AIPM News

Archived news items January - June 2006:

1/2006 AFAC Executive Development Program
1/2006 AFAC Volunteer Leaders’ Program
99th Police Management Development Program Report
AIPM Conspicuous Conduct Award
99th Police Management Development Program Opening Address
Malaysia Police Visit
98th PMDP Graduation Ceremony
98th Police Management Development Program Opening Address

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13 June 2006

1/2006 AFAC Executive Development Program
by Geoff Conway

The first AFAC Executive Development Program for 2006 was recently concluded at the Australian Institute of Police Management at Manly. Twenty-one members of Australian and New Zealand Emergency Services were awarded a Graduate Certificate in Applied Management by AIPM for their work in the distance education and residential components of the program.

Diversity is a phrase familiar to all in today’s workplace. The participants in the AFAC EDP conducted in May provided a case study in the diversity of the emergency service workforce. Not only did they represent a cross section of jurisdictions in emergency services in Australia and New Zealand, they came from a broad range of organisational roles, career backgrounds and cultural heritage.

Stan Lytras from New Zealand Fire Service provides a good example. Stan was born in Greece and until recently was the Team Leader for the NZFS IT Systems Support Team. He now holds the role of Availability and Support Manager for IT in the NZFS. Stan’s background and experience were teamed with operational fire fighters, ambulance paramedics, emergency service officers, human resource development professionals and financial managers which provided an eclectic and stimulating mix of personalities.

Stan’s humorous observations on the program, and the world in general, were a welcome counterpoint to the demanding workload of the course and were often the catalyst for a new line of discussion among his fellow participants.

During the three weeks at Manly participants are not only exposed to the experiences of their fellow participants, they also attend presentations from some of Australia’s most respected practitioners in the fields of financial management, risk management, leadership and ethics, project management and a range of other specialist areas. These presentations are contrasted with experiential learning and team building activities, and numerous opportunities to develop presentation and influencing skills.

In addition to the specialist presenters visiting the AIPM site, course participants are supported by the professional staff and Visiting Fellows at the AIPM. Visiting Fellows and syndicate leaders for the program in May were Assistant Commissioner Reg Christiansen (Queensland Fire and Rescue Service), Commander David Bruce (Metropolitan Fire and Emergency Services Board - Melbourne), Lt Col. Nick Rowntree (AIPM Visiting Military Fellow) and Geoff Conway (AFAC Visiting Fellow at AIPM and Course Coordinator).

The structure of the program, the spectacular venue on the shores of Sydney harbour and the culture of the emergency services leads to strong bonds and networks among the participants. 1/2006 AFAC EDP was no exception to this rule with the group quickly developing the strong rapport that provides the critical support needed to complete the intensive residential program. As one participant observed:

“Met a lot of great people – all were very professional and considerate.”

But it’s not just the networking and comradery that participants derive from the EDP that provide ongoing benefit. They also gain a sense of achievement and confidence in their ability to fulfil current and future roles within their service. Comments from participants consistently demonstrate this outcome.

For example:

“Challenging course that breaks new ground and opened my eyes to strategic thinking.”

“Enjoyed the course immensely – learnt heaps.”

“Good honest feedback – excellent learning environment.”

In his speech to the graduation dinner on 25 May, principle guest Neil Bibby AFSM, CEO of the Country Fire Authority Victoria made the observation that there was tremendous intellectual capacity with the emergency services of Australia and New Zealand. Staff at the AIPM see this consistently among the participants attending programs at Manly. One of the greatest rewards of involvement in the AFAC EDP are the insights and understandings gained from discussion with so many capable professionals. The staff of AIPM wishes to record their appreciation and respect for the hard work and achievement of all the course participants of the AFAC EDP 1/2006.

If you are a member of an Australian or New Zealand jurisdiction and you are interested in attending the program you should, in the first instance, contact the learning and development staff of your own organisation who will explain the selection procedures for your jurisdiction. Members of overseas agencies may care to contact the AIPM’s Faculty Administration Manager (faculty@aipm.gov.au) who can provide additional information about the suite of programs offered by the Institute.

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26 April 2006

1/2006 Dulux Bunnings /AFAC Volunteer Leaders' Program
by Tom Rogers

Peter Ives is typical of the sort of person who attended the 1/2006 Dulux Bunnings/ Australasian Fire Authorities Council Volunteer Leaders Program (VLP). A committed volunteer member of the Queensland Fire and Rescue Service, Peter also has another life completely outside the confines of that important job. A dedicated passion fruit farmer, part of his personal introductory speech to the other program participants included the ringing cry, ‘Eat more passion fruit!’. Each of the 22 participants brought their own version of the passion fruit story to the program, and each story demonstrated the extraordinary level of commitment demonstrated by all members of volunteer agencies. These dedicated individuals juggle multiple and often competing priorities as they strive to provide an invaluable (and frequently unrecognised) service to the community.

