Police, FBI agency host leadership classes

Painesville Police Department are teaming with the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association to deliver a series of training and leadership courses and seminars throughout 2019.

FBI-LEEDA originally formed in 1981 as the Law Enforcement Executive Development Seminar. Classes held at the FBI Academy headquarters of Quantico, Virginia, offered FBI executive training programs to municipal, state, and federal leaders of law enforcement.

The scope of the program grew in parallel with its popularity and by 1991 a group of LEEDS graduates formed FBI-LEEDA as

a non-profit group.

“It’s essentially a support organization for the FBI,” explained Painesville Police Chief Daniel Waterman. “You’ll find that a lot of the people teaching will be formerly with Bureau. While it’s in support of the FBI and has connections, they don’t want to say it’s officially the FBI. The instructors aren’t active FBI, if they’re agents, they’re retired agents.”

Waterman co-hosted a recent, four-day FBILEEDA Supervisor Leadership Insititute seminar in February at Lake Erie College. The seminar was designed “especially for firstline supervisors and middle managers with the goal of enhancing their leadership competencies,” according to a FBI-LEEDA news release.

The next FBI-LEEDA seminar will be a Command Leadership Institute, March 25-29, also co-hosted by Waterman.

“It’s leadership orientated,” he said. “It’s all about how to treat people, how to manage people. That’s what it’s really

all about, that, and how to make a successful public value organization. It’s geared more toward upper command structure — administrative lieutenants, captains, and majors for example.”

The Executive Leadership Institute, which runs June 24-28, is said to focus on “emerging trends” and the multiple perspectives of “traditionalist, baby boomer, Generation X, and Millennial employees.”

Waterman said the course is “geared for someone with aspirations of becoming chief one day, a safety director, someone of that level.”

There will also be a subsequent course running May 20-24. It’s stated focus centers on conducting and managing internal affairs investigations. Course descriptions state that it will explore “ethics and integrity, agency policies and procedures, the complaint process, investigation of personnel complaints, administrative law, the interview process, and special circumstances investigations.”

Each seminar caters to individualized demands that various levels of law enforcement encounter, but Waterman said the value in

the courses working in concert with one another.

“A lot of people took all three,” he said. “Just because you take the Executive course doesn’t mean you’re a chief, but you may have those aspirations and you may want to have that knowledge on how to lead an organization in today’s modern environment and what are the best practices.”

The series of courses may be co-hosted by Waterman, but previously he was a student.

“We absolutely recommend it,” he said. “All my supervisors and I have taken it. It’s probably the best one week course I’ve ever taken.”

The considerable registration fee required for each participant underscores the value law enforcement agencies place on the courses, according to Waterman.

“Many of the people that come would like to rise in their agency,” he said. “Their intention is get promoted and then when they get promoted to know how to properly lead with respect.”

Those interested in attending can inquire at 877772-7712 or www.fbileeda. org