Getting promoted to SGT soon... Just got word. Kind of surreal in the sense that when I started it wasn't a goal of mine... Wasn't "not" a goal either, guess it just kind of developed organically over time on the job...

I'm excited and nervous. Not because I don't know the job, but because I understand it's a great responsibility to try and be a good leader for your officers, and not just a supervisor. I've seen both, good leaders and terrible supervisors. I've got approx. 8 years on the job, 6.5 on SWAT among other responsibilities...

I'm sure there are those I work with who don't think I deserve it or that I should get it over them, but it's how its transpired.

Any advice, recommendation on reading material or just knowledge as to best support my officers on my watch would be greatly appreciated.

Looking forward to this new challenge.

Good Luck.

Congrats!!!

Kyle Lamb's Leadership in the Shadows

Jocko's Extreme Ownership

have really impacted my leadership style. Honestly, they helped articulate and understand the leadership principles I learned through the military.

Of the two, Extreme Ownership has had the greatest impact and is required reading for my younger leadership. There are just some super basic but important principles that help guide a lot of leadership decision making, such as :

Extreme Ownership - when you're the leader, take responsibility for EVERYTHING. Take none of the credit and all of the blame. If something goes wrong, always step back and think about what you could have done differently to make sure that didn't happen. In the future, think about that ahead of time and prevent that stuff from happening. One of your guys screwed up? You should have trained him better, communicated better, or made sure he had the tools he needed to perform better. The weather screwed things up? you should have had contingency plans for bad weather. etc

The real standard isn't what you say, it's what you accept. - you can preach all you want what the standards of performance, behavior, safety, etc are all day but if your guys don't meet them, and you let it go, then they learn that is the real standard.

Keep it simple. - keep plans and orders simple or they simply won't be easily understood or implemented by your subordinates and can cause more problems than they solve.

No bad teams, only bad leaders. - poorly performing teams can be turned around completely with a good leader. Teams that have been trained by a good leader can thrive despite a poor leader. Keep an eye on your subordinate managers/leaders and how they handle their guys.

Prioritize and execute - when you're overwhelmed and stressed out, take a step back, look around, decide what the next priority should be, and deal with it. Then the next one, and the next.

A leader should spend most of his time looking up and out - if you get bogged down in the minutia, you won't be able to make strategic calls. Stay close enough to the front that you know what's going on, but far enough back that you don't get sucked into pulling security on a hallway and no one is making calls. Do take some time to look down and in, but most of your time should be looking up and out.


Kyle Lamb's book is honestly almost just as great in terms of the guidance and insights he brings to the table. A lot of his advice is actually directed to law enforcement application.

Some of the best leaders I've ever known weren't seeking the role.  They just kind of rose to the challenge.

Good for you OP.

Congrats.

I made this post a couple years back and decided to pass on it.  My daily routine and quality of life outweighed the getting moved to a new shift and late watch.  Also made more than most Sgt's I have worked with just doing a few extra shifts of OT in my area .

Sometimes I wish I had followed through, but I'm also glad I haven't moved from my area.

I also definitely recommend Extreme Ownership. And then after that if you like Jocko’s style check out Leadership Strategy and Tactics.

Congratulations! Remember where you came from. I’ve had people I knew get promoted up and became raging assholes. They got caught up with the power and office politics.

One guy I knew was a great cop and good friend. Became a backstabbing micromanager. Two of my best friends and sergeants never forgot where they started and led by example.

They made my job easier and helped remove obstacles.

Good luck with your promotion. You can make a positive difference for your team.

@hemiman

1. Don't change what has made you successful.  
2. Remember those shitty supervisors that showed you what not to do and don't do that.
3. Be firm but fair. Can't make everyone happy.  
4. Take care of your people,  before you take care of yourself.  The military ingrained this into me and I wish more would pick it up.  Take care of them and they will go out of their way to do anything you ask of them.
5. I don't know what state you're in but train your shift constantly on legal updates.  In Florida,  we call them the Florida legal guidelines.  It's the cliff notes of policing and you can go over 2 pages per briefing with your shift.
6. Don't get cocky. Anybody is replaceable and can get fired at any time.  The machine will move on without you.  
7. Protect the flock, even from themselves.  Don't ignore if you think ofc. Snuffy may be coming to work drinking or ofc. Mcfee is going through a bad divorce.  We all have rough patches.  
8. I did 4 years as a sergeant.  Remember,  it's your shift now. Time for you to own it and make your mark.
9. Good luck and be safe!

Will you stay in your current assignment, or be transferred out?

Welcome to feeling in purgatory.  You aren't one of the boys anymore and you aren't high enough to really change the department.

Your main concern seems to be for your fellow officers only. And look I get it. I’ve been there. I’m going to give you some food for thought you didn’t ask for.
Don’t forget your oath and the people you serve. People have a right to record you on your duties. Don’t jam people up because they hurt your ego. We all took an oath to protect the constitution. That also means that people have a right to practice their constitutional rights.
Too many times officers get so used to throwing people in jail without realizing what it truly does to them. Does this person really belong in jail? Or are you and your coworkers just going through the motions? Don’t let those under you maintain an us against them mentality. If you see something you know that your partners shouldn’t be doing, speak up and don’t let them trample on citizens rights.
Trust me this advice will make you unpopular with your coworkers. But it’s the right thing to do and you won’t have any guilt on your conscience. Help people and tell them what their rights are.
Stay safe out there and congratulations on your promotion.

I don’t suppose you can get “tagged’ with rank anymore? That’s probably strongly discouraged these days but it was a right of passage years ago. I got E-5 when we were still in BDU’s and wore pin on rank,on the collar.

But in all seriousness, “set the example at all times” and you’ll be golden

Edit. Congrats now see this was a LEO thread and not Army. Leaders are leaders though regardless of organization

and good luck.  

Something I could care less about myself.  Esp the prospect of getting kicked back to mids for years…