Over the last few years, two VLPs each year have been conducted at the Australian Institute of Police Management’s (AIPM) spectacular Manly (Sydney) campus. The staff at the AIPM always enjoy the VLP’s: the participants demonstrate a hunger for learning and knowledge, and provide rich, useful (and lively!) feedback to the staff. The participants on the 1/2006 VLP were no exception to this rule. Enjoying an instant bond (through the shared difficulty of being a volunteer), the participants attacked the program with gusto and good humour: perhaps a little too much good humour – staff have only just located the strategically hidden AIPM bell!

In a brief and intense few days, participants: enjoyed presentations on a diverse range of subjects such as influence, leadership, coaching, industry issues, media skills, conversation control; completed a Myers Briggs assessment; participated in two outdoor experiential sessions; and as part of a small team, prepared and presented a landmark presentation on selected industry issues. The formal presentations and activities provided by the AIPM – including sessions by Anna Hinder, Mike Nadler, Bill Dowsett, Stuart Ellis, Tom Rogers, Somer Taylor and Geoff Conway, were well received. However, as is always the case, the participant presentations were a major component of the program, and were professionally produced and delivered, and very much enjoyed.

The AIPM wishes to extend its thanks to all participants on the 1/2006 VLP for their hard work, positive attitude, and infectious enthusiasm for the program. These qualities demonstrated by the participants are not unexpected – they are the same characteristics that enable Australia’s important volunteer emergency services agencies to produce such amazing results.

Preparing to present	Influencing skills: Alistair and Mike
The 'Red Team' solves a problem	Surviving Narabeen

The AIPM also records its gratitude to AFAC and Dulux Bunnings for their continued support for this important program. It is unlikely that AFAC and the AIPM would be able to conduct the programs if not for the foresight, generosity and interest of Dulux Bunnings – their contribution to the Community is gratefully received and acknowledged. 

If you are a member of an Australian or New Zealand volunteer emergency service and you are interested in attending the Volunteer Leaders Program you should, in the first instance, contact the learning and development staff of your own organisation who will explain the selection procedures for your agency. Information about the program can also be obtained form the Australasian Fire Authorities Council web site at www.afac.com.au, and go to Events and Programs.

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13 April 2006

99th Police Management Development Program Report
by Tom Rogers

Staff at the AIPM often comment on the very different ‘feel’ of each of the residential programs. Each group of participants and program Visiting Fellows combine to create a unique, albeit temporary, learning atmosphere. The recently completed 99th Police Management Development Program (PMDP) was no exception, including the fact that part of that learning atmosphere had a distinctly Gaelic edge. In addition to St Patrick’s Day occurring during the programme (19th March), the two Visiting International Fellows - Chief Superintendent Tim Meaklim and Chief Inspector Phil Stewart - added some Celtic flair to the PMDP. Tim is a Superintendent in the Police Service of Northern Ireland, although he is currently based at the Leadership Academy for policing at Bramshill where he is Head of Quality and Development. Phil, originally from the Dumfries and Galloway Constabulary, is currently the Programme Coordinator within Leadership and Management Division of the Scottish Police College.

The program participants also benefited from the sage advice and guidance of the local Visiting Fellows (VFs): Superintendent Phil Flogel (NSW Police); Commander Dean Angus (South Australia Police); and Lieutenant Colonel Nick Rowntree (Australian Army). (Phil Flogel was seconded to the AIPM for the three week residential, whilst Dean and Nick are completing long term fellowships – one to two years – at the AIPM). Participants on the 99th PMDP were very conscious of the value of the Visiting Fellow program, and were grateful for the VF’s insights and experience. As one student stated:

‘The Visiting Fellows added an exceptional dimension to the learning environment’.

The PMDP is a combined distance and residential program, and successful completion of both elements leads to the award of a Graduate Certificate in Applied Management (fully accredited under the NSW Higher Education Act). The three week residential component is a particularly challenging yet intensely rewarding experience for the participants. During the program, participants are encouraged to think (strategically) about the significant issues confronting senior managers and leaders in Policing and Public Safety Agencies. The major learning outcome relate to the development of increased knowledge, skills and confidence to manage at senior levels.

Participants on the 99th PMDP produced some particularly high quality work; including a group of very innovative Future Directions Papers.  In addition to the extensive written and assessed components of the program, the course members formed a lasting network: debated; argued; participated in teambuilding activities; had the Shackleton experience; joked; enjoyed themselves; worked hard; and sampled (extensively!) the AIPM’s famed cuisine.

All of the individual components of the program contribute to what has been referred to as the ‘Manly Experience’. This ‘experience’ is also determined by the composition of the student body. The 99th PMDP benefited from the participation of students from every Australian jurisdiction (with exception of Tasmania), New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the United Kingdom. Participants on the 99th PMDP enjoyed the experience, with students commenting that:

‘An excellent and well run course…the staff should be very proud of the program, and I look forward to returning in the future.’

‘A very challenging but effectively constructed course…it is demanding but appropriate and justifies its position as an international course…first class and impressive program supported by excellent resources and staff.’

