“The challenge of change is to change rather than challenge the change.” There is a well-known belief that is expressed in a variety of ways including “one of the few things that remains constant in life is change.”  Compare that with another well-known fact, “people don’t like change and they don’t like to change.”  When those two statements are matched up, it is easy to see why so many people and organizations are experiencing so much turmoil.  Advancements in technology, demands and expectations from much more engaged community and political leaders, along with a variety of other factors, seem to have greatly accelerated change, and there are no signs of this stopping or even slowing down.  That is clearly a major expectation of leaders in organizations: today’s law enforcement leader is expected to lead the change that is coming to police agencies whether it is welcome or not.

One of the hardest things for a leader to do is change the status quo. In the book The Leadership Challenge, the authors discovered a consistent pattern of leader practices that created extra-ordinary results.  One of those practices was “Challenging the Process.”  “Leaders search for opportunities to change the status quo.  They look for innovative ways to improve their organizations.  They experiment and take risks, and because risk-taking involves mistakes and failure, leaders accept the inevitable disappointments as learning opportunities.”

Creating an inspiring vision is one key component to creating major change in an organization. Getting buy-in to that new vision is important and difficult.  However, there is probably nothing more difficult than getting people to change and making change within organizations.  Yet, implementing change is another critical skill of a leader.  If a person cannot successfully make change within their department, then they are not a leader, plain and simple. Therefore, in this lesson we will discuss how to successfully challenge the status quo by seeking out opportunities for change. Students will discuss at some length the concept of “groupthink” and its negative impact on decision-making.  Change is difficult under most conditions and in most environments.  It becomes almost impossible when the leadership of an organization is unconsciously involved in groupthink.  These are the major topics discussed throughout this lesson:

*Identifying areas in need of change and others seen as opportunities for proactive change.

* Recognizing the symptoms of Groupthink and understanding its impact on decision making and implementing change.

*Implementing strategies for preventing Groupthink especially in very cohesive teams.

*Creating an environment that allows people to challenge the process, experiment with new ideas, and take risks.

TARGET AUDIENCE:  This one-day class involves a lot of student interaction and is recommended for every member of a police department – civilian and sworn.