Motivation and Law Enforcement Supervision

Motivation is one of the most critically important tasks that supervisors and leaders in any and all organizational settings must address if they are to succeed (Ivancevich, 1998). Generally, motivation is defined as the set of attitudes and values that predispose an individual to act in a specific, goal-directed manner (Herzberg, 1959; Thompson, 1993). Motivation is an inner invisible state that energizes human goal directed behavior, which is divided into two components: 1) the direction of behavior toward a goal, and 2) the strength of the behavior (Ivancevich, 1998).

As a sergeant with the New York City Police Department, one of my most critical responsibilities centers upon constantly motivating and influencing my officers to achieve departmental goals and objectives. In order to motivate and influence subordinates, I have come to the realization that it is first necessary to determine what motivates an individual, their needs and interests, and the factors that drive human behavior. Van Fleet (1984), in discussing the keys to success in working with others, argues that the leader who would be effective in the workplace is a leader who brings to bear on all work interactions, a wide range and variety of communication skills among which listening may well be paramount.

In order to understand others, one must also understand the self. Social psychologists, including Baron and Byrne (2000), have pointed out that intros

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need to affirm their affiliation with an organization or with colleagues through interaction with others. Still others need to be able to influence the activity or thought of others and to sense that they are capable of leading effectively and functioning as role models (McClelland, 1961). In my experience as a police sergeant responsible for supervising the activities of line officers engaged in difficult, challenging and at times dangerous work, I have considered each of these theories of motivation and come to the conclusion that George Thompson and Jerry Jenkins (1993) are correct in their belief that motivation emerges from the development of excellent communication skills that at times take the form of a "verbal judo." Thompson and Jenkins (1993, p. 18) are "convinced that good police officers are the greatest communicators in the world." Becoming an effective communicator is therefore a key to learning how to motivate officers. Strategies that I have found successful in motivating officers include understanding what Van Fleet (1984) calls the 14 secret motivators that each individual possesses. People have physical needs, they have desires or learned needs, and they are almost always in some manner and to some degr
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page)