By Andrew A. DeMuth, Jr.
Many law enforcement leaders believe they are empty-handed when it comes to rewarding their people. They are not.
When we accepted leadership roles in government, we knew that we would never be able to offer our people stock options, holiday bonuses, access to the company skybox or use of the corporate jet. Yes, there are limitations, but they do not leave us without options.
Great leaders learn the landscape and, most importantly, what matters to their people. They become creative and seek out meaningful ways to recognize strong performance, reward effort and help employees grow. We refer to these resources, opportunities and gestures as leadership currency.
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Simply put, leadership currency consists of the meaningful forms of value a leader can offer instead of money.
The amount of currency available will differ depending on the leader’s position. A chief executive will naturally control more resources than a first-line supervisor. However, every leader has some form of currency. Ideally, the organization operates in a manner that would make higher-level currency available to frontline supervisors.
The question is not whether you have leadership currency; the question is whether you recognize it and whether you spend it wisely.
Recognition currency
Recognition is among the simplest, most powerful and most underutilized forms of leadership currency, and whether they admit it or not, it is extremely important to our people.
Recognition can include public praise, private praise, awards, commendations, personal notes, emails of appreciation, recognition during meetings, and positive comments placed in an employee’s evaluation and personnel file.
In 2024, a Gallup-Workhuman poll found that only 22% of employees say they receive the right amount of recognition for the work they do. In other words, nearly 80% of employees do not believe they receive the right amount of recognition for their work. Even the strongest of leaders cannot afford to ignore these numbers.
Several years ago, while managing a statewide program, I sent a written commendation for a member of another agency who was doing an exceptional job for us. I sent the letter to the chief executive and four members of their leadership team. I never received a response, so I sent a follow-up email to confirm that the letter had reached them. I received a one-word reply: “Received.”
I later found out that not one of them ever mentioned the commendation to this employee. She only knew about it because someone printed it out and put a copy face down on her chair.
This was a leadership softball, an easy and obvious opportunity to make an employee’s day, recognize exceptional work, strengthen her sense of value and reinforce the behaviors desired by the organization.
Leadership softballs are the high-value opportunities that come across our desks occasionally. One of your people earns a master’s degree, runs their first 5K or receives a letter from a citizen thanking them for how they handled a call. They require very little effort, but when leaders handle them well, they can have a lasting impact on morale, motivation and culture.
In my example, it required no expense, no new program and little time. All they had to do was acknowledge it. They opted to do nothing.
Think about how else this could have been handled. They could have gathered the unit together and publicly presented the letter to her. They could have posted it on the employee bulletin board. They could have framed it and displayed it in the hallway alongside commendation letters recognizing other employees. They could have shared the story on their social media page.
Instead of creating a meaningful memory for this employee, they created resentment and a story she would likely repeat for years.
We are not remotely close to where we need to be with recognition, and it is a topic that really needs to be talked about more in leadership circles.
Recognition is particularly valuable because employees often feel their efforts go unnoticed. They may work for weeks on a difficult assignment, solve a significant problem or quietly perform behind-the-scenes work that is critical but not as high-profile as a major arrest or a successful large-scale community policing event.
A leader who notices and recognizes that effort sends a powerful message: “You are valuable to this team.”
Recognition does not have to be elaborate. In fact, some of the most meaningful recognition is personal, specific and timely. A captain and lieutenant calling in a one-year deputy to tell her they have noticed her exceptional work can have a greater impact than the most prestigious award.
Recognition costs almost nothing, but its absence can be extraordinarily expensive.
Opportunity currency
High-performing employees frequently value opportunities as much as formal rewards. Opportunity currency may include special assignments, acting positions, committee participation, project leadership, becoming an instructor, representing the organization at an event, serving as a mentor or helping develop a new initiative.
When leaders provide meaningful opportunities, they allow people to demonstrate their ability, expand their workplace experience and prepare themselves for future advancement.
Opportunities also break the monotony (another topic not talked about nearly enough) that can develop in long-term government employment. Giving an employee a meaningful assignment can restore energy and create a renewed sense of purpose.
Access currency
Access is one of the most overlooked forms of leadership currency. It includes time with the leader, lunch with a senior executive, attendance at higher-level meetings, introductions to influential people, professional networking and exposure to parts of the organization an employee would not normally see.
Access is valuable because it offers employees insight, visibility and connection.
Consider the message when a supervisor invites a promising employee to sit in on an important meeting. The employee is not simply gaining information. The invitation communicates, “You are someone worth investing in. We want you to understand how decisions are made. We believe you may be ready for greater responsibility.”
Access can also help employees better understand the organization. People at lower levels sometimes see only a small portion of the operation. Exposure to senior leaders, strategic discussions or other divisions can broaden their perspective and help them appreciate the larger mission.
Responsibility currency
Responsibility is often interpreted as trust. When employees are asked to lead a project, run a meeting, train a new employee, coordinate an event, manage equipment, develop a policy or become a subject-matter expert, they receive more than just additional work. They receive a vote of confidence.
Responsibility currency must be used carefully. There is a difference between giving someone meaningful responsibility and simply dumping unwanted work on a reliable employee, a practice sometimes referred to as performance punishment. Meaningful responsibility should include appropriate authority, support, resources and acknowledgment. When possible, the employee should also understand why they were selected and how the assignment can help them grow.
