Sergeant walker's democratic management style and personnel motivation techniques

Interview With Sergeant Walker

Sergeant Robert (Bob) Walker at the Montgomery County Police Department was willing to participate in an hour long interview during which he shared his management styles as well as many of the ways in which he believes he is most effective as a Sergeant and supervisor to 13 members of the police force. Bob Walker (whose name has been changed to maintain his privacy) prefaced our conversation by sharing what he believes epitomizes the reasons he is so successful as a supervisor. Earlier that morning (on the day of the interview) one of the newest members of Sergeant Walker's Police force came to him to share with him some thoughts:

So, he [new member of police force] walks in the room and says to me 'I want to thank you for hearing me out yesterday'. This guy, he thanked me for listening. He knew he had upset me and other members of the force but I demanded that we all listen and hear his side of the story. So today, he thanks me for that. That is big. That summarizes a lot of what we do here. We hear each other out. We listen even if we don't agree. I demand respect and I think that is why we are a successful team. (Walker, Personal Interview, January 29, 2011)

Management Style

Sergeant Walker describes his management style as one that is democratic in nature. As a manager, Sergeant Walker allows the members of his police force to take part "in as many of the decisions as is possible." He instills a "majority rules" mentality for many of the decisions needing to be made within the force.

One of the key aspects to the management style that Sergeant Walker employs is a tremendous commitment to communication. The communication taking place within the Police force goes in multiple directions and is encouraged across and throughout the police force. Sergeant Walker explained, "I believe it is as important that I communicate to my workers and they communicate with me. I mean, it needs to go both ways and also from one of them to another. So communication goes up and down and across us all" (Walker, Personal Interview, January 29, 2011).

Motivating Personnel

"Do you know what I think motivates these guys the best," Robert Walker asks me in the midst of our interview. He continued, "being honest, communicating, and giving them positive feedback." Sergeant Walker uses many techniques to motivate his police force. He has an identified leader of the team for each month. This gives everyone on the force an opportunity to recognize the work of a different member of the team. Sergeant Walker mentioned that throughout the years, he keeps track of different accomplishments big and small of different personnel so that when their month comes around, he is able to "pull out some of the little and big things they did in the past and give them clear recognition for it. Usually they have forgotten about these things but it means a lot that I didn't forget" (Walker, Personal Interview, January 29, 2011).

There are also fun games and trivia that Sergeant Walker encourages among members of his team. He encourages an atmosphere of fun and also an atmosphere of challenge and believes it is the combination of both that motivates the members of his team.

Ensuring Ethics

The police force has a code of ethics that each and every police officer must read and sign a statement stating that they read and understand this code. Therefore, there are clear consequences and a clear understanding of what is expected on the part of the officers in terms of ethics and demonstrating ethical behavior on the police force.

Sergeant Walker also has a statement of moral standards and department values that he also has his force sign. Sergeant Walker actually meets with each new hire prior to the start of their employment to go over both the police force code of ethics as well as the department values and moral standards.

"One thing that is imperative is that I make sure that my officers are making ethical decisions every day and at every level of their work of policing. If they don't then how can they be true police officers? How will the public ever believe in them if they don't act ethically?" The Sergeant Continued, "I need to stay on top of this to ensure that they are ethical in their attitudes and behaviors" (Walker, Personal Interview, January 29, 2011).

Corrective actions

The Montgomery County Police Department has very clear expectations of their officers and likewise has very explicit policies pertaining to repercussions if rules and regulations are not followed by their officers. "The good news is that I don't have much leeway in what actions I take if wrongdoings take place. We have clear policies that I adhere to and follow and this takes away a lot of ambiguity of corrective actions." (Walker, Personal Interview, January 29, 2011) Sergeant Walker expressed a clear understanding on the part of his force members regarding corrective actions. He believes wholeheartedly that the member of his force know the repercussions of inappropriate actions, wrongdoings, and even simple mistakes. He believes that if he didn't hold his officers accountable and based on the written protocol, that his authority would be questioned very quickly on the force.

Self-Perceptions of a Good Supervisor

Sergeant Walker believes that he is a good supervisor and an effective supervisor because he empowers his police force. He allows for the police force members to have autonomy, choice, self-direction, and at the same times he values and fosters good communication among all members of the teams. He encourages and rewards good communication and values communication throughout the police force. Sergeant Walker also believes that his attention to detail allows his force to know that they are valued and recognized for the hard work that they continually provide to their jobs and communities.

Biggest concerns in being a supervisor

"I suppose if I had one big concern it would be that I am misunderstood. Sometimes I have to be strict and really adhere to policy and I never want to be perceived as insensitive or unfair. I am doing my job" (Walker, Personal Interview, January 29, 2011). While Sergeant Walker is a powerful and effective leader, his sensitive side seemed to emerge during the questions surrounding being a supervisor and those things that concern him. Misperceptions and being misunderstood seemed to resonate as his biggest issues in being a supervisor.

Conclusion

Meeting with Sergeant Walker afforded me the opportunity to hear from a leader about the remarkable ways in which he manages a police force. He was insightful and provided valuable information pertaining to management style and the ways in which he runs an effective police force.