Policing unavoidably includes a significant level of failure. Command personnel must promote a realistic sense of what counts as success, what counts as failure and how to live with both.
Police are in a uniquely demanding position.
Every day, law enforcement leaders send officers into situations where there is not only physical danger, but equally real emotional and psychological dangers as well. They are placed in situations where the need is so great and the resources so limited that it is easy to give way to feelings of apathy and cynicism, which can eventually lead to feelings of hostility and resentment towards both the organization and the very citizens they are sworn to serve. But success in American law enforcement is tenuous at best. In case after case it is abundantly clear that success in law enforcement is absolutely dependent on competent front-line leadership. An organization that wants to maximize the effectiveness of its supervision team must ensure that the people serving in this critical role are conscious of their responsibilities not only as supervisors and managers, but as leaders.