Public Safety Leadership Analysis

Public safety leadership has assumed new importance and relevance in recent years as the nation continues to struggle to respond to the global Covid-19 pandemic with seemingly endless variants as well as the ever-present threat of domestic and international terrorism (Bjorge, 2020). Likewise, the role and responsibilities of public safety leaders have greatly expanded in response to these and other natural and manmade threats, creating a concomitant need for more effective leadership in all public safety realms. The purpose of this paper is to provide a discussion concerning the styles of leadership that are most commonly associated with public safety as well as a description concerning the styles identified by the results of the personality and leadership assessments. In addition, explanations concerning the applicability of these styles to public safety leadership and which styles would be more beneficial for public safety leaders are followed by a summary of the research and important findings concerning these issues in the papers conclusion.

1. Discuss the styles of leadership most commonly associated with public safety. Summarize the characteristics of each.

Because all public safety professionals are unique, it is reasonable to posit that there is no one-size-fits-all leadership style that works equally well in all public safety situations. Moreover, it is also reasonable to suggest that the same leadership style that was effective in a given scenario may not be as effective in another situation, even if the circumstances are essentially identical. Indeed, Bucher (2014) emphasizes that, Peoples behavior is shaped in large part by their environment. We all behave differently at home from work. Even within a given setting, our behaviors are driven in part by the situation and people around us (para. 2).

Notwithstanding these constraints, it is possible to identify the styles of leadership that are most commonly associated with public safety such as servant-leadership and transformational leadership which are discussed further below.

Servant leadership: This leadership style is especially relevant for the public safety realm since it refers to individuals who have a passion for helping others, who are willing to place others interests above their own and who make the sacrifices that are needed to ensure the success of their organizations. In this regard, Lan et al. (2021) report that, This type of leadership style goes beyond the leaders self-interest, so that idiosyncratic follower...…Lan et al. (2020) emphasize that, When a servant leadership style is used, unique and significant positive impacts on subordinates, teams, and organizations have been reported (2021, p. 3). These findings suggest that people who are drawn to public safety based on a desire to serve are personally rewarded when they are able to do so, and this outcome has a corresponding benefit on the entire organization.

Conclusion

One of the more important findings to emerge from the research was that many people do not consciously select a leadership style to use and no one has a mental switch that can turn on one leadership style or another at will. Further, most people tend to draw on different leadership styles or even a combination of styles for different situations, suggesting that it is not possible to describe someone as always being a servant leader or transformation leader. Nevertheless, by using assessment tools such as the MBTI and empirical observations over time, it is possible to differentiate the leadership styles that are most commonly used by others. Finally, the research was consistent in showing that people who are regarded as servant leaders are highly effective in many public safety settings,…