‘A highly beneficial course…I certainly feel that I have undergone the Manly Experience which I will remember for the rest of my life…I will certainly be recommending this course.’

The staff at the AIPM wish to record their appreciation and respect for the hard work, professionalism and achievements of all the students and Visiting Fellows on the 99th PMDP. They were an excellent group, and contributed a great deal to the AIPM during their tenure at Manly.

If you are a member of an Australian or New Zealand jurisdiction and you are interested in attending the program you should, in the first instance, contact the learning and development staff of your own organisation who will explain the selection procedures for your jurisdiction. Members of overseas agencies may care to contact the AIPM’s Faculty Administration Manager (faculty@aipm.gov.au) who can provide additional information about the suite of programs offered by the Institute.

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17 March 2006

AIPM Conspicuous Conduct Award
by Pamela Ross

On Wednesday 15 March, Commissioner Keelty presented the staff of the AIPM with the Commissioner’s Group Citation for Conspicuous Conduct.  This award was presented to the AIPM staff for displaying dedication and commitment to the future of Australasian Police leadership.  It recognises the very important improvements that have occurred in the quality and range of executive development courses offered by the AIPM over the last few years.

Commissioner Keelty also addressed the participants of the 99th Police Management Development Program who were attending the first week of their residential course at the Institute.

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14 March 2006

99th Police Management Development Program Opening Address

Deputy Commissioner John Lawler of the Australian Federal Police visited the AIPM on Monday March 13 to open the 99th Police Management Development Program. He gave the following speech:

It is a real pleasure to open the 99th Police Management Development Program.  I am also pleased to see representatives from so many law enforcement agencies abroad among this group – including from Hong Kong, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Singapore and the United Kingdom. The AFP is working closely alongside your police services in a range of capacities overseas and we welcome the opportunity to share with you our insights into leadership and development issues.

And it is always great to have our State and Territory colleagues here as well, to share our collective experiences and enhance cooperation, which is now occurring across so many fronts at a national level.

Throughout this course, you will cover many areas which reflect the challenges faced in leading organisations today. It has deliberately been designed that way to mirror the depth and breadth of challenges that confront policing executives in today’s world.

These are challenges that are likely to become even more complex for policing executives of the future.

In 2006, being a leader in policing is very different to when I began my career - you only needed to know a fraction of what you do today.

Today, we need strategic thinkers – people who have a capacity to operate across many different levels.

People who can contend with responsibilities not only in law enforcement but also in other industries and sectors - whose roles are increasingly overlapped with ours.

This requires knowledge and experience not only in operational policing, but in politics, business, science, technology, law and economics – as well as community and international relations.

It requires flexibility and adaptability and a strong commitment to organisational values and to leading by example.

In a recent speech The Prime Minister John Howard referred to the extent of change in the AFP over the last 5-6 years, which I am very mindful reflects the level of change in all organisations represented here.

He said the AFP had “demands placed on it, which go beyond the demands placed on an organisation in terms of change than any (he’d) seen at a Federal level.”
 
This is a very significant statement, highlighting for us the fact that the pressures and complexities we face in policing are recognised at the highest levels of government.

While this sort of recognition is important in a competitive business environment, it also reminds us of the magnitude of the task we face.

As leaders, it is our responsibility to position our organisations to keep delivering on these challenges so we can retain the confidence of government and the community.

Although all of you here belong to different policing agencies – at the management level the challenges we face are similar. These include:

• Managing in an environment of rapid change;
• Managing multiple demands with limited resources;
• Meeting accountability and performance requirements;
• Managing teams containing individuals with different abilities, outlooks and personalities;
• Managing political and community expectations; and
• Managing relationships with agencies whose interests and agendas may be different to our own.

As we all know, in today’s environment, business priorities can change overnight…so we also have to be ready for the unexpected.

The key to meeting all of these challenges of change lies in careful business planning. This requires a good understanding of the drivers of our operating environment and an appreciation of what the future may hold.

The traditional posture of police business has been to react first. But today we have to take a more strategic and authoritative approach.

• We can’t afford to be taken by surprise by new threats and the demands placed upon us.
• A police service that appears to be constantly playing “catch up” will not retain the confidence of government and the community.
• You have to be prepared to provide ideas and solutions to government at the appropriate time. We have got to match our policy ideas with the speed at which the government is trying to deal with the problem.

At the AFP, we have invested considerable resources to provide a framework for ongoing strategic planning. This has included:

• An Environment Scan;
• A Case Categorisation and Prioritisation Model to help us make most effective and efficient use of resources; and
• A business activity analysis, which enables us to monitor the work being done in each business area (fostering a continual performance improvement process).

Environment scan

The AFP has been doing an annual Environment Scan for the past six years. 

The approach we take is not simply descriptive of the broad trends at work in the political, economic, social and technological – or PEST – spheres, but includes legal and environmental dimensions as well. 

