The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 23, Number 4 | Page 17

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | April 2017
Executive Professional Development: A True Best Practice
The Best Public & Private Executives Invest in Themselves and Their Teams – And
You Should, Too
By Mitchell C. Sklar
Part 5: A Leadership Reading List – Not THE List, Just A List
“Thanks to my reading, I have never been caught flat-footed by any situation, never at a loss for how any problem
has been addressed (successfully or unsuccessfully) before. It doesn’t give me all the answers, but it lights what is
often a dark path ahead.” Lt. Gen. James N. Mattis 1
As a law enforcement leader, you have chosen a highly challenging profession, one that takes a lifetime to master.
While practical experience, realistic training, and formal education are indispensable for the development of
first-class police leaders, so too is independent study. A program of independent reading keeps the mind fresh and
enhances professionalism.
While I wish I could take credit for the above statement, it is in fact a (very slightly) edited restatement from the
“U.S. Army Chief of Staff’s Professional Reading List.” 2 As I have written on many occasions, I do not hold myself out
to be an expert on leadership. I have however done some deep reading by those who are experts in this area. I am,
of course, well aware that you who a re reading this have also spent much time and effort in the study of leading and
leadership, and are likely well versed in the literature focused on developing police leaders.
With the above in mind, I offer the following idiosyncratic, non-scientific, highly personal reading list on this topic for
your consideration.
AMERICAN GENERALSHIP
Character is Everything: The Art of Command
By Edgar F. Puryear
A personal favorite, one of my ‘go-to’ books when asked for a recommended reading on the topic. The book seeks
to define and explain leadership as practiced by American generals from George Washington to Colin Powell.
Through examples and anecdotes a reader is able to listen to, so to speak, these leaders discuss their own
experiences. As Puryear writes in the book’s Introduction, one of the purposes of the book “is to determine how
these leaders developed and obtained their insights on how to lead successfully.” A great and thought-provoking
read.
THE MASK OF COMMAND
By John Keegan
A classic from one of the most prominent and important English language military historians. Keegan explores
examples of leadership - both good and bad - and provides deep insights into various types of leadership, focusing
on Alexander the Great, the Duke of Wellington, Ulysses S. Grant, and Adolf Hitler. The long study of each are
interspersed with reflections on the relation between society and the use of force.
SUPREME COMMAND
By Eliot A. Cohen
This book offers a different – and difficult – look at leadership. In particular, it addresses the relationship between
civilian and military leaders and their respective roles in setting strategic objectives and putting same into operation.
In analyzing and discussing the tensions between civil and military leadership, Cohen addresses the nature of
strategy-making and explores the problem of how people confront their greatest challenges.
LEADER TO LEADER
Leadership Breakthroughs from West Police
A Special Supplement to Leader to Leader
In a special supplement to the journal “Leader to Leader,” the editors present articles from members of the U.S.
Military Academy at West Point’s Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership. At the time of publication, each
author was on active duty, and offer a firsthand account of what Army leadership means to them. As noted by the
publisher, the real focus is not on battles and other life-and-death situations, but rather on quiet leadership, mission,
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