An Exploratory Study on Ideal Leadership Behaviour: The Opinions of American Police Managers
| Date | 01 December 2010 |
| Published date | 01 December 2010 |
| DOI | 10.1350/ijps.2010.12.4.207 |
| Author | Viviana Andreescu,Gennaro F. Vito |
| Subject Matter | Article |
An exploratory study on ideal leadership
behaviour: the opinions of American police
managers
Viviana Andreescu and Gennaro F. Vito†
(Both) Department of Justice Administration, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY 40292,
USA.
†(Corresponding author) Tel: 001 800 334 8635; email: gf.vito@louisville.edu
Submitted 28 April 2010; revision submitted 20 June 2010;
accepted 9 July 2010
Keywords: police leadership, police organisation, police structure, police
administration, police management
Viviana Andreescu
is an assistant professor in
the Department of Justice Administration at the
University of Louisville. She holds a PhD in Urban
and Public Affairs from the University of
Louisville.
Gennaro F. Vito
is a professor and Distinguished
University Scholar at the University of Louisville’s
Department of Justice Administration. He is also
a member of the faculty of the Administrative
Officers Course at the Southern Police Institute
at the University of Louisville. He holds a PhD in
Public Administration from Ohio State University
and is a past president and fellow of the
Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences.
A
BSTRACT
This study examines the perceived ideal leader-
ship behaviour in police organisations. It is based
on a survey of 126 police managers from 23 US
States who attended the Administrative Officers
Course at the Southern Police Institute during
the academic year 2007–2008. The question-
naire used in this investigation includes the
Leader Behaviour Description Questionnaire
Form XII (Stodgill, 1963). The main objectives
of this exploratory analysis are to rank the
importance of leadership characteristics based on
police officers' perceptions, to create a typology of
leadership styles preferred, and to identify the
demographic factors that are most likely to influ-
ence variations in opinions regarding the behavi-
our of an ideal police leader. This research shows
that individual characteristics can influence not
only managerial styles, but also leadership prefer-
ences. In particular, results imply that gender and
race play an important role in structuring leader-
ship preferences. Female police officers do not
appear to differ from men in their preferences for a
predominantly task-centred and structured leader-
ship. However, women seem to favour more than
men do: (1) a type of leader who can be
considered ‘transformational’; or (2) a more
democratic, worker-oriented leader, who would
allow subordinates freedom of action and would
respond well to the followers' concerns. Compared
with Whites and other racial minorities, African
American police officers tend to favour more a
structured task-centred leadership orientation or a
leadership style described as transformational.
INTRODUCTION
Leadership is a crucial concept in the devel-
opment of effective organisations. Just what
it consists of and how it should be exercised
is the subject of serious study across several
disciplines. Effective leaders motivate their
Page 567
International Journal of Police
Science and Management,
Vol. 12 No. 4, 2010, pp. 567–583.
DOI: 10.1350/ijps.2010.12.4.207
International Journal of Police Science & Management Volume 12 Number 4
followers to do what is best for the organ-
isation. They have the ability to get fol-
lowers to do work that is well beyond the
minimum required of them. Leaders are
expected to generate a sense of purpose that
both motivates and directs followers so that
they voluntarily make meaningful contribu-
tions to the organisation. The leader is a
source of both guidance and inspiration.
The elements of police leadership are a
vital concern to practitioners in the field.
Police executives have been exhorted to
recognise that leadership can be exercised at
any level of the department. Haberfeld
(2006, p. 3) defines police leadership as ‘the
ability to make a split-second decision and
take control of a potentially high-voltage
situation that evolves on the street’. She also
asserts that line officers are ‘the true leaders
on the streets, using their leadership skills in
daily encounters with the community, and
police executives and policy makers need to
realize it’ (Haberfeld, 2006, p. 3).
Baker (2006, p. 41) contends that effect-
ive leadership is exercised by police man-
agers in different ways, depending upon
their rank in the department. Senior leader-
ship should spend its time developing and
sharing the vision for the organisation,
charting the journey by establishing stra-
tegic objectives and practising collaboration
and delegation of tasks. Police middle man-
agers coordinate and plan, mentor and
coach, build teams and empower and
reward their subordinates. First-line super-
visors provide leadership by example,
supervising and training teams while evalu-
ating performance.
These features stress the need to include
and consider all members of the organisa-
tion as vital to a successful police leadership.
Coaching and mentoring of the people
doing the day-to-day work of the agency
insures that the vision of the leader will be
implemented and that the organisation will
prosper. In addition, leadership could be
more effective if managers would become
aware of the subordinates’ needs and
expectations.
While it is true that, in recent years,
police leadership research significantly
increased in volume and quality, a large
number of these studies paid particular
attention to the managers’ characteristics,
performance styles, and the challenges
which leaders had/have to face when in
managerial positions.
The present study proposes a shift in
focus. The main objective of this explorat-
ory analysis is to determine, through the use
of the Leader Behaviour Description Ques-
tionnaire, what leadership behaviours are
considered significant by police managers.
The central question is: according to a
sample of police managers, what are the
behaviours of an ideal police leader?
LITERATURE REVIEW
Research on police managers and
leadership attributes: findings from
the US
The research findings from this literature
are based upon surveys of officers in police
training programmes. As a result, samples
are non-random. In their survey of 155
police managers, Kuykendall and Unsinger
(1982) found that the most common
leadership style was that of a salesman.
These managers reported that they worked
as team managers who avoided ‘risky’ styles,
particularly those involving delegating
high-level tasks to their subordinates. Sup-
port for a more inclusive leadership style
was reported by Bruns and Shuman (1988).
The authors surveyed 365 law enforcement
officers in 10 managerial training pro-
grammes in Arizona from 1978 to 1982 and
determined that their respondents clearly
supported a highly participative leadership
style for police leaders. Together, these
research results indicate police leadership
styles appear to be influenced by the level of
trust in subordinates. Leaders are unlikely to
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An exploratory study on ideal leadership behaviour
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