12.5 Leadership Revisited

In this mornings' Mercury News, Palo Alto police chief to retire, Friday November 21, 2008, the end of a long career in law enforcement came to end. I'm sure that Chief Johnson had not envisioned this sort of a departure when she started her leadership in 2003. From their web site ( http://www.city.palo-alto.ca.us/depts/pol/default.asp ) you find their 'welcome statement from the chief' and it says, "The Palo Alto Police Department is committed to providing exceptional public safety services and taking a leadership role in building community partnerships." According to Cheney et al., chapter 7, Leadership Old and New, p.202, they state that many times leaders "do not take them (vision statements) seriously enough."

In the Mercury News article they report that Chief Johnson, in response to the controversy, was preparing an "action plan" that included monthly meetings with citizens and the chief, along with regular community meetings between police officials from both the city of Palo Alto and East Palo Alto. This plan will be left for the next chief to implement. In chapter 7 Cheney et al., says that "if you create one (vision statement), take it seriously, use it, relate important decisions to it, and act consistently with it."

I believe had the Palo Alto police department been adhering to their vision of 'building community partnerships', they might have had a different reaction by the community. Maybe the regular meetings with the chief and the community would have resulted in a less volatile reaction. The community might have understood what the chief meant because they had been in communications with her over many years and might not have resorted to protests in the streets. We might have seen community leaders stepping forward to remind the citizens that "this chief" has been very attentive and responsive to their concerns. I don't know if the community leaders offered any support for the chief. However, the media coverage over this public relations disaster never showed this side of the controversy.

The positive outcome of this communications flap will now result in an attempt by the new administration to create a closer relationship with the community and their leaders. At the end of this controversy the 'vision' of building stronger community partnerships may be realized. Will the new leader adhere to their 'vision' or will a new 'vision statement' be created? Only time will tell.