ABSTRACT
As we discussed in Chapter 4, leadership has a profound capacity to shape the culture of an organisation, impacting on employees’ well-being and performance, role-modelling appropriate behaviours, and influencing the quality of the service provided by the organisation. Although earlier perspectives considered leadership ability to be innate, most contemporary perspectives consider that effective leadership can be developed, contingent upon appropriate learning opportunities and supportive organisational culture and policies. An ongoing challenge for criminal justice organisations is to support leadership development at all levels throughout the organisation. This chapter will discuss the need for leadership development in criminal justice organisations, in addition to common challenges and barriers to developing effective leaders in these organisational contexts. We then discuss a best-practice approach to conducting leadership development programmes. Finally, the chapter will conclude with an example of a successful leadership development programme conducted in an Australian police service. While Chapter 4 provided an overview of leaders and managers, this chapter examines in detail the key issues for the development of effective leaders in criminal justice workplaces.
