Leadership Style and Performance in Law Enforcement

Leadership Style and Performance in Law Enforcement
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Part 1
Chapter I: Introduction
This study's purpose is to investigate how leadership style influences performance among law enforcement officers. The study will explore the performance of law enforcement officers in terms of how they interact with the community and respond to emergencies. The goal is to test the following hypothesis: the unique leadership interaction with each subordinate law enforcement officer will lead to improved performance among officers. It will not focus on other aspects of performance, such as the quantity of work performed by each law enforcement officer.
Chapter II: Review of the Literature
Garner (2017) found that law enforcement leaders have recently been adopting a humanistic approach in their leadership styles. They are now focusing on compassion and empathy and seeking input from their subordinates. They are focusing on the need of their followers, which requires a unique interaction with each follower. The current study is different from existing studies because it explores how the ability of law enforcement leaders to interact uniquely with followers influences their performance.
Chapter III: Theoretical Framework
The hypotheses for this study are founded on the situational leadership theory (SLT). This theory proposes that the most influential leaders rely on more than one leadership style to influence followers.
Chapter IV: Methodology
The study will utilize a deductive research process and a correlational research design.
Part 2
Abstract
The leadership style adopted by top management in an organization influences the actions of subordinates. It is, therefore, imperative to explore leadership styles and how they affect the performance of law enforcement officers. This study's purpose is to explore whether the ability of law enforcement organizations' management to adapt their leadership style to meet the unique needs of each law enforcement officer positively influences the officers' performance. Based on insights from situational and transformational leadership theories, the study utilizes a correlational research design and obtains data using questionnaires and surveys. The results indicate that the ability of law enforcement managers to interact uniquely with subordinates positively influences their emergency response performance and community interactions. Practitioners in this field must establish ways to train law enforcement leaders to adapt to the unique needs of law enforcement officers to improve their individual performance.
Chapter I: Introduction
It is widely known and accepted that top management's leadership style influences subordinates' actions in an organization. For instance, leaders who adopt empowering leadership styles influence their subordinates to have empowered behavior in the workplace (Park & Hassan, 2018). A leader's effectiveness is often measured based on the outcomes of the subordinates. Thus, it is crucial to understand how leadership styles impact subordinates.
Statement of the Problem
Leadership and leadership styles in law enforcement play a significant role. According to Garner (2017), leadership is viewed as a relational and influence process focusing not only on leaders but also on followers and how the interactions between the two affect organizational performance. The relationships between leadership styles and organizational performance have been investigated, and results indicate that some leadership styles negatively influence organizational performance while others positively influence performance. For instance, Al Khajeh (2018) reveals that charismatic, transactional, and bureaucratic leadership styles negatively influence organizational performance, while autocratic, transformational, and democratic leadership styles positively influence organizational performance. The problem of focus in this study is leadership styles and how they affect the performance of law enforcement officers.
Purpose of the Study
This study's purpose is to investigate how leadership style influences performance among law enforcement officers. Specifically, the study will explore whether the ability of law enforcement organizations' management to adapt their leadership style to meet the unique needs of each law enforcement officer positively influences the officers’ performance. There are many leadership styles that leaders can adopt to influence their followers. In addition, different followers have unique needs that can only be met by specific leadership styles. As Garner (2017) notes, in today’s leadership context, effective leadership involves addressing the situational components and the leader-follower interactions in organizations. As such, leaders need to incorporate different leadership styles to match the situational components and unique leader-follower interactions.
Theoretical Underpinning
Situational and transformational leadership theories offer insights into how leaders can influence their followers' performance based on the leadership style they adopt. This study will utilize insights from these two theories to explore the following hypotheses:
Hypothesis 1: Management’s unique leadership interaction with each subordinate law enforcement officer will lead to improved emergency response
Hypothesis 2: Management’s unique leadership interaction with each subordinate law enforcement officer will lead to improved law enforcement officers-community interactions
Significance of the Study
Much research has been done to establish the relationship between leadership styles and followers' performance. However, most of this research has focused more on corporate organizations and less on law enforcement organizations. Some studies have investigated what counts as effective leadership in law enforcement (Garner, 2017), while others have explored how leadership trickles down to subordinates in law enforcement (Park & Hassan, 2018). Others have examined how specific leadership styles influence the performance of law enforcement officers (Alsuwaidi & Mansor, 2021). The current study is significant because it aims to add new information to the existing literature on leadership in law enforcement.
Delimitations of the Study
This study will examine whether adopting different leadership styles to match followers' uniqueness can improve law enforcement officers' performance. Specifically, the study will only explore the performance of law enforcement officers in terms of how they interact with the community and respond to emergencies. It will not focus on other aspects of performance, such as the quantity of work performed by each law enforcement officer.
Chapter II: Review of the Literature
Leadership and Leadership Styles in Law Enforcement
Leadership and leadership styles in law enforcement are unique due to the unique nature of work in such organizations. However, efforts to define what characterizes effective leadership in law enforcement indicate that there has been a transformation, and law enforcement agencies are not left behind in adapting their leadership approaches to changing times. For instance, Garner (2017) found that many leaders in law enforcement have recently incorporated a humanistic approach in their leadership styles. Specifically, law enforcement leaders are now more focused on treating their followers as individuals rather than as a collective. They have become more employee-centered, focusing on compassion, empathy, and seeking input from their subordinates rather than giving orders and practicing tighter controls on employees (Garner, 2017). By being employee-centered, law enforcement leaders are focusing on the needs of the subordinates to identify ways to help them become highly productive. Today, leadership in law enforcement is assessed based on how effective the interaction between the leaders and the followers is.