Our scan also incorporates the organisation’s best intelligence judgments about emerging trends in the major crime types, an analysis of the major pressures and trends in the AFP’s internal management environment, plus an assessment of factors in the external stakeholder environment.
 
We don’t have a fixed view about intelligence… it is used not just to assist us with criminal investigations, but also to inform us about the skills we need in the organisation in terms of human resources and direction.  

The scan also identifies key risks and challenges for the organisation looking two years ahead. 

It helps provide strategic context for the Executive Management Board’s consideration of priorities and resource requirements, and for each of the National Managers when they prepare their individual strategic plans addressing the crime-types for which they are responsible.

• The Board was deliberately created to ensure the organisation is being managed correctly and appropriately.
• Executive management team also completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors course – to assist with understanding the accountability and governance frameworks required for managing large budgets and responsibilities.

We deliberately focused the Environment Scan at a timeframe of two years into the future rather than a longer period of five years in order for it to be seen as less “airy-fairy” and more relevant to a senior manager’s interests and needs. 

It is supplemented with a series of scenario analyses, which look five years ahead.  These scenarios are not predictions of the future, but outline possible and plausible alternative futures.

One of the questions asked is ‘what will the AFP look like in 2011?’– this reflects and builds on a project previously undertaken in 2001 to address the questions of what will the AFP look like in 2006.

The approach has a number of benefits:

• It puts us on the front foot in developing and aligning our capabilities to meet the challenges in that changing environment; 
• It allows us to consider what action we might take to try to shape that environment in our favour, through early policy changes and legislative initiatives; 
• It provides a basis for developing a strategic dialogue with stakeholder agencies which may be assessing the same environmental trends from their own perspective; and
• It encourages senior managers to be comfortable with the prospect of rapid and unexpected change, meaning that when major unforeseen events occur, the organisation does not react with shock, but adapts quickly to the new circumstances. 

This has helped the AFP cope with the extraordinary amount of change it has undergone in the past few years, including challenges in counter-terrorism and national security, the reintegration of the Australian Protective Service into the AFP, and new requirements for regional assistance and capacity building.

One of the findings of the 9/11 Commission in the United States was that “across government there were failures of imagination, policy, capabilities and management, and the most important failure was one of imagination.” 

The Report went on to state that, given that imagination is not usually associated with bureaucracies, it is crucial to find ways to routinise the exercise of imagination. 

This finding echoes an observation by Einstein that imagination is more important than knowledge.  He said:  knowledge is limited, but imagination encircles the world.

Disciplined and questioning environment scans, strategic intelligence assessments and scenarios are all valuable tools for imagining and preparing for a future which is inevitably going to be different from the present - AFP Executive Retreats provide a good opportunity to exercise imagination.

Whether or not your agency has similar formal or informal strategic processes, you can apply strategic thinking to your own job and work area.  Ask the key questions:

• What is my area’s business?
• Why is it important for my agency? 
• What are the driving forces which shape it and give it importance? 
• How are those forces likely to change in the future and what strategic opportunities and challenges might those changes present? 

The answers to these types of questions provide essential forward-looking context for your business planning, and will help you to drive change instead of being driven by it.  The secret to being a good executive is to know what you can change and what you can’t.  In this regard Charles Darwins’ quote certainly reflects this issue:

“It’s not the strongest of the species who survive, nor the most intelligent, but the ones most responsive to change”.

 Political dimensions

When you ask these questions, you are operating in the realm of ideas and it is important as senior managers that you are comfortable in that realm.  Policy and politics are essentially about the interplay of ideas, ideology and concepts. 

Senior public servants are capable of holding and framing competing ideas and determining how such ideas impact at both the political and agency level.  That means they are also capable of serving different objectives set by different Ministers and Governments, thereby reinforcing the principle of a non-partisan public service.

One of the major concerns of operational police is to establish the facts in any given case or set of circumstances.  However, facts can only take you so far in dealing effectively with governments at senior management level.  The reality is that searching for, identifying and presenting facts at that level occurs within a political dimension, which as I said before is primarily a dimension of ideas.

The abiding interests of good government and effective public administration also rest on ideas.  Ideas are central to how one goes about creatively achieving goals and in the modern public sector environment which often involves a partnership with one or more external agencies.

Indeed, a whole of government approach is the norm rather than the exception in today’s world.  There are a number of reasons for this but principal among them is that in an increasingly globalised and interconnected world, the issues that are arising as challenges for governments are by their very nature cross-cutting and not solvable by single agencies operating alone.

This trend in public administration has particular relevance for the AFP, as a number of our priority areas have cross-cutting characteristics: counter-terrorism, border protection, the National Drug Strategy, overseas peace and capacity building operations, high-tech crime. 

The list goes on and the phenomenon is mirrored at State and Territory level in some of the same areas such as counter-terrorism and drugs, and in relationships with other emergency services, and with social service and social policy departments.

The Management Advisory Committee of the Australian Public Service published an important report last year on whole-of-government approaches called Connecting Government, which I commend to you.

