At the end of a police chief selection process, decision-makers should have done their best to select the best person to fill the vacancy. For those of us who have climbed the promotion ladder toward executive-level positions, the distinction between ‘best person’ and ‘most qualified’ may be difficult to comprehend. Here’s why:
Commonly, police promotions for supervisor positions (corporal and sergeant) and manager positions (lieutenant and captain) occur from internal processes that have a testing component. These testing processes may have written and/or oral and/or assessment center exams designed to measure specific competencies or dimensions. While these processes may have a degree of subjectivity, especially when it comes to oral panel exams and assessment center exercises, for the most part they are intended to be objective in that they compare candidates against pre-set standards rather than opinions. In other words, they focus on qualifications.
For police chief selection processes, there are often objective components – establishment of minimum qualifications, analysis of applications and/or resumes, possible testing components, etc. – to whittle down the field to a few finalists, but then the ultimate selection is almost always subjective. And by subjective I am suggesting that one or several individuals are relying on their subjective (personally oriented) assessment as to who should be seated as chief. Subjective is not in and of itself bad, but for the candidate who is familiar with the objective process, it is different.
As a police chief candidate, it is important to keep in mind that the decision-maker’s determination of “best person” is really “best fit”. “Fit” considerations may include politics, charisma, image, likelihood of acceptance or resistance, proficiency in a particular area of concern for the agency, etc. And while this may be difficult to grasp for the more-qualified candidates who are not selected; it does not mean that the process is flawed. Afterall, the decision-maker is well aware that they will be held responsible for their selection, so it is therefore appropriate that they are free to select the qualified person they believe is best based on the needs of the position.
So, as a police chief candidate, what can you do with this information? Three things:
1) Apply wisely. Just because you meet the minimum qualifications for a position, that does not mean that the job is right for you, and vice versa. Thoroughly research the agency, assess their needs, and determine if your workplace successes will help that agency address current and future concerns.
2) Keep growing. Remember that there will always be minimum qualifications. Beyond that, the assessment of submitted applications and resumes is a comparative process. You will be competing on paper first; make sure that you have progressive education and experience that allow you to stand out from the pack. If you do not have a master’s degree; enroll in a program this month. Being able to say that you are actively pursuing a master’s degree is better than just listing a bachelor’s degree.
3) Don’t give up. Police chief selection processes can be discouraging, especially when you know you are qualified and you have done well in the interviews but still do not get selected. If you truly believe you can contribute to a police department’s success by serving as their leader, you owe it yourself, the agency, and the community to pursue that position diligently. It may not happen for you the first time, or the first few times for that matter; but it will never happen if you don’t keep fighting for it.
Bill Reilly is the Police Chief Coach™, bringing his command-level law enforcement and executive-level certified coaching experiences together for law enforcement professionals seeking greater effectiveness in the way they ‘Lead, Influence, and Achieve’.