Also, the leadership styles among law enforcement officers and how they trickle down to subordinates have been investigated. Often, the leadership style adopted by leaders influences the behavior of subordinates. For instance, Park and Hassan (2018) found that law enforcement leaders who adopt empowering leadership styles pass down that empowerment to their subordinates. Ultimately, these subordinates are more empowered and able to use their voice because of the empowering leadership styles of their managers. This shows that the leadership approach adopted by law enforcement leaders affects the behavior of law enforcement officers. However, Klijn et al. (2020) investigated the effects of leadership style on the enforcement style of inspectors. They found that the leadership style of supervisors did not affect the enforcement approach adopted by law enforcement officers. This indicates that, in some cases, the leadership style of law enforcement managers does not affect the behavior of the followers.
Additionally, different leadership styles among law enforcement managers have different effects on subordinates. According to Miller (2020), the adoption of transformational leadership among law enforcement managers is associated with increased job satisfaction among subordinates. Specifically, this relationship is linked to the inspirational motivation and idealized influence of transformational leadership.
However, transactional and laissez-faire leadership styles have no significant effect on job satisfaction among law enforcement officers (Miller, 2020). These findings suggest that law enforcement managers must adopt leadership styles that are more effective based on what they want to achieve and what their followers need.
Performance in Law Enforcement
Every organization desires highly productive employees whose performance is at its peak. Nevertheless, this is not always the case and understanding the factors that influence employee performance in any organization is crucial. According to Hassan et al. (2018), one of the factors that contribute to high performance in law enforcement is leadership, and more specifically, empowering leadership. Empowering leadership practices promote law enforcement officers' engagement, satisfaction, and commitment to their work, which in turn enhances their performance. Improved followers' performance is attributed to the fact that empowered employees are able to make timely decisions, engage in effective teamwork, and demonstrate confidence while performing their work (Hassan et al., 2018). The ability of law enforcement officers to perform their tasks thoroughly and effectively is influenced by the leadership practices adopted by leaders; the more empowering the practices, the better the performance of subordinates.
The performance of law enforcement officers has been linked to other leadership approaches in addition to empowering leadership practices. For instance, Hassan and Jiang (2019) indicate that inclusive leadership among law enforcement managers enhances the performance of law enforcement workgroups. This effect is mediated by officers' motivation to engage in higher learning. Specifically, when law enforcement managers use inclusive leadership approaches, they motivate their followers to engage in higher learning, which contributes to improved workgroup performance (Hassan & Jiang, 2019). Inclusion allows followers to feel supported and seen, which is necessary for enhancing their performance. Inclusive leadership encourages and appreciates different perspectives and ideas for subordinates, facilitates open communication, and creates a safe culture where employees can acknowledge and learn from their mistakes without fear of reprimand from their leaders. Inclusive leadership in law enforcement is vital because, often, the clear lines of power can hinder open communication and a culture of safety.
Further, performance in law enforcement, especially in teams, has also been linked to not only leadership style but also attributes such as gender homogeneity and team awareness. According to Schaveling et al. (2017), gender homogeneity among law enforcement teams positively influences team performance. In such teams, there is limited friction between team members because of a lack of gender diversity, which makes it easier for leaders and team members to work together with less conflict. Schaveling et al. (2017) also reveal that incorporating charismatic, transactional, and empowering leadership approaches in law enforcement leadership influences the teams' performance.
Current Study
The current study is different from other studies because it pays particular attention to leadership styles and how the ability of leaders to interact uniquely with followers influences their individual performance. Current literature shows that there is insufficient research on how leadership affects individual performance among law enforcement officers. This study will fill this gap by exploring how law enforcement leaders' ability to adjust based on the unique needs of followers affects followers' performance.
Chapter III: Theoretical Framework
The hypotheses for this study are founded on two theories; situational and transformational leadership theories.
Situational Leadership Theory
Situational leadership theory (SLT) provides insights that can explain the relationships between leadership styles and employee performance. According to Davis and Silvestri (2020), STL places high emphasis on the organizational context or situation in which leaders have to make decisions. It proposes that the most effective leaders rely on more than one leadership style to influence followers. They select the leadership style to match the context or situation they are facing, and each situation calls for a different leadership style. The SLT is different from other leadership theories because rather than focusing on the qualities, behavior, or personality traits that make a good leader, it focuses on the situational components facing the leader (Davis & Silvestri, 2020). The theory proposes that effective leaders must focus on the needs of their followers by adapting to the situation. It calls for leaders to be aware of the organization's context and the individual motivation of followers.
By adopting SLT, leaders can assess the situation and incorporate the leadership styles that best suit the situation and the needs of the followers (Davis & Silvestri, 2020). Also, SLT emphasizes a focus on team development through appropriate leadership styles. McGiboney (2018) reveals that in SLT, the appropriate leadership style is established based on the maturity of the followers. Maturity refers to the knowledge, skills, and competence levels of the followers. On the one hand, followers with low maturity and ability levels require a different leadership style, which involves leaders telling the followers what to do and adopting a hands-on approach (McGiboney, 2018). On the other hand, followers with high maturity and ability levels require a leadership styl...