In most organizations, the strain shows up in the middle. Policing is no exception. You can have a chief with a clear vision and a frontline full of drive yet still feel the cohesion fray somewhere between the briefing room and the admin wing. That “somewhere” is the middle: your sergeants, lieutenants and civilian managers who carry the weight and direction from above while caring for the people below.
Our senior leaders have spent the last few years navigating crises, rebuilding trust and steering through cultural storms. But the work isn’t done. The future of policing — its culture, its credibility and its capacity to adapt — rests with the next layer of leadership. The “on-deck circle” must be equipped, trusted and inspired to carry the mission forward with renewed purpose.
The challenge? The data paints a concerning picture. Across industries, 27% of middle managers say their top priority is finding a way out — either a new job or a different field. Over 40% report disengagement, burnout or conflict, and Gallup continues to find that managers account for roughly 70% of the variance in employee engagement. When the middle goes flat, the whole system pays the price.
In policing, that disengagement isn’t just a morale problem; it’s a readiness problem. It affects performance, trust, retention and safety. The good news is that leadership in the middle can be reignited. The levers to pull are teachable and actionable.
When the middle goes flat, the whole system pays the price.
Reset the role: From taskmaster to people developer
Too many mid-level leaders are buried in paperwork and compliance tasks that strip away their biggest impact points: coaching, connecting and developing people. If you promoted a tactful communicator, let them build bridges. If you promoted a tactician, let them improve systems. When we align strengths with how we measure success, commitment and performance both rise.
Supervisors should be measured not just by outputs, but by the growth and trust they cultivate. Integrating these concepts and practices into expectations and evaluations will elevate teams far beyond maintenance modes of “meeting standards” and locking into the deteriorating status quo.
Action item: Rewrite sergeants’ evaluations to include people-focused outcomes, not just productivity metrics. Make the tangible development of their people a tenable part of the job, not a soft skill on the side.
Clear paths beat vague promises
When middle leaders can’t see a future, they start looking elsewhere. Transparent, skill-based progressions — not time-based checkboxes — increase engagement and retention. Yet too many police organizations leave development to chance or, worse, to politics.
Occupying a seat isn’t enough for middle leadership millennials; they need tangible, visible impact they can guide, curate and affect. Vague direction breeds frustration and apathy. Clarity of mission, with measurable goals and consistent communication, motivates people to stay invested in the work and their growth within it.
Action item: Sit with each aspiring leader and outline three realistic next steps, along with the skills they’ll need, the projects they can lead and a rough timeline. When people can see it, they can imagine and start actualizing it.
Teach and practice the emotional labor of leadership
Middle leaders absorb pressure from both directions: policy and politics from above, pain and problems from below. Emotional intelligence isn’t a luxury; it’s the foundation for trust and resilience. Teach it, practice it and make it part of leadership identity.
That also means modeling curiosity and openness. When senior leaders resist change, block innovation in the form of curiosity and questions, or punish vulnerability, they in turn stunt growth and suffocate investment in the agency. Progress requires leaders who can both feel and function.
Action item: Use one-on-ones to discuss communication styles, triggers and feedback preferences. Help your leaders understand themselves — and each other — as humans, not just ranks and roles.
Lead hybrid and distributed teams on purpose
Modern policing rarely happens under one roof. Shifts, precincts and remote units demand new rhythms of connection. The best leaders don’t “check up,” they check in. Short, purposeful touchpoints beat long gaps of silence. Infrequent large team meetings end up carrying too much info-sharing and report-outs, rather than collaborative discussion and critical problem solving.
Your team shouldn’t wonder when they will be able to connect with you; a regular cadence of accessibility assists with direction, cohesion and alignment.
Action item: Replace one monthly all-hands with weekly 10-minute check-ins. Ask, “How are you doing? What challenges are you facing? How are your people? How can I help?” Share one learning or success from another team. That’s how culture stays connected and teams feel relevant.
