Transformational leadership and the twenty-first century law enforcement leader

Abstract

Modern day law enforcement and its successful future will be contingent upon the attributes of the law enforcement leaders and the style of leadership in which they will practice. The focus of the study is to illustrate a potential paradigm shift from the historical bureaucratic style of management to the modern day teachings of transformational leadership. The study will attempt to address two research questions: 1) Will a paradigm shift from the traditional teachings of management theory to the current philosophy of leadership benefit law enforcement in the future? 2) Will transformational leadership better support the law enforcement administrator in contrast to the traditional bureaucratic style of management? The purpose of the research is to provide evidentiary support that transformational leadership would provide a law enforcement leader with the necessary skills for survival in the 21st century.