March 2026 | The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine 14
The leader creates energy, not compliance.
3. Adapt to Different Personality Styles The authors provide a practical behavior model:
• Drivers( decisive, results-driven)
• Analyticals( data-oriented, cautious)
• Expressives( creative, visionary)
• Amiables( relationship-oriented, collaborative) A single leadership style does not work for all.
IV. Creating a High-Performance Professional Team Unlike traditional teams, professional groups often begin as collections of individual high performers. The leader’ s job is to turn a collection of stars into a functional constellation.
1. Meetings as Leadership Tools Meetings must:
• have clear agendas
• drive decisions
• build alignment
• reinforce accountability
Professionals tolerate poor meetings even less than other employees. 2. Use Challenge to Drive Engagement The authors advocate for:
• stretch goals
•“ big-picture” mission clarity
• visible accomplishments
Professionals thrive on ambition and intellectual challenge, not maintenance work. 3. Recognition Is Rocket Fuel Recognition from a respected leader or peer group:
• boosts morale
• reinforces standards
• builds culture For many professionals, recognition outweighs compensation in motivational power. V. Handling Performance Problems and Conflict
Professional teams often include strong personalities— including the brilliant-but-difficult colleague.
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