Jump Start your jail's leadership development

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Jump Start Your Jail Leadership Development Guide

​What skills, knowledge and abilities do individuals need to possess to be an effective jail leader?   

​How can organizations grow their next leaders?

​Leadership development remains a priority for the profession. Members of the Baby Boomer generation are retiring each day, and specific initiatives to prepare the next leaders   lag behind the needs.
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Leadership development doesn’t happen in the boss’s office or in a closed conference room.  The initiative needs to have vision, be shared, and enlist supporters through the community.  Jail leadership is a public safety issue.   To be successful, the initiative must have transparency and inclusion.
​“Growing other leaders from the ranks isn’t just the duty of the leader, it’s an obligation.” ~ Warren Bennis

What's Here?

​This toolkit is intended to provide the foundational information needed by jails to jump start or refine leadership development programs.  Providing foundational ideas means that jail leaders will need to invest time in their exploration of ideas presented here.
This toolkit includes:
  • A description of the core competencies for jail leaders;
  • Strategies to use the core competencies to develop or update a jail’s leadership development program;
  • Using the competencies for organizational development;
  • Self-development ideas employing the core competencies;
  • A self-assessment of the skills, knowledge and abilities of the core competencies; and
  • Resources and bibliography.
​The competencies define the specific skills, knowledge and abilities needed by jail leaders.  Articles, published in American Jails, expand on each of the competencies and provide information to use to activate a leadership program, including resources and a suggested leadership library. For a personal leadership development assessment, a checklist is provided for a self-rating.  Using this information can inform the reader’s own leadership needs and plot the journey.
Who can use this toolkit? 
  • Jail leaders, emerging leaders, mid-managers, supervisors, including jail training personnel.
  • Human Resources professionals.
  • Criminal Justice Educators.
  • Local and state criminal justice policy and decision-makers.
  • Elected officials.
  • Community and businesses. 
  • Public safety colleagues outside corrections/jails.
Benefits to those using this toolkit include, but are not limited to:
  • Identify objective information to hire, promote, and develop jail professionals.
  • Provide opportunities for professional and personal growth.
  • Inform decision-makers, funders, the community and business regarding the skills, knowledges and abilities needed to lead jails.
  • Identify platforms for collaboration with other public agencies needing to develop the next generation of leaders.
  • Establish cost effective strategies to develop leaders.
  • Give an evidence-base to human resources’ functions – update/develop job descriptions, promotional processes, and training.