The Mission, Vision, and Core Values of my police department have been out-of-date, full of clichés, and completely unused for years. In their 20+ years of existence, they have become posters on the wall that we walk by every day, but serve no purpose other than to go on the department webpage and in the annual report.

So, I decided to submit the following project suggestion through my chain of command up to the Chief of Police. AND GUESS WHAT . . . He agreed, loved it, and has approved it to move forward as soon as possible.

I am currently in the process of carrying out the below plan, so I thought I would share it with all of those that read the Thin Blue Line of Leadership Blog. Enjoy and let me know if you have any thoughts or questions.

MISSION, VISION, CORE VALUES PROJECT

PURPOSE: The purpose of this project is to create a new mission, vision, and set of core values for the XXXXXXX Police Department by utilizing a collaborative process involving the entire organization. The goal is to create discussion, build buy-in, and generate acceptance of our new mission, vision, and set of core values.

PROCESS: To accomplish this project, it will be spread out over a four-month period. Each unit, both sworn and professional staff, will view an introductory video on the definition, purpose, and value of a good mission, vision, and set of core values. Each month following, they will receive a more specific video to discuss, within their group, the given topic and submit their unit’s suggestion for what our department’s mission, vision, or set of core values should be. The Training Section will receive each unit’s submission and filter them down. Those will then be presented to Chief XXXXXXX for approval. The ones that obtain the Chief’s approval will be put out to vote by units to the entire department.

MONTH #1 – INTRODUCTION TO THE MISSION, VISION, AND CORE VALUES PROJECT

• Define mission, vision, and core values and why they are important to an organization.
• Where we learned/failed with our current mission, vision, and core values.
• Discuss Peel’s 9 Law Enforcement Principles and their application to current policing.
• Discuss the following questions to start the conversations within the units.
  • What is policing?
  • What is good policing?
  • Why do we police?
  • How do we police?
  • Who do we serve?
  • How could we serve them better?

MONTH #2 – CORE VALUES

• Define core values and why they are important to an organization.
  • Identifies the fundamental beliefs of the organization.
  • These beliefs dictate how we treat those we serve, those we work with, and how we solve problems.
  • Core values require a commitment to living and working them.
• Examples of corporate and law enforcement core values.
• What should our core values be? (3 to 4 only)
  • Unit discussion and core value development.
  • Submit core value suggestions to Training Section.
  • Training section filters.
  • Chief approves of finalists.
  • Units vote to choose our core values.

MONTH #3 – MISSION STATEMENT

• Define a mission statement and why it is important to an organization.
• A mission statement defines…
  • What we do – our purpose?
  • What problem are we trying to solve for the greater good?
  • What we get out of doing what we do properly – the value?
  • How we do it? (This ties back into our core values.)
• Examples of corporate and law enforcement mission statements.
• What should our mission statement be?
  • Unit discussion and mission statement development.
  • Submit mission statement suggestions to Training Section.
  • Training section filters.
  • Chief approves of finalists.
  • Units vote to choose our mission statement.

MONTH #4 – VISION STATEMENT

• Define a vision statement and why it is important to an organization.
• A vision statement defines…
  • Why we do what we do? Why do we police?
  • What is the result of a future where we are meeting our core values?
  • What is the result of a future where we are meeting our mission statement?
• Examples of corporate and law enforcement vision statements.
• What should our vision statement be?
  • Unit discussion and mission statement development.
  • Submit mission statement suggestions to Training Section.
  • Training section filters.
  • Chief approves of finalists.
  • Units vote to choose our vision statement.

ROLLOUT OUR DEPARTMENT’S NEW MISSION, VISION, AND CORE VALUES.

Once this project is completed, I will be creating and instructing training to our Field Training Officers, Sergeants, and other supervisors on how to best utilize our new mission, vision, and core values and get the most out of them.

The mission at Thin Blue Line of Leadership is to inspire law enforcement leaders to be better than they were yesterday. Positive leadership and creating a positive squad culture are on-going commitments that must be nurtured and developed over time. By discussing topics like this, law enforcement leaders are tending to the welfare of the “whole” officer, not just the one in uniform.

Share your thoughts or comments with us below or on our Facebook page. Continue saving the world one call at a time and as always, LEAD ON!