The Florida Leadership Academy prepares first line supervisors in criminal justice organizations to exemplify the character and integrity expected of criminal justice professionals. Graduates of the program will understand the many responsibilities that come with being a leader, and the importance of leaders as coaches, teachers, and mentors to other members of the organization. Participants in the Florida Leadership Academy will also learn the skills necessary to support the technical and administrative needs of their agency with respect to being a leader. Below is a listing of the four sessions that make up the Florida Leadership Academy.



SESSION ONE: Leadership and Management

Session One includes a comprehensive course overview; a description of research related to police and corrections sergeants; a discussion of contemporary issues identified by criminal justice sergeants, middle managers, and executives; and a history of the Florida Criminal Justice Executive Institute. Participants will learn the importance of individual contributions to the group and their role in shaping the future of their organization. The session will cover the principles of situational leadership and aspects of team building. Participants will learn about various personalities using the Myers-Briggs Type Indicatorã. Various types of power and motivational strategies will be covered during this session.


SESSION TWO: Communication, Professionalism and Ethics

Session Two provides participants in the Florida Leadership Academy with the opportunity to learn written and oral communication skills necessary to support the needs of their agency. This week will cover strategies on how to effectively communicate with the media and practice a professional response. In addition, the session exposes its participants to ethical dilemmas common in criminal justice and provides tools in exercising good judgment as a supervisor. Each unit of curriculum this week provides further insight towards proactive listening skills, effective communication and an expanded understanding of ethics in a criminal justice setting. The week will include an Leadership Practices Inventory workshop referencing the Leadership Process from Session One in which participants will review observer surveys.



SESSION THREE: Legal Issues, Decision Making and Change Management

Session Three prepares participants to effectively address the legal and liability issues faced by supervisors in the criminal justice system. The session helps to prepare participants to understand the most current laws affecting the criminal justice system, such as use of force. Participants also are given guidance in the areas of decision making, managing change, working with generational issues, and holding themselves and their subordinates accountable for upholding the standards of the agency.



SESSION FOUR: Organizational Skills, Performance Management and Stress

Session Four provides essential skills for supervisors to remain proactive in their supervisory duties. Through the application of criminal justice issues to the principles of time management, planning and scheduling, the participants practice effectively and efficiently using the available organization resources to get more quality work done in less time. In this session, the participants also prepare to meet the challenges of developing, coaching, mentoring, evaluating and disciplining subordinates in such a way as to positively improve performance on the job. Participants will also learn skills necessary to support the technical and administrative needs of their agency. Since these duties are both stressful and demanding of a supervisor, this session goes over some practical ways to reduce stress and control emotion in critical moments frequently encountered by the criminal justice supervisor.

Qualifications

Instructors