Leadership

During this final session of the 2022 Leadership Academy, participants continued to focus on executive leadership through group discussions and hands-on activities related to change management and succession planning, communication, and enabling innovation. Participants engaged in discussions related to managing generational differences in the workplace. The session allowed participants to reflect on their Leadership Academy experience, and create a plan of action for how to implement and disseminate what was learned. This section was facilitated by Nell Todd and Jane Wiseman.

In this fourth virtual session of the leadership academy, consultant Liz Bullard of Greys Peak Strategies discussed Leading with Compassion and Getting Things Done. For more than two years, leaders have been thrust into the role of CEO: Chief Empathy Officer. They have shouldered the emotional burden demonstrated by helping teams recover from grief and loss of the pandemic, holding up the mental health of their employees and being sensitive other people’s anxieties. At the same time, leaders have been expected to make tough decisions to move their organization and teams forward.

Whether sharing bad news with a committee, providing performance feedback or talking with a colleague about an uncomfortable issue, difficult conversations are typically stressful and often take a large mental and emotional toll. Disagreements don't disappear when they're ignored. People are often concerned about having a difficult conversation because they're worried the person might react defensively to what they've got to say.

In this session, participants will build awareness and action in the context of equity through exploring inequalities and injustice within society that contribute to their work; understanding how to lead with equity through consistency, reflection and shape shifting; and incorporating tools and strategies for centering equity in culture and operations. This session will consist of group discussions and hands-on exercises and activities that will help participants think of equity in terms of mission, leadership and culture.

Policing requires officers to be awake at all hours, and combined with staffing shortages and increased operational demands, the job leaves many cops chronically fatigued. The problem is, fatigue is a major risk factor for motor vehicle collisions and compromises critical decision-making capacity. This workshop will discuss fatigue-related risks and explore how executives can implement restorative rest and fatigue management policies to improve the safety and performance of their officers.

This is the third part of a series of training modules within the NCJA Leadership Academy and is focused on Civil Rights, Ethics, Race and Criminal Justice Reform. The series began with a webinar in May by Ashley McSwain on personnel and civil rights law. That was followed by the in-person session in July on awareness and racial equity issues. Participants left that session with specific goals they intended to work on.

NCJA hosts a multi-session Leadership Academy for Criminal Justice Executives. This session is focused on the importance of strong leadership in the measurement of performance, determining desired outcomes and tracking progress towards desired goals. Key learning objectives include:
1. Participants will learn how to develop outcome measures that are meaningful to their project or program goals
2. Will learn how to measure baseline and progress towards desired outcomes
3. Will learn about available data sets for consideration or inclusion.

The Lindon, Utah Police Department requested VALOR Training. BJA NTTAC referred this request to the Institute for Intergovernmental Research.

This workshop inspires mid-level law enforcement leaders to advance officer safety and wellness strategies within their own agencies.

The VALOR Officer Safety and Wellness Program’s “Executive Leadership Workshop” inspires, educates, and challenges law enforcement executives to advance officer safety and wellness strategies within their own agencies.