Phase 2 of the NTOA Academy, Operational Leadership, is designed to build on the curriculum covered in Phase 1, Tactical Leadership. Operational Leadership addresses the application of leadership concepts in an operational setting and in an ever evolving climate. It provides practical examples of how true comprehensive leadership practices work in harmony with the operation of tactical teams. The courses are interactive and dynamic in nature and they are supported by segments from law enforcement and military leaders, as well as experts in emotional intelligence, motivation and organizational thought. Operational Leadership includes one self-assessment, four reading assignments, two modules specifically developed for tactical team commanders: “Sound Doctrine” and “The Management of Police Specialized Tactical Units” and blended courses relating to Tactical Operation Centers and Command One. Operational Leadership concludes with a Capstone Research Project.
At the end of Strategic Leadership, students will be able to achieve the following objectives in accordance with the information received in class:
- Understand self-management skills for personal development.
- Have the ability to build strength and maintain a grounded state of resilience even in a high-stress situation.
- Develop a command presence based on a deep inner sense of calm and stability.
- Understand your own natural style of communicating with others
- To understand and apply the four Facilitative Conditions: Genuineness, Empathy, Respect and Specificity.
- Understand the difference between Coaching, Counseling and Mentoring.
- Understand the importance of accessing the development and functioning levels of others.
- Become more capable of creating high-performance and high-morale teams.
- Understand how Versatility Skills help you to develop your own style and become more responsive to the unique and changing characteristics of individuals, teams and organizations.
- Developing a protocol to follow after officer involved shootings to ensure command responsibilities are addressed.
- Showing an understanding and proper application of problem-solving techniques and analytical thinking for operational and non-operational problems.
- Deconstructing team, squad, and individual skills to formulate a focused block of training and establishing automaticity and shared mental models within the team.
- Identifying and distinguishing between basic aspects of several modern leadership theories and models and applying them to foster effective leadership, ethical decision-making, and motivation within the team.
- Utilizing a given framework to develop a working model to facilitate effective testimony to defend team actions and command decisions.
- Identifying critical mission areas and logistical concerns of a large operation and utilizing a given framework to staff the swat missions and address contingencies.
- Identifying various potential missions that would benefit from a multi-jurisdictional response, identifying regional assets to apply to the missions, creating SOP Response Framework, and joint training plans to achieve the mission objectives.
- Understanding the relationship between tactics and tempo, and utilizing analysis of the incident to shape your operational environment.
The following texts will be utilized during this course:
- Goleman, D. (2005). Emotional Intelligence: Why it Can Matter More Than IQ. New York: Random House.
- Heal, C. (2000). Sound Doctrine: A Tactical Primer. New York: Lantern Books.
- Mijares, T., & McCarthy, R. (2008). The Management of Police Specialized Tactical Units (2nd ). New York: Charles D. Thomas Publisher.
- Sinek, S. (2011). Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action. New York: Penguin Group.
