The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | February 2025
Executive Professional Development : A True Best Practice
The Best Public & Private Executives Invest in Themselves and Their Teams — And You Should , Too
By Mitchell C . Sklar
Part 1 : “ Sharpening the Saw ” - Not Just for Lumberjacks
Faced with constant challenges , changing technologies , and a fluid environment , executives must continually broaden their perspective and strive for continual professional executive development . Continuing ( or Continuous ) Professional Development can be broadly defined as any type of learning that is undertaken which increases your knowledge , understanding and experiences of a subject or role . It is the means by which professionals maintain the knowledge and skills related to their professional lives . It helps keep an individual aware of advances in their profession , and enhances their knowledge and capabilities . It also helps the individual advance in their career paths and gain knowledge in certain areas over a span of time .
Perhaps the most famous champion of continuing professional development was Dr . Stephen Covey . Habit # 7 in his The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is called “ Sharpen the Saw .” Covey writes of meeting someone who had been sawing down a tree for more than 5 hours . When it was suggested that they take a break and sharpen their saw so the job might go faster they all reply they do not have time to sharpen the saw because they ’ re too busy sawing . While the “ Sharpening the Saw ” concept goes beyond professional development per se , Covey ’ s concept of self-improvement can be described as a never-ending upward spiral of ‘ Learn , Commit , Do ’.
By the way , this is not just for those “ on the way up ” the ladder of their profession — it is equally true for professionals with many years of experience in the workplace . Continuing professional development is important because it ensures you continue to be competent in your profession . It is an ongoing process and continues throughout a professional ’ s career . It keeps you at the top of your game . You owe this not only to yourself , but also to your employer , as well as all of those you serve , protect , and lead .
The critical importance of professional competence in an organization ’ s leaders is not confined to any particular industry or field . For instance , not long ago leadership development consultants Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman 1 published the results of a study they conducted on the skills that leaders need to succeed in their current positions . They surveyed over 330,000 bosses , peers , and subordinates to tank the top competencies from a list of 16 key leadership skills . Not surprisingly , high on that list was “ Displays technical or professional expertise .”
Of course , it could be argued that nowhere is professional competence more valued by subordinates and peers than in what Gen . Tom Kolditz refers to as “ organizations chartered for dangerous missions .” Gen . Kolditz , author of the groundbreaking book In Extremis Leadership : Leading as if Your Life Depended on it ( Jossey-Bass ) was chair of the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the U . S . Military Academy West Point for 12 years , where he was responsible for teaching , research , and out-reach activities in Management , Leader Development Science , Psychology , and Sociology .
__________________________________
After joining the West Point faculty in 2000 , Kolditz began a program of empirical research into what he soon dubbed in extremis leadership . Using a variety of research methods including observation , interviews , and surveys ( this is not a topic that lends itself to controlled experimentation !), Kolditz identified a consistent pattern of traits , skills , and attitudes that characterizes those who are successful in leading others in these dynamic and dangerous settings . Specifically , he found that successful in extremis leaders ( 1 ) possess an inherent motivation for the task , ( 2 ) embrace continuous learning , ( 3 ) share risk with their followers , ( 4 ) adopt a lifestyle in common with their followers , and ( 5 ) are highly competent , and inspire trust and loyalty in others .
It is worth commenting further on the role of competence in leading in dangerous contexts . Dr . Patrick Sweeney , now the Director of Leadership , Character , and Ethics Initiatives at Wake Forest University , conducted a very insightful field study of leadership in soldiers engaged in actual combat operations . In 2003 , while still in graduate school working on his doctor of philosophy degree in social psychology , Sweeney was personally contacted by David Petraeus ( a major general at that time , and command of the division ) who asked him to join the U . S . Army V Corps as it prepared to invade Iraq . Seizing the opportunity to both serve his nation in combat and conduct a study of leadership of real soldiers conducting real combat missions , Sweeney quickly devised a series of questionnaires that he administered to soldiers and their leaders .
To a large degree , what Sweeney found is consistent with Kolditz ’ s findings . But his most interesting finding may be that it was competence that was essential to leading others in combat . If a leader was not competent , he was not trusted by his soldiers . Lack of trust is devastating to a combat unit . Without it , both morale and performance degrade …[ emphasis added ]
8
Continued on next page