In this paper we attempt to shed light on police leadership by telling the story of leadership at a particular Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) detachment. The case study is based upon interviews with 28 police officers and participant observations at the case site. The framework provided by transformational leadership theory proved meaningful in describing police leadership within a convenient heuristic comprised of four I's: individualised consideration, idealised influence, inspirational motivation, and intellectual stimulation. We concluded that transformational leaders have particular relational strengths that serve to elevate levels of commitment, work satisfaction, and motivation. The paper also points out that transformational leaders turn constraints into opportunities in the pursuit of their shared vision.
The views expressed in this paper are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
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