Leadership Spotlight

A Legacy of Leadership

During the past 28 years, I have been assigned to three drug enforcement and three general investigative field offices, countless special projects, and multiagency probes while working in the same agency. During that time, I have served with some of the finest leaders in law enforcement and learned that management styles vary, but the leaders who had the greatest influence on my career possessed relevant common traits. They led with vision, demonstrated commitment, trusted coworkers, and placed the needs of others ahead of their own. They cared about people and practiced the concept of service before self. Admiral Grace Hooper, U.S. Navy retired, said, “You manage things, but you lead people.” I agree.

Leaders are visionaries. Our best law enforcement visionaries were futurists who accepted the mantle of leadership, then shared their knowledge and experiences with all who would listen. So must we. They understood that navigating the law enforcement profession in the 21st century would fall to us one day and reasoned that knowledge derived from their victories and defeats could prevent us from repeating past mistakes. Did we learn anything? If so, have we applied what we have learned?

Leaders are committed. They understood their missions and the need to remain true to their roles. Whether investigating public corruption, violent crime, or property crime, our mentors taught us the importance of seeking truth and finishing what we started. I once had trouble completing some less significant investigations until a wise supervisor reminded me of the importance of developing a consistent work ethic in everything I did. That lesson paid dividends later as we investigated some heinous offenses together. We do play like we practice.

Leaders trust others. In Ethics 101, author and speaker John Maxwell explains how effective leaders teach the art of sound decision making and then allow their subordinates to make decisions. Maxwell says supervisors who micromanage employees by making all decisions for them are wrong 97 percent of the time, but, when leaders empower employees to do so, the decisions are poor only 3 percent of the time. I like those odds.

Effective mentors taught us that whether confronted with an investigative dilemma or a personal issue, decisions should be based on the best information available at the time and filtered through our core values, rather than through the emotions usually associated with our most recent predicament. Great leaders taught us to use an appropriate and ethical decision-making process and then demonstrated trust by allowing us to follow our hunches. We did it ourselves, or so we thought, but we learned.

At some point in our careers, mentors began fading away through resignations and retirements. Some even made the supreme sacrifice. But have they really faded away? I think not. They continue to influence our profession because we are their contribution—their personal investment—the product of their years of experience. Our mentors remain the framers of our future. Committed leaders taught us everything they knew with the belief that we could be better than them. They wanted to leave this profession better than they found it. That is how you build a legacy.

So, who leads now? The legacy of leadership has passed to us. We have been given a great opportunity that comes with great responsibility. We need not create the legacy—that has been done by the courageous men and women who preceded us. Instead, it is our awesome duty to protect and build upon it wisely.

Take a few moments to inventory your own personal characteristics to continue the legacy of leadership in law enforcement. No matter your current position, you influence others. Do you think you are a positive influence? I hope so. Remember, each of us has an obligation to reach out and share what we have learned, in both successes and setbacks, because, one day, we also will entrust the welfare of our agency to those who follow us.

Inspector Fred E. Stephens, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, prepared this Leadership Spotlight.

June 2009 | FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin