Transformational leadership style

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Reference no: EM133829212

Case Study: Leading a Police Force Transformation

Summary: When Melvin Wearing obtained the Chief of Police in New Haven, Connecticut, the position he had been dreaming of for 28 years, he stepped into a huge challenge. His predecessor had undermined the department's credibility. Morale was terrible, and communication between the chief's office and the officers was often through union grievances.

Wearing had previously been an assistant chief, and the other officers respected him and called him "compassionate," "humanistic," and "a source of inspiration and pride." On his first day, Wearing visited each of the day's four line- ups (the roll call of officers that begins each shift), wearing his dress blues for the occasion. He wanted to show his pride in police work and support of the officers. He also clearly communicated to his officers that he did not want them to even think about messing around. This was not just a matter of restoring the force's credibility; as the department's first African American chief, he knew that he would be under special scrutiny. He quickly moved to upgrade the department's technology, installed air conditioning and laptops in cruisers, and upgraded office equipment.

Wearing also raised standards in the training academy and increased the department's diversity. By 2002, women and minorities made up 51 percent of New Haven's sworn personnel, up from 24 percent in 1990. In 1997, New Haven logged 13,950 major crimes; in 2001, the city had only 9,322. The department has even earned four national and international awards for community policing. Chief Wearing understands that he has to keep making an impact: "The real challenge for me is to sustain this over a long period of time."

1. Explain how Chief Wearing can exhibit a transformational leadership style in his role as police chief.

2. Describe the environment facing Chief Wearing in terms of leader-member relations, task structure, and position power. Using Fiedler's model, what leadership style do you think is most appropriate given the situation you just described? Does this style match Chief Wearing's?

3. If you were Chief Wearing, how might you use the information you learned in this chapter to enhance the diversity of the police force?

Reference no: EM133829212

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