Leadership is an Attitude

After a long and relatively successful career in the marketing and design industries, I stepped away and took a gamble on something I had always wanted to do and became a police officer!

I faired well in the academy, excelling in the mechanics of being a police officer, but once I hit the streets I quickly realized that I knew very little about actually being a good cop. It took a great deal of time and patience with myself to learn the ways of being a good cop. I gained all the tools I needed in the six-month academy course, but learning the why’s, when’s, and how’s of using those tools was something the academy couldn’t teach me; I had to develop it in myself.

That’s the real essence of being a leader: learning the why’s, when’s, and how’s of using all of the tools on your belt. Having advanced skills in team dynamics or conflict resolution means little unless you can rightly recognize when those skills are needed and appropriately apply them. Using the wrong skill at the wrong time can be as devastating, even more so, as having no skill at all.

The chief discipline I employed to help me become a good cop, is the same discipline anyone can use to become a great leader, namely developing a positive mental attitude that accepts nothing less than excellence. Developing that attitude helped me move past all of my cadet failures—and achievements—and strive to be the best I could be. That same attitude can transform anyone—regardless of position or title—into a formidable leader capable of accomplishing whatever they set their mind to do.

Cultivating an attitude of leadership is necessary for accomplishing any good and positive endeavor in life. What type of attitude are you cultivating?