Senior Australian law enforcement leadership under examination

Abstract

This study compares leadership behaviors of senior Australian police officers with leadership norms established by Bass and Avolio (1990). A sample of 480 senior officers recorded the frequency of transformational leadership, transactional leadership, and non‐leadership behaviors of their leaders, using the multifactor leadership questionnaire. The leadership outcomes of extra effort, effectiveness, and satisfaction were also recorded. Comparisons of leadership behavior mean scores identified that leaders of senior Australian law enforcement officers used significantly less transformational leadership in comparison with the norm. The transactional leadership behavior of management‐by‐exception was the most frequently observed and was used significantly more than the norm. Management‐by‐exception represents leadership behavior that occurs only when the status quo has been broken. As a type of transactional leadership, management‐by‐exception relies on motivating followers by highlighting follower self‐interest, rather than developing followers. Implications for law enforcement organizations and leadership development are discussed.

Citation

Densten, I.L. (1999), "Senior Australian law enforcement leadership under examination", Policing: An International Journal, Vol. 22 No. 1, pp. 45-57. https://doi.org/10.1108/13639519910256875