The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 23, Number 8 | Page 25

The Staff Ride: A Proven Tool for Continuing Professional Development
In-depth study of leadership lessons from history – in the authentic landscape and context - provides a dynamic
platform from which to explore, discuss and highlight contemporary leadership topics and issues. The course is
structured using the “Staff Ride” model which has been used for over a century by, among others, the United States
Military Academy at West Point, the Army War College, the Marine Corps University, and the U.S. Naval War College.
A staff ride is a case study, typically of a military battle or campaign, conducted on the ground where the event
happened. It is considered an essential instructional technique in advanced military schools and in field units.
Experiential learning is not new, and in fact it has been enthusiastically accepted and adopted by the private sector.
The NJSACOP has pioneered the adoption of this concept for contemporary law enforcement management and lead-
ership development programs. Police Executives who participate in Law Enforcement Staff Rides visit and study a
select battlefield for the purpose of drawing parallels between that military campaign and their own issues/
challenges, including leader training, supply chain management, timely decision-making, effective communications,
and resource deployment.
A significant component of this detailed study is the analysis of the terrain over which the action took place and the
effect of that terrain upon the decisions and decision-making process of the leaders to be studied. It is this three
dimensional visualization of the battlefield that separates a staff ride from a more traditional classroom experience.
Another important aspect of the staff ride model is that participants are taken completely out of their “normal”
context, freeing them to challenge their perceptions and assumptions, and be more open to take in lessons.
Ossad, Steven L. Wharton Leadership Digest January, 2006, Volume 10, Number 4
Premier academic institutions have also taken note of the utility of the staff ride in other contexts as well. “The staff
ride is no longer for military personnel alone. Over the past decade, the Wharton School and a number of other
universities and commercial organizations have adapted the practice for executive management and leadership
development training. Aimed primarily at business students and other professionals, the corporate staff ride draws on
the popularity of experiential learning while exploiting the intensity of combat to dramatize decision-making under the
most extreme circumstances…. Studying the life and death decisions of military leaders on the very ground where the
consequences of those decisions played out is a powerful experience. When it comes to executive training, corporate
staff rides offer an unforgettable set of lessons.”
US Office of Personnel Management: Executive Development Best Practices Guide (November 2012)
In this extensive review of executive development efforts across a multitude of private and public sector organ izations,
the OPM found that, in contrast to much of the public sector, the private sector “adopts a holistic approach to the con-
tinued development of executives by offering a wide range of developmental activities.” Moreover, in the top perform-
ing private sector organizations, chief executives often serve as sponsors of such executive development efforts, which
“cascades down and engages the rest of the organization in creating a culture that values learning and development.”
As a result of this extensive literature review and benchmarking interviews that comprised the OPM study, several key
themes and trends consistently emerged, including:
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Experiential Learning is Key
Linking learning and development opportunities to the organization’s mission and strategic goals
Executive sponsorship is vital
A blended approach is helpful
The NJSACOP has put these pedagogic recommendations to full use in constructing the “NJSACOP Normandy—D-Day
Leadership Experience.”
“’I truly believe that the staff ride concept produced an environment for an unprecedented learning experience.’” He
noted that even though the staff ride evolved from a military concept, it has nothing to do with war. “He underscored
that people who have never experienced a staff ride should not mistakenly assume it equates [their business] with the
business of war. In fact, it does no such thing.” [Robert Mutch, US Fire Service consultant, quoted in “What’s A Staff
Ride?,” Volume 62, No. 4, Fall 2002, pp 6-7, US Department of Agriculture Forest Service: Fire Management Today]
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