Fireproofed Leadership Training

Students will be able to define and identify toxic behaviors and cultural/leadership weaknesses.

Students will understand the pitfalls of distracted leadership. 

Through group discussion, students will learn the 20 toxic traits of unhealthy workplaces and identify the effects of each through application, students will learn the 4 basic steps of cultural change. 

Through case studies, will dissect and analyze case studies that will teach them how directed, focused leadership can affect and organization, and how detached, and distracted leaders can also leave a legacy.

Students will evaluate their past leadership opportunities through the case studies and evaluate their leadership and determine their goals for future leadership. Will they address issues, pour gasoline on them, or somewhere in between? 

Through discussion of MIT Sloan School of Management overview, will analyze 6 types of leadership styles and pro/con analysis of each.

Through review of Dark Triad personality traits, students will understand personalities that can have disproportionately negative effect on organizational culture—narcissism, Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and sociopathy.

They will learn about studies demonstrating that these borderline personality disorders may be drawn to law enforcement roles and how to minimize negative impact, both individually and organizationally. 

Students will understand impact of toxic behavior on various aspects of organizations, through focus on numerous risk areas that include: 

Financial—2 case studies will be provided that demonstrate the financial impact of what can happen to organizations that discourage employee feedback, create potential whistleblowers, and practice retaliation.  

Legal and Legislative—A case study will demonstrate the impact of lax oversight, leadership that doesn’t walk the walk on stated values, and an unwillingness to document bad behavior and policy violations.

Attraction and Retention of Employees—Through a case study and an academic study, participants will analyze and learn the effects of weak management on hiring and retention metrics—and the risks of placing unqualified management into certain roles.

Reputational risk—Students will learn how reputations can be destroyed—both for organizations and individuals—through workplace misconduct and poor decision-making.

This will involve case studies from business, sports, entertainment, and the first responder community.

Productivity and Preparedness—Students will learn impact on productivity when cultural signals are leadership decisions are uncertain and gossip replaces accepted corporate communications. And how the effects of C-PTSD can impact readiness for high stress situations 

Psychological and Physical Health—Through academic studies, students will discuss and learn about academic studies of the effects of bad management, toxic environments and issues that are not addressed. Burnout, mental health, and the Covid-19 environment will be discussed. 

Protecting, building, and enhancing cultures 

Students will learn the importance of understood and accepted mission and vision statements.

Students will learn the 8 focus areas for protecting their culture.

Through applied lessons from the author’s experience and from law enforcement and other sectors, students will gain applicable and operational knowledge of the 7 key areas of focus for protecting their organization from the effects of toxicity. Areas will include: 

Responsibilities of Leadership—focus on need for clarity and visibility of leaders 

responsibilities of management, including understanding of generational differences and building relationships. Also will discuss the transition from being an officer to becoming part of management concepts for implementation of cultural values in all aspects and phases of department life—focus on repetition, rewarding of cultural acceptance, and more.

Value of employee feedback solicitation 

communication strategies of winning hearts and minds of employees 

dealing with troubled employee instances—discussion of the cost of doing nothing and the signals it sends 

how to define your culture—family vs. team. 

Career protection 

Through case studies, the trainer’s personal experiences, students will learn the value of and strategies for: 

Storytelling 

Understanding and overcoming professional and personal blindspots 

The importance of proper training and holding staff to uniform standards.  

How documentation can impact decision-making abilities.

Trusting instincts and training, and knowing cultural warning signs.

Understanding the workplace culture, no matter your rank of seniority.

Learning from mistakes and how to understand professional risks.

Creating a fireproofed environment:

How to gain value, strength and resilience from professional and personal adversity.