The report identifies the range of policy and program delivery problems where whole-of-government approaches are most effectively utilised, and also outlines different types of whole-of-government mechanisms and the problems to which they are best suited.

As senior managers, you will inevitably be central players in your agency’s relationship with other agencies in whole-of-government processes.  It is absolutely vital that you enter such partnerships with a very clear mutual understanding of the outcome sought, what each agency is responsible for contributing and what the joint management and accountability arrangements are. 

Beyond those fundamentals, the key to making a whole-of-government process work is developing a relationship of trust with your counterparts in other agencies.  This is one area where really need to ‘walk the talk’ as a manager and a representative of your agency, which means:

• paying attention to the detail and the protocols of consultation,
• being seen to be consistent in the positions you take,
• making sure that there are no surprises for your partners,
• being prepared to compromise to find ‘win-win’ solutions, and
• allowing your partners their share of the credit for those solutions.

Internal considerations

The other area where it is vital to ‘walk the talk’ is your relationship with your own teams. 

As a manager, these are the people who will be delivering your outcomes.  They are more independently-minded than ever before and they have more options in their career paths than ever before. 

In any modern organisation that wants to be effective and competitive, you need those people to give you 100% effort and beyond.  But they will do so only because they choose to, and the quality of your relationship to them as a manager is critical to that choice.

You will all be aware of the good managing behaviours - honesty, transparency, integrity, fairness, empowerment, mentoring etc.  These are wonderful principles, but they have to be lived if they are to work.  Because nobody is perfect - including you - it takes deliberate effort to apply these every day to your working relationships. 

The fact is that, as a senior manager, your behaviour is constantly under scrutiny and you have to lead by example.  Of course in policing organisations, there is simply no room for any slippage at all in the area of professional integrity.

This is hard work.  This is the guts of being a good people manager. 

As a manager, you cannot afford to let your personal preferences determine your working relationships.  The team member who you don’t naturally warm to, deserves from you as their manager no less opportunity, recognition and support for good performance than their colleague who you happen to feel more comfortable around.

And this is the message of workplace diversity.  We are all individuals who bring unique talents and abilities to our workplace, but we should not be penalised for our individual traits and characteristics. 

Good teams draw strength from diversity, and from the range of perspectives that are available to go into the mix.  And good managers, as well as appreciating that, work to understand what makes their people tick so that they can relate to them all fairly and on the same transparent basis.

On a personal level, you also need to have your own goals and clear aspirations.

• Where do you want to be in 10 years? And how will this fit with your families and lifestyle and the opportunities available at your organisation?
• Importance of feeling positive about the future to inspire confidence and motivation.
• Importance of cultivating partnerships and mentors.
• Remember that you are always accountable upwards and downwards.

Courses like this are invaluable for providing some of the answers.

I hope that some of these personal observations resonate as you undertake the various PDMP modules.  The Program is intense, but it needs to be, because managing well in an environment of rapid change requires a high level of skills, knowledge and application.

I hope you enjoy the program and find the content stimulating.

The AIPM is held in very high regard among the law enforcement community in Australia and abroad.  Its capacity to deliver high-quality education programs was acknowledged in the announcement in 2004 by the Prime Minister of an $11.2 million upgrade and expansion program.

That program is progressing well and will provide the Institute with even greater capacity to develop our police and emergency services leaders of the future.

We thank them for their ongoing support and wish you good luck with your studies.

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3 March 2006

Malaysia Police Visit
by Pamela Ross

The Deputy Inspector General of Police, Royal Malaysia Police, Dato’ Sri Musa Bin HJ Hassan, accompanied by ASP Noor Azizul Rahim bin Taharim (ADC) and Federal Agent Keiran Miller, LO at Kuala Lumpur, visited the AIPM on 23 February 2006.

The delegation enjoyed morning tea with, Dr Jim Hann and Mr Tom Rogers. Then, following a tour of the AIPM site, Dr Hann and Mr Rogers provided the party with a briefing on the Institute and its programs.

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24 February 2006

98th PMDP Graduation Ceremony

Mr Tony Aldred, Commander Education Services, New South Wales Police was the Principal Guest for the Graduation Ceremony and Formal Dinner on February 23. He delivered the following speech:

Good evening and thank you for the opportunity to address your select group, which I note represents a broad cross-section of Police Officers from Australian and New Zealand jurisdictions.

In so doing, I am pleased to note that you have tackled the rigorous Police Management Development Program with gusto and set yourself on a course to lead your organisations into what is shaping into a demanding 21st century Policing environment.  With this in mind, I encourage you to continue your development when you return to your normal duties – the learning clearly does not start and stop at AIPM or other erstwhile educational alma maters!

Tonight I will share some thoughts with you on leadership that I have developed during my 29 years of service in the Royal Australian Navy, which included the very great privilege of sea and shore command and involvement at just about every level of generic, specialist and operational training and education ashore and afloat.

