 90th anniversary is a brand—something not developed nor finalized overnight.
Organizational branding is built through community involvement, impactful messaging, and intentional development. In a society where there is a perceived disconnect between law enforcement and the public, agencies must be creating trust opportunities. The majority of the public wants to believe in law enforcement and the good that it does. When agency leaders are in partnership with their staff and the public, it’s essential that the internal messaging be consistent with the external messaging. As with any brand or franchise, the agency’s worth is often in the perceived value, not monetary value. These same ideals hold true in the importance of improving the value of one’s own personal brand. Individually, each officer impacts the overall value of the organization.
When an agency makes a commitment to improving the value of their brand, the return on the investment comes on the heels of compounded interest, and officers and agencies gain along with the public. Law enforcement everywhere struggles with many of the same things that improved brand value helps to resolve. The officers in the field collectively gain from increased public trust, increased return on recruitment efforts, and increased retention of established members. The profession and, on a more direct level, the agencies that best present themselves and their teammates keep the most valuable players, resulting in improved branding and retention and impacting and enhancing their public image. Every individual in law enforcement has opportunities, but what keeps them on the team (or agency) they’ve chosen is the perception that they’ve already found the best, and there is opportunity for them to excel and perform even better. In this situation, perception is reality.
Every role in law enforcement impacts the brand and the future of law enforcement. When the author was first entrusted to a position at his agency’s training center, despite recognizing the improvement and innovation was done by his predecessors, he initially missed the road, the action, and making a “difference.” However, a wise mentor pointed out the direct impact trainers could have on “1,000+ people for ever year you are here,” which gave the author the impetus to dig in deeper, do more, and be an impactful leader and mentor. The training division was part of the bigger plan and part of building the brand.
Leaders need to take a longer view of their teams; they need to not only ensure that they have people in positions, but that they have people in the right positions. Leaders need to weigh the level of engagement of the team against the needs of the organization. If team members fully understand the impact of their work and can see their own successes, they might push a little harder for a little longer than they thought they could. Seeing the impact of one’s work and understanding its purpose can drive commitment to both the task and the overall mission.
As officers realize the importance they play in the branding mission, they also must acknowledge that they will not be here in their positions forever, and, like those who had guided the author and others to become part of their succession plans, present officers and leaders have to also plan for those who will come to fill the void as they move onward or upward. Current leaders and personnel must consider how they can identify, recruit, and mentor the next cadre to step up into the roles left behind by promotion or retirement.
Planning for Success
The succession plan one may envision is in the works is not always how reality plays out. Succession plans fail every day within every organization for many reasons. The person one is developing as a successor may leave if the opportunities don’t develop fast enough; if people are good enough to develop, they may get recruited. In addition, people will seek their versions of success. Each leader likely has his or her own succession plan that will allow for a graceful exit, but that should include developing a replacement.
One’s personal plans don’t develop, or they fall through. And a cause of such failure can be a lack of a successor. People sometimes find that they become irreplaceable due to a poorly developed and ill-prepared succession candidate (or no succession candidate at all). When a team sees that an upcoming promotion, job change or retirement for their leader is inevitable, it must consider who is in position to lead into the next chapter. Those seeking to move forward should examine what are they doing today that might prevent them from following their own plan? Have they worked their way into being “irreplaceable”? Does the organization fear “divisional failure” if certain people succeed? Everyone has to plan for success—yours and the organization’s.
Succession plans are successful when they identify people or a group of people who are seen as having what it takes—those who are committed to making the organization a success without being overly concerned about their personal achievement and who do what is right because it’s best for the organization and those that it serves. These people are the “big picture” thinkers who know if they do all they can for the organization, the organization will retain their skills and dedication because they are needed to keep the momentum going. It is very much a ripple effect! They cannot get there on their own, though. The ones they will succeed need to do their part by investing in themselves to ensure they have enough energy and motivation to invest in others.
Investing in the Right Successors
Just like any good investment, a succession plan needs to diversify to ensure a consistent return. When a person or agency gets invested too heavily in a single resource, you will see “Murphy”;—those unplanned, unannounced, and very unpredictable series of events that no one is ever ready for—quietly move in and failure will show up in places that you thought it couldn’t. Have a backup plan. When agencies or leaders make “marginal” selections, they negatively impact and reduce the value of their brand for years to come. Law enforcement owes it to the public to be proactive in personnel development.
When guiding staff through the maze of success, a leader shouldn’t look for those who are carbon copies of oneself; instead, leaders should look for those people who will challenge them, push the leaders and the organization to do better and grow, and drive leaders to stay consistent in their leadership. A leader or mentor’s consistency will be what sets him or her apart—it will be what successors are drawn to, and it is what gives them permission to trust the person they seek to follow or emulate. This trust lets them support one’s growth while also developing themselves into stronger leaders.
The commitment made toward the success of others is nothing to make a halfhearted effort at; leaders and mentors have to check in with their successors regularly, continuing to mentor them even if separated geographically. They need to know that there are people committed to their success, if needed, to modify their development plan and constantly verify that their plan matches their direction. Nobody is well served if they are not kept engaged! Check in with them, test them, solicit organizational ideas from them—are they thinking at least two levels up from where they are now? Don’t just accept verbal input, create opportunities and expect an investment from them.
Leaders need to consider who they have to work with and who they will invest in — the possibilities could be narrow, or they could be endless. Identify the “rising stars” and take the time to mentor them and share wisdom and experiences. Give those exceptional individuals the personal coaching that will get them where the organization needs them to be. While leaders might feel they are abandoning the rest; that needn’t be the reality. Keep investing in the others, as they are the “long range” future, pair them up with the rising stars and let those future leaders begin mentoring their own replacements. That is how an agency or leader can get maximum return on the investment.
Conclusion
People often look to the top of the organization for proof of success. However, for organizational success, build the brand from the bottom up. If an agency has anyone, that is comfortable in their current role, it is set up for failure. To ensure organizational success, current personnel and leaders need to set themselves up for success—and make themselves replaceable keeping subordinates in a constant state of growth. d
Please cite as
Shane Stafford, “Succession Planning and Intentional Leadership,” Police Chief Online, January 8, 2020.
