transformational police leadership
what their duties and responsibilities ( Bass & Avolio , 1993 ).
Police chiefs and command staff who engage in a transformational leadership style are perceived as being more approachable and responsive to their officers ’ needs . They also create a more supportive organizational environment that is vital for improving employee satisfaction and quality of work . In turn , this creates a higher level of job commitment .
Research conducted by Mary B . Sarver and Holly Miller demonstrated police chiefs engaging in a transformational leadership approach elicited a higher level of organizational commitment compared to chiefs engaged in transactional or passive / avoidant leadership . That same research also showed officers were more satisfied with the specific leadership of his or her chief when transformational leadership was being implemented . The inspirational component of transformational leaders and their ability to inspire subordinates to reach their full potential creates an impression the leaders are more effective than transactional leaders ( Sarver & Miller , 2014 ).
Using this research as a foundation , a police leadership research project was conducted in 2019 of nine Metro-Atlanta area police departments . Police chiefs and officers in each department were surveyed using an instrument specifically designed to derive data associated with transformational and transactional leadership characteristics . The findings of this study reinforced the results of other research on employee job satisfaction and organizational commitment . In agencies in which police chiefs engaged in a transformational leadership approach , officers experienced higher levels of job satisfaction and employee commitment than in agencies where leaders relied upon a transactional approach .
The officer survey results provided a clear indication of a positive correlation between transformational leadership and job satisfaction . The more police chiefs engage in transformational leadership dimensions , the higher the level of officer job satisfaction . As with job satisfaction , data derived from officer surveys also indicated a strong , positive correlation between transformational leadership and organizational commitment . The more police chiefs engage in transformational leadership dimensions , the stronger the officers ’ commitment to the department .
Another interesting finding was related to the police chief ’ s self-perception of their leadership style . All of the chiefs surveyed rated themselves as transformational leaders . However , only 44 % of these chiefs were identified as transformational leaders by their officers . This data indicates police chiefs may feel they are providing an effective leadership style that resonates with their subordinates and inspires job satisfaction and extra effort . But , there was a clear disconnect between some of the police chiefs ’ and their officers ’ perception of their leadership style . Ultimately , however , the officer ’ s perspective is what is most important as it correlates with his or her level of job satisfaction and organizational commitment .
While police chiefs can adequately manage departments utilizing other leadership styles , those seeking to successfully create a healthy culture must be willing to take ownership of improvements needed in their leadership approach . To accomplish this , leaders must
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