So, what is leadership, and how does it affect the so-called “management development” pool here this evening?   At the risk of sounding somewhat controversial in your company, is the contemporary use of the term “management” a little too broad in the context of the job that you commit to each and every day?

With this in mind, I would like to mention my view on the difference between leadership and management.  I consider that leadership is about people.  It involves abstract thought and the application of philosophy.   It is most often practical and outcome focused, but can be passionate, emotive and occasionally esoteric – it is without doubt an art.

Conversely, management is about the mechanics of planning, coordinating and applying process – it is a science.  It follows that leaders must be able to manage but managers may not necessarily be leaders.

Field-Marshall Sir William Slim noted that:

“Leadership is of the spirit, compounded of personality and vision; its practice is an art.  Management is of the mind, more a matter of accurate calculation, of statistics, of methods, timetables and routines:  managers are necessary; leaders are essential.”

Leadership is absolutely about influencing, indeed inspiring, ordinary people to achieve extraordinary things.  It transcends all professions, trades and circumstances.  In short, leaders make a difference through facilitating and perpetuating positive behaviour in subordinates (and occasionally peers and superiors).  Such changes invariably relate to improvements in professional skills, application to the job, mutual respect, camaraderie, teamwork, self-esteem and confidence.

To determine why this is so, we need to ask ourselves what character traits are common to great historical and contemporary leaders and also consider examples of how these traits influence behaviour within the team.

Leaders must, above all, be individuals of undeniable principle.  They must live their organisation’s values 24/7 x 365 days per year (don’t forget the 366th every leap years!).    Being able to merely list these values is not enough – actions clearly speak louder than words where leadership is concerned!

Leaders must display integrity – this simply means doing the right thing even when no-one is looking.  With this in mind, may I suggest that integrity is a precious commodity that takes a lifetime to gain and a heartbeat to lose.  Your team must be able to trust you!

Leaders must be sincere – your team will spot false sincerity within the same heartbeat that your integrity is disintegrating!

Leaders must be professionally capable and professional in their dealings, but always wary of giving a false impression of their level of expertise.

Leaders must understand their responsibilities to their team – they must be carers, nurturers and understand the concept of service as a key to understanding the burden and privilege implicit in being the leader.  Be a mentor to subordinates to build redundancy into the team.

Leaders must be learners – learn not only from your successes but also your failures.  Ask yourself not only what went wrong but how and why, then determine a remedial plan with your team.

Leaders must be planners – consider the “what ifs” to minimise risk then develop an aggressive plan with your team.

Leaders must be loyal – two way loyalty is a common approach (that is our loyalty to our leaders hopefully being returned in kind).  I prefer the concept of two-phase loyalty espoused by General Colin Powell (Gulf War One -Chairman US Joint Chiefs of Staff and, latterly, US Secretary of State), within which he highlights the concept of expectation management.

TWO-PHASE LOYALTY CAN BE DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS:

PHASE 1 – PLANNING PHASE – “All inputs considered.”

PHASE 2 – ACTION PHASE - “Follow me!”

Decision made – organisational risk transfers to the leader!

Finally, leadership is about setting the standard – leading by example is well-proven and I consider it is still the best way to do business, especially when a “values-based” philosophy is employed.

With these traits in mind, we need to ask ourselves why leadership is so important at all levels of organisations like the military and police.  My view is that it is the difference between merely playing and winning in a dangerous, volatile world.

Good leadership focuses attention on understanding the mission and the preparations to undertake it – it is the difference between continual direction and correction and the self-perpetuating prophesy of an inspired, passionate, committed, well-oiled team, that seeks responsibility and accepts accountability.   Leadership’s contribution to forming desirable habits within the team cannot be overstated.

We have discussed a range of traits, philosophies and impacts associated with good leadership.  So what should we now be thinking about ourselves as leaders? 

My view here is that we need to understand the person looking back at us in the mirror.  In short, to lead others you need to understand yourself first.

• What are your personal values? Are they aligned with Police values?
• Are your training, self-discipline and professional discipline at the required standard?
• How is your morale? Your demeanour will impact quickly and irrevocably on your team.
• What are you good at and what could stand improvement? You need to know, so you can consolidate your strengths and resolve your weaknesses.

Consider these issues and you will be in a position to lead in a way that best suits you!    Leadership is a personal thing.

In summing up, leadership is an art that requires you to know yourself and to develop habits that underpin your “values-base” – For example, are you:

RELUCTANT	OR	COURAGEOUS(physically/morally)
SELF INDULGENT	OR	SELF-DISCIPLINED
NAÏVE	OR	PRUDENT
FALSE	OR	HONEST
DO YOU TRANSFER BLAME?	OR	ARE YOU ACCOUNTABLE?

If you are on the positive side of this list, you can contribute to continual improvement within your team.  The positive impact is exponential and is essential if Police organisations are to drive down crime and, in so doing, contribute to a safe, harmonious community.

