Raising the Bar: Creating and Nurturing Adaptability to Deal With the Changing Face of War, by Don Vandergriff, is a book anyone who knows me has heard me speak of and highly recommend over the years. The copy I own is highlighted throughout and the information contained in this powerful little book fits right into the law enforcement profession. I was just going back through the book this morning and wanted to share with you a section from the book, How do adaptive leaders think?

By Major Joseph H. Albrecht, United States Army,School of Advanced Military Studies(SAMS) 

You got to be able to think on your feet. You got to be flexible. I can’t stress that enough. That has been our success . ~2nd Lt., Operation Iraqi Freedom, 2004

Don Vandergriff has applied the principles of the adaptive leadership methodology successfully throughout the Army and he continues to do so in the Army, the Marine Corps and now he is bringing these methods to a modern metropolitan police department specifically the Baltimore Police Department.

By Don Vandergriff and Fred Leland

It was an honor and privilege to work on this article with my good friend Don Vandergriff. Our hope is you all get some ideas you can utilize making yourselves and your organizations more effective. ~Fred

Don Vandergriff has put together another fine article and guide to making more effective decision makers.

The challenge the army faces today is not one of over-thinking situations; rather, it is the failure to think clearly in situations that require sound judgment at junior levels, and leadership’s hesitation to believe that juniors can or will think clearly. soldiers and junior leaders who are trained or conditioned to “look” at the situation—i.e., to assess, exercise judgment and make decisions—are more decisive, deliberate and correct in their actions. this is particularly important in the complex environment of full-spectrum operations.

Don’s at it again in his candid and frank no holds bared way, on the topic of leadership and rhetoric verses reality. Leads to the question of what Don calls cheerleading and the cheerleader effect. Not exactly what your thinking so read on.

“The culture will become one that rewards leaders and Soldiers who act, and penalizes those who do not. Today’s culture needs to evolve so that the greater burden rests on all superior officers, who have to nurture—teach, trust, support, and correct—the student who now enters the force with the ability to adapt.” ~Don Vandergriff 

My good friend Don Vandergriff has an outstanding article out on bottom-up training and leadership. The approach is outcome based and works at developing both cognitive decision making abilities and physical skills sets necessary to accomplish today's complex problems.