March 2026 | The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine 18
As a law enforcement leader, you have chosen a highly challenging profession, one that takes a lifetime to master. While practical experience, realistic training, and formal education are indispensable for the development of first-class police leaders, so too is independent study. A program of independent reading keeps the mind fresh and enhances professionalism.
While I wish I could take credit for the above statement, it is in fact a( very slightly) edited restatement from the“ U. S. Army Chief of Staff’ s Professional Reading List.” i As I have written on many occasions, I do not hold myself out to be an expert on leadership. I have, however, done some deep reading from those who are experts in this area. I am, of course, well aware that you who are reading this have also spent much time and effort in the study of leading and leadership and are likely well versed in the literature focused on developing police leaders.
With the above in mind, I offer the following idiosyncratic, non-scientific, highly personal reading list on this topic for your consideration.
AMERICAN GENERALSHIP Character is Everything: The Art of Command By Edgar F. Puryear
A personal favorite, one of my‘ go-to’ books when asked for a recommended reading on the topic.
The book seeks to define and explain leadership as practiced by American generals from George Washington to Colin Powell. Through examples and anecdotes a reader is able to listen to, so to speak, these leaders discuss their own experiences. As Puryear writes in the book’ s Introduction, one of the purposes of the book“ is to determine how these leaders developed and obtained their insights on how to lead successfully.” A great and thought-provoking read.
Introduction: Servant Leadership
Leadership in policing has never been static, but recent years have required police executives to expand their roles dramatically. Today’ s chiefs are expected to be tacticians, managers, mentors, communicators, and guardians of public trust, often simultaneously. While policies, training standards, and technology continue to evolve, one truth remains unchanged: leadership sets the tone for everything that follows.
My leadership style is grounded in a simple belief, people perform best when they feel valued, supported, heard, and held accountable. Leadership does not begin with rank; it begins early in one’ s career, often as a patrol officer, where habits, ethics, and professionalism are formed. Rank may confer authority, but credibility earns trust.
The examples set as a patrol officer, including work ethic, decision-making, treatment of the public, and accountability, carry forward throughout a career and form the foundation of leadership credibility later as a supervisor and executive. Effective leadership is not defined by command presence alone; it is demonstrated through consistency, accessibility, and integrity, displayed daily in both routine operations and critical moments.
Servant Leadership as the Foundation
At the core of my leadership approach is servant leadership. In policing, this concept is sometimes misunderstood as passive or permissive. In reality, servant leadership is demanding. It requires leaders to place the needs of their personnel and community above personal ambition while holding everyone, especially themselves, to high professional standards.
Servant leadership means removing unnecessary obstacles so officers can perform at their highest level. One principle that guides this approach is a simple but enduring belief: leadership is about the person, not the title they hold. This applies equally to the leaders and department administrators themselves. When a leader is more concerned with their title than their conduct, authority becomes positional rather than credible. Throughout my career, I have been far more impressed by character, work ethic, humility, and integrity than by rank alone. Leaders who protect titles instead of people will never be truly effective; those who focus on earning respect through actions create trust that no title alone can command. It requires listening before directing, explaining the rationale behind decisions, and ensuring that policies support, not hinder, the mission.