Environment currency
What about improving the employee’s workplace environment? This may include a better office or cubicle, preferred parking, improved equipment, a newer computer, a better vehicle, a flexible schedule, telework opportunities, additional autonomy, a preferred assignment or consideration in shift selection.
Depending on the organization’s resources, leaders may not be able to offer all of these, and many must be distributed in accordance with policy, contract or operational need. However, leaders should examine what flexibility they do possess.
Sometimes small environmental improvements have tremendous value. Replacing malfunctioning equipment, adjusting an employee’s schedule to address a family concern, improving a workspace or allowing reasonable flexibility can dramatically affect morale.
Leaders should also remember that fairness does not always mean treating everyone identically. Fairness means applying consistent principles while considering legitimate differences in performance, responsibility, needs and circumstances.
Development currency
Development currency is one of the greatest investments a leader can make. It includes sending employees to training, conferences, certification programs, leadership courses, professional associations, mentoring opportunities or even job-shadowing experiences. It may also involve recommending books, sharing articles, creating internal development sessions or personally coaching an employee.
Development currency should be invested strategically. Leaders should consider each employee’s strengths, weaknesses, interests, responsibilities and future potential.
There’s another phrase for professional development: building the bench. Law enforcement leaders should be obsessed with preparing the next generation. When leaders develop their people, they strengthen both the individual and the organization.
Relationship currency
People work harder for leaders they know, respect and believe genuinely care about them. Relationship currency is built by listening, checking in, remembering important events, celebrating milestones, knowing your people, knowing something about their families, being present during difficult times and being available. It is built by giving your people your time.
A leader who appears only when something is wrong will have very little relationship currency available when the organization faces a crisis.
Relationships require intentionality; they are built through repeated interactions. A brief conversation in the hallway, a question about a family member, a sincere expression of concern or five uninterrupted minutes of listening may seem insignificant. Over time, these moments accumulate.
Strong relationships create approachability, trust and loyalty. When employees believe their leader cares about them, they are more likely to accept feedback, raise concerns, offer ideas and remain committed during difficult periods.
Trust currency
Trust may be the most valuable form of leadership currency.
Leaders spend trust currency when they give employees autonomy, delegate meaningful work, ask for their opinions (especially important), allow them to make decisions and resist the urge to interfere unnecessarily.
Trust says, “I believe in your competence and judgment, and I don’t need to stand over your shoulder.”
Trust does not mean the absence of accountability. Leaders must establish expectations, monitor important outcomes and intervene when necessary, but accountability and autonomy can exist together.
The funny thing about trust is that it has as much to do with the leader as it does with the employee. Before people can be trusted to complete a task, they must be properly prepared to perform the task. That requires clear expectations, training and ongoing development. Great leaders do not simply demand trust; they build the competence that makes trust possible. Great leaders develop their people.
Getting the most out of leadership currency
Imagine that every supervisor in your organization was allotted $10,000 to reward employees over the next month. Morale would temporarily rise, and your people would certainly appreciate the money.
But what happens after that?
If poor communication continued, if great work went unnoticed, if leaders remained inaccessible, if opportunities were distributed unfairly, and if employees were never trusted or developed, the effect of the money would eventually disappear.
One could certainly make the argument that leadership currency is far more valuable than money.
Much of the leadership currency described here costs little or nothing. And most leaders have much more than they initially realize.
An important caveat: The distribution of any benefit can create concerns about jealousy, favoritism and fairness. Leaders must be thoughtful, consistent and transparent in how they use leadership currency. The reasoning should be defensible, and employees should understand how decisions are made. Leadership currency loses much of its value when people believe it is distributed based on personal relationships and hooks rather than performance, potential or organizational need.
The ideas in this piece were not meant to be a complete work on the topic. Every organization is different. What other forms of leadership currency could you add?
You may not have bonuses, stock options, a company jet or seats in a corporate skybox. But you are not empty-handed. You possess leadership currency. Spend it wisely.
About the author
Andrew A. DeMuth Jr. is the founder and lead presenter for Leading Blue, a leadership development and training company dedicated to helping organizations build stronger leaders, healthier workplace environments, and high-performing cultures.
Andrew brings more than three decades of leadership, management, training, and public safety experience to his work. During a 33-year law enforcement career spanning four agencies, he served in a wide range of leadership positions, including road supervisor, investigations commander, training officer, range master, public information officer, youth academy director, intelligence officer, and manager within the New Jersey Division of Criminal Justice.
For 17 years, Andrew served as a frontline supervisor, giving him extensive experience in the day-to-day realities of leading people, managing performance, resolving conflict, developing employees, and improving organizational culture. He later managed New Jersey’s statewide CODIS Compliance Unit, overseeing a program involving more than 500 law enforcement agencies across all 21 counties.
Since founding Leading Blue in 2021, Andrew has presented leadership and professional development programs to audiences across the United States. His training focuses on practical, immediately applicable leadership principles, including leadership presence, workplace culture, employee engagement, high-performance supervision, developing future leaders, managing difficult employees, and transforming toxic or dysfunctional units.
