Editor’s note: This article continues the story of the Overland Park Police Department’s Leadership Forge initiative, introduced last month in How this department is forging the future of police leadership. Leadership Forge is a structured, purpose-driven program designed to develop future leaders through academic training, mentorship and hands-on experience. Built around a three-part model — STEEL (academic development), mentorship and field-based leadership immersion — the program prepares new supervisors to lead with competence, character and accountability.
“Curiosity and questions will get you further than confidence and answers.” — Maxime Lagacé
Leadership, like blacksmithing, is shaped in the fire — by moments of pressure, missteps and growth. It’s not about perfection, but about the courage to stay curious, to learn from every swing of the hammer and to keep showing up, especially when it’s hard. Over time, it becomes less about striking the perfect blow and more about who you become in the process.
When we originally designed Leadership Forge, we had an important mission: to rebuild our department’s signature approach to leadership development. Under the conviction that tomorrow’s leaders weren’t going to magically appear, our goal was to build strong leaders through mentorship, accountability and purposeful growth.
One of the key components of that effort was the Executive Mentorship track of Leadership Forge. Executive Mentorship was intended to match seasoned, higher-ranking leaders with those preparing for the next step in their public safety journey—those soon-to-be, first-line supervisors. We believed in that mission. We were excited. We thought we’d nailed it.
At the conclusion of our first year, we asked the mentees what they thought about the process.
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Year one: The hard truth
Full of excitement and expectations, we issued an exit survey to the participants after the first full year of Executive Mentorship. We expected stories of deep conversation and meaningful transformations. What we received was harder to hear. Some mentees weren’t clear about what mentorship was. Others described irregular meetings, vague conversations and a general lack of direction. We kept seeing words surface like “unclear,” “uninspired” and “disconnected.”
The truth was in front of us: We had underdelivered.
To be sure, our intent was on the right track — but good intentions don’t build leaders. Good systems do. What we had asserted in intent and hope, we lacked in structure, clarity and engagement. The necessary ingredients to drive real growth were absent.
We had failed. But that was good news. Because in leadership, failure isn’t fatal — it’s formative.
Looking outside the badge
Instead of defending the program or making minor adjustments, we decided to get curious — really, really curious. We asked ourselves: What are high-performing organizations outside public safety doing to develop their leaders? How could the Overland Park Police Department translate those lessons into our world of traffic stops, critical incidents and 3 a.m. disturbances?
That’s when we came across a video by national best-selling author Simon Sinek on the importance of having a coach and mentor. He began by using a sports analogy: He asked viewers to think of their favorite team and their favorite player on that team. Then he asked if that player had a coach. Of course they do — coaches identify strengths and weaknesses we may not see ourselves. If top athletes have coaches, why don’t we apply that same philosophy to leadership development in the workplace? Leadership and careers are akin to team sports.
In the video, Sinek mentioned the WD-40 Company as one of the best organizations for training its people. They do this by employing coaches. Yes — the same blue and yellow can in your garage is produced by a company also known for its remarkable organizational culture. One of its internal mentorship models is called “Leaders Coaching Leaders” (LCL). LCL isn’t designed to simply pass along tacit knowledge, but to drive value-based leadership and accountability throughout the organization.
We reached out to WD-40 — and they answered. We found extraordinary common ground in our shared passion for purpose-driven leadership. LCL clearly defined expectations and placed emphasis on coaching rather than commanding. They intentionally train mentors with the skills of listening, communicating and objectivity. The result is an independent person assigned to help you become the best version of yourself and perform at the highest level. How awesome is that?
WD-40’s LCL program was exactly what we were searching for.
Integrating a new framework
We didn’t simply borrow WD-40’s model. With their permission, we forged it into our own program. Our reimagined Executive Leadership Track retains the best of the private sector’s proven framework while aligning with the unique challenges and responsibilities of public safety. The result is a mentorship experience that is intentional, structured and rooted in our culture of service:
- Defined expectations: Expectations, responsibilities and roles are clearly defined for both mentor and mentee.
- Structured monthly check-ins: Gone are the casual coffee chats. Meetings follow a guided agenda built around real-world case studies and leadership challenges.
- Goal setting and progress tracking: Mentors help mentees identify personal leadership goals and intentionally monitor progress in monthly meetings.
- Hands-on leadership practice: Through projects, team initiatives and applied case studies, participants don’t just talk about leadership—they experience it.
- Character and competency development: The program focuses not just on what leaders do, but how they do it—grounded in integrity, humility and accountability.
At the heart of it all is this powerful component: the Capstone Community Engagement Project.
During their Executive Mentorship experience, each mentee will identify a community stakeholder in their assigned area — such as a neighborhood leader, school principal, business owner, or faith representative. The mentee’s task is to identify a concern or opportunity to develop deeper trust and collaboration. That relationship becomes the foundation for a yearlong project. Whether it’s a youth outreach initiative or a neighborhood problem-solving effort, the capstone project ensures our leaders don’t just talk about community trust — they build it.
The Community Engagement Project is more than a checkbox. It’s a challenge to prove that public trust is earned through presence, humility and results. This is not just leadership in theory — it’s leadership in motion.
Why this matters
We are launching this new model to do more than check a box. We’re launching it because we’ve seen firsthand what happens when leadership is assumed, not nurtured — when a department’s culture functions by default, not by design.
The next generation of public safety leaders is stepping into a more complex environment than what existed even a decade ago. Community expectations and organizational challenges have evolved. Leadership development must evolve, too.
Our passion is leadership development. By rebuilding our mentorship program from the ground up, by looking outside ourselves and asking for help, we are not just preparing the next generation of leaders — we’re modeling what leadership actually looks like.
Implications for the profession
These takeaways from our experiences reflect what we believe are critical ingredients for sustainable leadership growth in any public safety organization:
- Feedback is a gift: Honestly, the year-end survey surprised us — and not in a good way. It revealed the chasm between our intention and our impact. But fall down seven times, get up eight. This was a growth opportunity.
- Cross-industry collaboration: Some of our best leadership lessons came from a company that makes lubricant. If that doesn’t prove that the content of ideas matters more than their source, we don’t know what does. We’re better together.
- Clarity over charisma: Mentorship isn’t about inspiration alone. It must be intentional. Expectations, structured meetings and guided development must be firmly established from the outset. That beats vague wisdom every time.
The forge is hot
We’re proud to admit we didn’t get it right the first time. Leadership isn’t built on one-hit wonders — it’s forged in the fires of failure, humility and persistence. Our first year of Leadership Forge showed us that strong programs demand strong structure. We learned mentorship only thrives when rooted in purpose. And we were reminded that sometimes, progress means having the courage to go back to the beginning.
The forge is hot. This time, we’re shaping with intention — every strike more focused, every effort more meaningful.
And what we forge today will define the leaders of OPPD tomorrow. We owe it to our community — the people we’re sworn to protect — to give them nothing less than our very best.
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