You have the opportunity to practice the grand old art of leadership; an art that can be practiced at any level and at any time.  Seek out the opportunities to practice, so it comes naturally when the chips are down and the pressure is on!

In 1963 Dr Martin Luther King embodied this view by stating that:  

"The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy."

Indeed, the true leader will risk his position, his prestige and even his life for the welfare of others.
 
Live the values – don’t just list them! 

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13 February 2006

98th Police Management Development Program Opening Address

Deputy Commissioner Andrew Scipione of the New South Wales Police visited the AIPM on Monday February 6 to open the 98th Police Management Development Program. He gave the following speech:

Can I firstly congratulate each of you for being accepted on the 98th AIPM Police Management Development Program, and commend you on your willingness to spend time away from friends and family in an effort to further enhance your development as police managers.

In particular, recognition should be given to those of you who have made the effort to travel considerable distances to attend, and for those whose first language is, in fact, not English.  

You have each already demonstrated your capability within your own organisation, or you would not be here today.  The next two weeks is your organisations’ investment in your development. 

Accordingly, take advantage of the wealth of knowledge of not only the lecturers and staff who will be speaking to you over the coming fortnight, but of your peers within this room, recognising both the depth and diversity of your combined experience within the law enforcement environment.

From the outset, I believe it is important to consider what the title ‘police manager’ actually means and what your CEO expects from you as a manager within your organisation.

However, before we can do that, we should consider what a modern law enforcement organisation consists of. 

My organisation, the NSW Police, has over 18,000 employees and has a budget in excess of 2 billion dollars per annum.  With this size, comes complexity.

Law enforcement organisations, such as ours, comprise hundreds of smaller units and teams all working at individual tasks, yet all striving to up hold the law; protect the public; and detect and apprehend criminal offenders.
 
This diversity in structure becomes more and more necessary in the law enforcement environment in which we find ourselves today. 

Ideas of leadership in law enforcement are changing as rapidly as the technology used to commit crimes.  Leadership in law enforcement has always been challenging, but with the added dimension of a volatile international security environment, the demands placed on law enforcement leaders are even more confronting.

Technological, political and security changes have meant police organisations must adapt rapidly to face these challenges head on. Areas such as Forensics, Counter Terrorism and Internet / Computer Crime are all current and relevant examples of the need for specialised service delivery in a changing environment.

These and other specialist areas must combine with frontline general duties policing to work together, in support of each other, to achieve our objectives.

This merging of critical functions and the customising of special teams to capitalise on skills and experience has become a vital component of a modern day police force.

In this changing environment it is critical to define what leadership means for your particular organisation, so that it reflects the expectations of the CEO and the community.  

A Police Commissioner has at his or her disposal an array of capabilities that reinforce each other and are considerably more effective when employed as a coordinated and synchronised whole, rather than utilised individually.

However, the ability to combine these policing entities, is an inherently complex and difficult endeavour which requires the utmost cooperation, practice, communication, and ultimately, a shared vision throughout the organisation. 
 
But what ties these areas and people together?

What stops these many pieces from coming apart and acting in a disorganised state of chaos?
 
It has been said,  (Vince Lombardi)
“The challenge for every organisation is to build a feeling of oneness, of dependence on one another because the question is usually not how well each person works, but how well they work together”. 

Any CEO expects that his or her managers will assemble and encourage an effective and coordinated team of leaders capable of translating the CEO’s vision into operational reality.  In a law enforcement context, this is first and foremost about managing the delivery of policing strategies to reduce crime.

Much of what you learn on this program is quite rightly, rooted in that concept. 

Because we work in such a dynamic environment, we must build and improve our capacity to target the emerging changes in law enforcement.  The CEO can’t do this by him or herself, nor can the managers or police officers on the front line achieve this standing unsupported. 

You have to rely on your people to lead you to many of the critical issues in their specific areas.  You must regularly ask and encourage your people to identify issues in their respective spheres of influence.  Your job as a manager is to compile this information and assess it.  In the process, recognise and reward your peoples’ efforts.
 
I encourage you to formulate your own assessment about critical issues at your level and anticipate problems before they occur.

Accordingly, recognise environmental scanning, business/ market studies and scenario analysis, for what they actually are.

As police, these are practices we are very much used to using in our day to day role as law enforcement officers but, we call them by other names and use them in a different context.  For example, field intelligence gathering; intelligence evaluation and analysis; desk top exercises.

You use those same skills on a daily basis a police officer but as a manager, I would encourage you to employ them in a strategic planning process.  That is, planning to provide direction and clarity to support decision making.

Mission statements, vision documents, Standard Operating Procedures and performance agreements are all common within law enforcement  bodies, but often the true use and rationale of these articles is forgotten.  

As a manager, you should specify ‘what’ needs to be done, you must know ‘why’, but leave the ‘how’ to your people.

But remember, you are ultimately responsible for everything your team does or fails to do.  You can delegate authority, but you can never delegate responsibility. 

