Institutional Assessment & Change
Reflections & Exemplary Work
Reflections & Exemplary Work
Above all, the ability to look inward and honestly analyze oneself or one’s organization requires accountability and integrity. To take that self-analysis and effect change requires leadership, collaboration, and innovation. Taken together, these exemplary works demonstrate my ability to conduct a critical organizational assessment and identify opportunities for progressive change.
Opportunities for Leadership Transformation is a consultancy report I authored based on a list of concerns from the Anytown Police Department (APD) personnel. After analyzing the problems and finding commonalities, I provided a roadmap to capitalize on the opportunities these concerns represent. While a fictitious department, this assignment hit close to home, as many of the concerns in the scenario were reflective of the then-current situation in the Honolulu Police Department (HPD). When I get the opportunity to a police department, the recommendations I provided for the APD encapsulate my priorities to develop a meaningful vision using participative management, establish consistent communication, engage in honest collaboration, and use coordination to follow through with departmental plans.
In the form of a report to the community, my next work is an assessment and roadmap of HPD’s progress towards restoring and advancing trust. Graphically designed to be easy to read and digest, its format parallels the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing Report. Each chapter represents a pillar from the report. Written in the spring of 2021 from the perspective of the Chief of Police, among the approximately 75 short articles are 21 aspirational projects and programs (indicated by blue dashed lines) which I would implement. Some of the more creative proposals include implementing community surveys, allowing access to police crime and discipline databases, creating a youth advisory board, developing leaders of tomorrow, and incentivizing physical fitness.
My third work came from an assignment to use Kenneth Cloke and Joan Goldsmith’s book, Resolving Conflicts at Work, to support new practices within our organization that encourage teamwork and present a vision for a democratic system design. Authored from the viewpoint of conflict as an opportunity for collaboration and written as a memo from the chief to the command staff with a 500-word limit, the writing in this work needed to be concise. I offered three initiatives to encourage an off-site strategic planning retreat, increase team building within elements, and create an informal mediated dispute resolution team within the department.
During a recent course, Organizational Theory and Change, I authored a real-world proposal to create a significant organizational change in adding a rank to HPD’s structure. This project required substantial organizational introspection and creative thinking to solve a long-existing problem. Currently, detectives and sergeant are considered interchangeable. By creating a new rank, Detective 1, the department will benefit from increased administrative efficiency, higher supervisory aptitude, and enhanced fiscal responsibility. My final work walks the reader through my thesis statement, history, background and proposal, benefits and opportunities for collaboration, and eventual implementation.
Change for the sake of change can be counterproductive. However, the ability to conduct critical assessment and change in the name of progress and collaboration is the cornerstone of successful leadership.
Opportunities for Leadership Transformation is a consultancy report I authored based on a list of concerns from the Anytown Police Department (APD) personnel. After analyzing the problems and finding commonalities, I provided a roadmap to capitalize on the opportunities these concerns represent. While a fictitious department, this assignment hit close to home, as many of the concerns in the scenario were reflective of the then-current situation in the Honolulu Police Department (HPD). When I get the opportunity to a police department, the recommendations I provided for the APD encapsulate my priorities to develop a meaningful vision using participative management, establish consistent communication, engage in honest collaboration, and use coordination to follow through with departmental plans.
In the form of a report to the community, my next work is an assessment and roadmap of HPD’s progress towards restoring and advancing trust. Graphically designed to be easy to read and digest, its format parallels the President’s Task Force on 21st Century Policing Report. Each chapter represents a pillar from the report. Written in the spring of 2021 from the perspective of the Chief of Police, among the approximately 75 short articles are 21 aspirational projects and programs (indicated by blue dashed lines) which I would implement. Some of the more creative proposals include implementing community surveys, allowing access to police crime and discipline databases, creating a youth advisory board, developing leaders of tomorrow, and incentivizing physical fitness.
My third work came from an assignment to use Kenneth Cloke and Joan Goldsmith’s book, Resolving Conflicts at Work, to support new practices within our organization that encourage teamwork and present a vision for a democratic system design. Authored from the viewpoint of conflict as an opportunity for collaboration and written as a memo from the chief to the command staff with a 500-word limit, the writing in this work needed to be concise. I offered three initiatives to encourage an off-site strategic planning retreat, increase team building within elements, and create an informal mediated dispute resolution team within the department.
During a recent course, Organizational Theory and Change, I authored a real-world proposal to create a significant organizational change in adding a rank to HPD’s structure. This project required substantial organizational introspection and creative thinking to solve a long-existing problem. Currently, detectives and sergeant are considered interchangeable. By creating a new rank, Detective 1, the department will benefit from increased administrative efficiency, higher supervisory aptitude, and enhanced fiscal responsibility. My final work walks the reader through my thesis statement, history, background and proposal, benefits and opportunities for collaboration, and eventual implementation.
Change for the sake of change can be counterproductive. However, the ability to conduct critical assessment and change in the name of progress and collaboration is the cornerstone of successful leadership.
