The NJ Police Chief Magazine Volume 25, Number 2 | Page 21

The New Jersey Police Chief Magazine | February 2019
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 1: “Sharpening the Saw” – Not Just for Lumberjacks
Faced with constant challenges, changing technologies, and a fluid environment, executives must continually broaden their
perspectives and strive for continual professional executive development. 1 Continuing (or Continuous) Professional Development
can be broadly defined as any type of learning that is undertaken which increases your knowledge, understanding and
experiences of a subject area or role. It is the means by which professionals maintain the knowledge and skills related to their
professional lives. It helps keep an individual aware of advances in their profession, and enhances their knowledge and
capabilities. It also helps the individual advance in their career paths and gain knowledge in certain areas over a span of time. 2
Perhaps the most famous champion of continuing professional development was Dr. Stephen Covey. Habit #7 in his The 7 Habits
of Highly Effective People is called “Sharpen the Saw.” Covey writes of meeting someone who has been sawing down a tree for
more than 5 hours. When it was suggested that they take a break and sharpen their saw so the job might go faster they reply
they do not have time to sharpen the saw because they're too busy sawing. While the “Sharpening the Saw” concept goes
beyond professional development per se, Covey’s concept of self-improvement can be described as a never-ending upward spiral
of ‘Learn, Commit, Do’.
By the way, this is not just for those “on the way up” the ladder of their profession – it is equally true for professionals with many
years of experience in the workplace. Continuing professional development is important because it ensures you continue to be
competent in your profession. It is an ongoing process and continues throughout a professional's career. It keeps you at the top
of your game. You owe this not only to yourself, but also to your employer, as well as all of those you serve, protect, and lead.
The critical importance of professional competence in an organization’s leaders is not confined to any particular industry or field.
For instance, not long ago leadership development consultants Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman 3 published the results of a study
they conducted on the skills that leaders need to succeed in their current positions. They surveyed over 330,000 bosses, peers,
and subordinates to rank the top competencies from a list of 16 key leadership skills. Not surprisingly, high on that list was
“Displays technical or professional expertise.”
Of course, it could be argued that nowhere is professional competence more valued by subordinates and peers than in what Gen.
Tom Kolditz 4 refers to as “organizations chartered for dangerous missions.” Gen. Kolditz, author of the groundbreaking book In
Extremis Leadership: Leading as if Your Life Depended on it (Jossey-Bass) was chair of the Department of Behavioral
Sciences and Leadership at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point for 12 years, where he was responsible for teaching,
research, and outreach activities in Management, Leader Development Science, Psychology, and Sociology.
After joining the West Point faculty in 2000, Kolditz began a program of empirical research into what he soon dubbed in
extremis leadership. Using a variety of research methods including observation, interviews, and surveys (this is not a
topic that lends itself to controlled experimentation!), Kolditz identified a consistent pattern of traits, skills, and attitudes
that characterizes those who are successful in leading others in these dynamic and dangerous settings. Specifically, he
found that successful in extremis leaders (1) possess an inherent motivation for the task, (2) embrace continuous
learning, (3) share risk with their followers, (4) adopt a lifestyle in common with their followers, and (5) are highly
competent, and inspire trust and loyalty in others….
It is worth commenting further on the role of competence in leading in dangerous contexts. Dr. Patrick Sweeney, now the
Director of Leadership, Character, and Ethics Initiatives at Wake Forest University, conducted a very insightful field study
of leadership in soldiers engaged in actual combat operations. In 2003, while still in graduate school working on his
doctor of philosophy degree in social psychology, Sweeney was personally contacted by David Petraeus (a major general
at that time, and commander of the division) who asked him to join the U.S. Army V Corps as it prepared to invade
Iraq. Seizing the opportunity to both serve his nation in combat and conduct a study of leadership of real soldiers
conducting real combat missions, Sweeney quickly devised a series of questionnaires that he administered to soldiers and
their leaders.
To a large degree, what Sweeney found is consistent with Kolditz’s findings. But his most interesting finding may be that it was
competence that was essential to leading others in combat. If a leader was not competent, he was not trusted by
his soldiers. Lack of trust is devastating to a combat unit. Without it, both morale and performance degrade 5 ....
[emphasis added]
Naturally, there are other crucial traits and attributes that contribute to the success (or lack thereof) of any leader. But it is clear
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