Developing Front-Line Leaders in Law Enforcement
The Challenge
After having encountered the new Sheriff at another program in the prior year, Catalyzer received a call from then-Sheriff Matt Lewis at the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office. Sheriff Lewis shared that the Agency’s leadership team was frustrated by the decision-making they were witnessing in select front-line leaders. So, that fall, Catalyzer visited the Agency to begin working with Sergeants and field training officers. Their first meeting uncovered a lack of developmental programming for mid-level leadership, a problem which was also prevalent in manufacturing at the time and an industry where Catalyzer had substantial prior experience.
The Goal
To develop a professional cadre of front-line leaders – both to address leadership demands at this level, as well as to continue developing high-potential deputies at the Sheriff’s Office.
The Solution
Catalyzer’s first meeting with the Mesa County Sheriff’s Office resulted in the Sheriff consolidating all leadership development efforts under Catalyzer and immediately led to a year-long program focused on developing four, command staff-specified leadership skills for Sergeants and Field Training Officers. The success of that endeavor resulted in Catalyzer’s engagement for an additional two years, in which Catalyzer built and delivered front-line leader-focused modules on further topics identified by the Command Staff. In the third year, Catalyzer sustained the engagement with another custom program, this time expanding target audiences to include Lieutenants and the Command Staff, as well as an Agency-wide effort to address recurring anti-bias training.
The Results
- “Catalyzer’s ability to take a diverse group of people who were not familiar with each other and make them comfortable enough to engage in discussion and sharing stood out.”
- “In execution, they delivered far beyond expectations.”
- After our engagement with Catalyzer, “we have a better group of supervisors and a better connection between our first-line supervisors and executive staff as a result of the honest and open dialog this company has facilitated.”
- “The ability of this company to customize their approach and material to address whatever specific needs you may have sets them apart from many canned programs. This is also a very different model of training where you actively participate, rather than sit in a room and get talked at.”
- “Catalyzer provided training products to address specific Agency needs; they provided direct and honest feedback about things you may not even know about your own organization.”
What Came Next
Catalyzer was able to effectively address a number of challenges presented by those front-line leaders, dramatically improving engagement for a critical level of leadership at Mesa County. Sheriff Lewis credited Catalyzer’s ability to “relate to folks in a profoundly authentic way” as the reason he selected the Catalyzer team over other competitors. Lewis has since moved on to lead Mesa County’s Judicial Services Division, where he has already engaged Catalyzer to support his Administration’s transition and to further professional development for county employees. Catalyzer continues to have an impact on the quality of Colorado’s law enforcement through its relationship with Mesa County, the County Sheriffs of Colorado and other sheriffs’ Agencies and county governments throughout the state.