This brings us to another key element of having a successful organisation, particularly in large diverse organisations such as law enforcement, and that is -  

Having managers who can, and do, manage,
and who can, and do, make decisions. 

Managers must be able to make decisions. An inability to do this simple function, will cripple your organisation and flow through to the front line.  A failure to seize an opportunity or to nip a crisis in the bud, can often be related to that hesitation or inability to make a decision.

Furthermore, the challenge for the manager is to then foster that environment where ‘free decision making’ is a reality.  Your people can’t exceed expectation if they don’t understand what is expected from them.

The real aim is to have a situation where frontline and middle managers are strongly encouraged to make decisions on their own and act on them.  Let face it, those closest to the ‘action’ should place you in the best position to take full advantage of the information at hand and capitalise on opportunity. 

This is where, communication of the organisations’ overall objectives become the vital component in this process.  The CEO’s vision, the mission, the CEO’s intent must be clear, as this will define the scope of initiative that subordinates can exercise.

Yes, there is risk in this approach however, consider this, distributed authority by its nature is chaotic, but in large diverse organisations, the alternative is an inhibited, impotent, conglomerate of parts. 

The risk lies with individuals not acting in line with the CEO’s intent.   As the manager, to mitigate this risk, you have the responsibility to obtain accurate factual assessments quickly, correct mistakes on the spot and be ever vigilant for anything that could cause catastrophic failures.  This freed-up decision making can deliver break through results by ever increasing the likelihood of independent accomplishments that are in line with the CEO’s intent.  

The development of trust between a manager and their subordinate is at the heart of this notion.  While the CEO’s or Commander’s intent emanates from the top, it is actually a mutual agreement between the leader and the members of the organisation. The leader agrees to provide the vision and to integrate the actions of all subordinates, whilst the subordinates agree to act in a manner most likely to obtain results that support this vision.

If one party does not honour this agreement, this arrangement falters and, so may the organisation.    

A police force relies on robust information systems as part of its law enforcement functions but just as important are information processes which allow a free exchange of information from headquarters to the front line and visa versa, relating to strategic and tactical management. We should all avoid the pitfall of disconnected organisational entities.

To this end, we must develop systems and encourage our people to share this information, both vertically and horizontally throughout the organisation, to increase the information available to, and thus the decision making capacity of, those in your charge.

Each of your CEOs will have the expectation of clear communication that results in timely, quality information for effective decision making.  Keeping the Commissioner abreast of the issues, outcomes and the potential risks in any given strategy, project or initiative is not only expected, but critical.

As a senior police officer, I recognise the importance of programs such as this one, to seek out and capitalising on our human talent.  It is a means of harnessing the ingenuity and skills of those closer to the ‘action’.  By skilling you as better police managers, your organisations will better deal with those difficult decisions they face amid the uncertainty and complexity of the modern law enforcement environment.

For each of you as future leaders, your understanding and belief in sound management principles is vital. 

Can I suggest the following principles align well with what I've spoken of and are relevant to your participation in this program;

• Know yourself and seek self improvement
• Be technically and tactically proficient
• Develop a sense of responsibility amongst your staff
• Make sound and timely decisions
• Set the example
• Know your staff and look out for their welfare
• Keep your staff informed
• Seek responsibility and accept responsibility for your actions
• Ensure tasks are understood, supervised and accomplished
• Train your staff as a team
• Employ your command in accordance with it capabilities.

I believe the best law enforcement leaders demonstrate by example, build team work and relationships within their jurisdiction and with strategic partners, focus on the big picture and are strategic in their thinking.

They ensure effective planning is in place, maintain an open door policy and are not afraid to deliver bad news.  They show pride in their organisation and exhibit a high level of integrity in their decision making behaviour.

In closing, the counter terrorism context perhaps illustrates one of the most important expectations a CEO or Commissioner has of his or her Commanders – not the ability to follow instructions, but the capability to forge new ground – whether it be new technology, a new level of operational response or new practices.

To be able to picture what that outcome will look like, set a path to it and inspire people along the way to work towards it, are characteristics any CEO would expect in a law enforcement leader.

By entrenching organisational values that prize such initiative and innovation, the organisation is best placed to produce effective leaders into the future.

With that in mind, over the next fortnight, and in particular on your return to each of your organisations, I ask you to consider the following questions;
 
Can you describe the leadership values in your organisation?

Who are the good leaders in your organisation and what makes them effective?

What law enforcement challenge does your organisation face right now and what sort of leader do these challenges demand?

What leadership principles do you need to work on and what support is available in your organisation to do so?

Finally, let me wish you every success in what may be one of the most influential programs that you take part in during your entire career.  You will, I am sure, understand that you only get out of any program what you put into it.

Invest heavily during the next three weeks.  Give of your time,  your energy,  your knowledge and your commitment but most importantly give your best.  You will be surprised just how richly you may be rewarded.

And so it is with a great deal of pleasure that I declare this 98th AIPM PMDP open and again wish you well in your endeavours.

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