Right-size the load
Many sergeants spend more time managing forms than mentoring officers. When we overload them with administrative tasks, we rob them of leadership time. We want them out in the field, affecting things in real time, not reacting after moments have passed and mistakes have amassed. Audit what’s essential and delegate what isn’t. Automation and emerging technology may be viable resources.
Leadership isn’t about jumping into every fire, but it is about being around and readily accessible. Successful coaches modify in real time; they don’t survive off reviewing tape from last week. Trust your people, guide them and watch them thrive.
Action item: Run a one-week time audit for supervisors. Identify one recurring task to delegate, automate or eliminate. Remove it for 30 days and reassess.
Many sergeants spend more time managing forms than mentoring officers. When we overload them with administrative tasks, we rob them of leadership time.
Make meaning visible
Purpose drives endurance. Yet many middle managers report low recognition and a weak connection to mission. In policing, that’s tragic because purpose is our strongest card: protecting, serving and making a difference.
Leaders must help their teams see that difference, not just assume they feel it. Recognition and storytelling reinforce meaning. Taking pause and celebrating wins is necessary, especially when it feels like the machine is moving too quickly.
Action item: In briefing, ask, “What impact did we have this week?” Capture two small wins and tie them directly to the mission. When you name purpose, you make it real.
Mentor like you mean it
The most effective organizations build mentoring into their DNA, not as a checkbox, but as a commitment. Everyone mentors someone. Chiefs mentor captains. Captains mentor sergeants. Sergeants mentor senior officers and FTOs. Even newer officers can mentor recruits or applicants.
This creates a living pipeline of leadership that reinforces learning, trust and culture.
Action item: Start one six-month mentoring match. Thirty minutes every two weeks. The agenda: growth, challenges and decision-making. Protect the time, then measure the impact together.
Hold the authority where it belongs
If every decision must go “upstairs,” middle leaders become messengers instead of owners. Empower them to make appropriate decisions and back them publicly when they do.
As David Marquet teaches, great leaders don’t build followers, they build leaders. Push intent, not just permission. That’s how you grow capability and confidence.
Action item: Identify three decisions that will now live at the sergeant level. This will empower that rank and foster real-time leadership. Define the boundaries, communicate them clearly and reinforce trust when those decisions are made.
Communicate like leaders, not managers
Culture is learned through conversation. Leaders who explain the why behind directives create understanding, ownership and adaptability. Every generation wants to know why. This isn’t defiance; it’s care to do things right.
Suppressing curiosity suppresses leadership itself. When people think critically, they grow. When they only comply, they stagnate. They become the automatons no one wants police to resemble - on the street and in the office.
Action item: In your next directive, start with “Here’s why this matters.” Clarity breeds alignment; context breeds buy-in.
Become an experimenter
Policing prizes standardization, but growth demands adaptability. Leadership isn’t perfection — it’s humility-fed influence and movement generation. Middle leaders should be encouraged to test, learn and share. Treat leadership like a field training phase: observe, coach and debrief regularly.
Action item: Give one of your sergeants a project that is new to them and perhaps the team. Guide them as a close “Field Trainer” over their shoulder. Frame it as an experiment for growth, not a test for evaluation. Review what worked, what didn’t and what was learned.
Why this matters now, why it matters most
Across every sector, organizations that invest in their middle leaders see better performance, stronger culture and higher retention. Much of the middle leadership in policing is there due to massive, noncategorical attrition in recent years. If we do not adapt our cultures to invest heavily in their development and empowerment, we risk losing them as well. This would be crippling to the profession.
When middle leadership is clear, supported and trusted, the whole agency from top to bottom feels it. When leaders are connected, the troops feel command is in touch and responsive. When leaders are empowered, senior leaders know they are learning and growing for unstrained succession planning. The department thrives, as does the community.
We believe leadership is service. And in policing, middle leaders are the connecting heartbeat of that service. Build their capabilities. Align their role to their strengths. Show them a clear, bright future. Hand them the baton. Watch them run.
Tactical takeaway
Stop asking your sergeants to push paper this month. Take one task off their plate and give them ownership of one real decision — then watch what happens when they’re allowed to lead instead of relay.
