Conceptualization is focusing on the big picture and having a vison for the future, not just the present. A leader who can develop a vision for a department or organization can help the department grow tremendously. “Conceptualization also equips servant leaders to respond to complex organizational problems in creative ways, enabling them to deal with the intricacies of the organization in relationship to its long-term goals” (Northouse, 2021, p. 255). Foresight is being able to see into the future. Not literally but being able to tell what may come down the
line later in time. Leaders should be able to anticipate success or failure based on what has happened in the past and present of their organization. This is good for public safety organizations because this can help leaders learn from past mistakes and predict what can happen for their department later on. Stewardship is all about accountability. Leaders should be accountable for their actions as well as their followers’ actions. Your followers are a direct reflection of your leadership. If they are failing at their tasks, it is probably because you are failing as a leader. Being able to recognize that and fix it by holding yourself accountable is a great characteristic to have as a leader. Committing to the growth of people. In public safety leadership you deal with people all the time, especially those you lead. A servant leader should be concerned about the growth of their followers. “Servant leaders are committed to helping each person in the organization grow personally and professionally” (Northouse, 2021, p. 255).
Building community in public safety can be viewed as growing together as a department or organization. “Servant leaders build community to provide a place where people can feel safe and connected with others but are still allowed to express their own individuality” (Northouse, 2021, p. 255). Leaders need to foster a relationship with their followers that allows them to feel seen, heard, and that they are a part of something important. Followers are more likely to respond positively to this kind of environment.
Out of all these characteristics, I believe that stewardship could be the most important and critical to a public safety leader. Since stewardship is about accountability, there’s nothing more important for leaders to be than accountable. There tends to be a lack of accountability in our profession and a lot of other professions anyway. “
For we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive compensation for
his deeds
done
through the body, in accordance with what he has done, whether good or bad” (New American Standard Bible, 1971/1995, 2 Corinthians 5:10). As Christians we will be held accountable for everything we do on this earth. God holds us to this standard so we must also hold ourselves and others around us to be accountable for our actions. References
McKimm, J., Ramani, S., Forrest, K., Bishop, J., Findyartini, A., Mills, C., Hassanien, M., Al-Hayani, A., Jones, P., Nadarajah, V. D., & Radu, G. (2022). Adaptive leadership during challenging times: Effective Strategies for Health Professions Educators: Amee Guide no. 148. Medical Teacher, 45(2), 128–
138. https://doi.org/10.1080/0142159x.2022.2057288
New American Standard Bible. (1995). Thomas Nelson. (Original work published 1971)
Northouse, P. G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and Practice (9th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc. (US). https://ereader.chegg.com/books/9781071834473Links to an external site.
