You Will Get It Wrong: Why the Best Chiefs Learn Faster from Failure

No chief leads without making mistakes.

Training and experience reduce risk, but they do not eliminate it. Leadership decisions are made with incomplete information, competing priorities, and time pressures that rarely allow perfect judgment. Over the course of a career, mistakes are inevitable. What distinguishes effective leaders is not the absence of error, but the willingness to learn from it.

One of the most common mistakes new chiefs make is trying to solve too many problems too quickly. The desire to improve the organization is genuine, but early changes made without full understanding can create unintended consequences. Policies that seem outdated may reflect past challenges. Informal practices may exist for reasons not immediately visible.

Over time, I learned that careful observation often prevents unnecessary disruption. Change is most effective when it is grounded in a clear understanding of how the department actually operates.

Another frequent mistake involves communication. Chiefs often assume that decisions speak for themselves. In reality, silence invites speculation. When employees or municipal leaders do not understand the reasoning behind decisions, they often supply their own explanations.

I learned that even difficult decisions are more readily accepted when they are explained clearly and honestly. Communication does not eliminate disagreement, but it reduces misunderstanding.

Personnel decisions present another area where mistakes occur. Promotions, assignments, and disciplinary actions affect careers and relationships. Even well-intended decisions can have consequences that are not immediately apparent. Looking back, I recognize decisions I would approach differently today — not because the outcomes were disastrous, but because experience brought a deeper understanding of their impact on the organization.

Perhaps the most instructive mistakes involve judgment about people.

Leaders sometimes place too much confidence in individuals who appear dependable, or too little confidence in those who develop over time. Evaluating character and potential is one of the most difficult aspects of leadership, and experience refines that judgment slowly.

Mistakes in leadership also reveal an important truth: credibility is strengthened, not weakened, when leaders acknowledge error honestly. Attempts to defend questionable decisions or shift responsibility rarely succeed. Employees recognize sincerity. Municipal leaders respect accountability.

Acknowledging mistakes does not require public self-criticism or unnecessary disclosure. It requires thoughtful correction and a willingness to adjust course when needed. Leaders who demonstrate that discipline build trust within the organization.

Municipal leaders should understand that mistakes are part of institutional learning. Departments improve when lessons are incorporated into policy, training, and supervision. Organizations that pretend mistakes never occur often repeat them.

Over time, leadership becomes less about avoiding error and more about improving judgment. Experience does not eliminate uncertainty, but it sharpens perspective.

Every chief carries decisions they would reconsider with the benefit of hindsight. Those experiences are not failures unless they go unexamined.

Mistakes teach patience. They refine judgment. They deepen understanding of responsibility.

Leadership matures not through perfection, but through reflection.

References

International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). Leadership in Police Organizations (LPO) Program Resources. Available at: https://www.theiacp.org

U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office). Police Leadership and Organizational Development. Available at: https://cops.usdoj.gov

International City/County Management Association (ICMA). ICMA Code of Ethics and Guidelines. Available at: https://icma.org/code-ethics

Heifetz, R., & Linsky, M. Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.

Walker, S., & Archbold, C. A. The New World of Police Accountability. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.