IPMBA and the “Ten Truths About Leadership”

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by Craig Lepkowski, PCI #1180-B/EMSCI #272-B
Lake Forest (IL) Police Department
IPMBA Secretary

Leadership is a hot topic in many sectors, including law enforcement. I have been focused on improving my own leadership skills for the past few years, and one of the books I came across is The Truth about Leadership, by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner. The authors list “Ten Truths about Leadership” and as I read them, I began to make the connection between IPMBA, our members, and the traits of successful leaders. In my opinion, IPMBA members exemplify the traits described, and IPMBA plays a role in developing their leadership skills. Here are the “Ten Truths” and my correlation to IPMBA and its members.

Truth 1: You Make a Difference

The authors argue that all leaders must believe in their ability to affect others and make a difference. They must bring something of value to the interaction and positively affect those they lead. IPMBA has been doing this since the first “Cops on Bikes” conference in 1991. It has made a difference in individual training, departmental procedures, and public safety, not just nationally, but internationally as well. IPMBA has continued to lead efforts to deploy public safety personnel on bicycles and provide them with a high standard of training. IPMBA has nearly 3,000 members from all three sectors: law enforcement, emergency medical services, and security. Each member arguably uses their bicycle and what they have learned from IPMBA to impact their communities. Creating positive interactions with the public, providing efficient service, responding to emergencies, undertaking crowd control, and training other officials in cycling skills and tactics are only some of the examples of how individual members make a difference.

Truth 2: Credibility is the Foundation of Leadership

Credibility can be defined as the combination of these characteristics: honest, forward-looking, inspiring, and competent. IPMBA instructors, those with primary responsibility for the association’s ongoing success, are taught and encouraged to exhibit these characteristics as they develop their technical and their teaching skills. Instructors are honest in their presentations; anticipate issues and developments in public safety cycling; inspire success in their students; and are competent in demonstrating the necessary skills. All these traits lend credibility to the instructors and the organization as a whole. IPMBA, through the actions of the Executive Director and the Board of Directors, seeks to communicate honestly with the membership and inspire public safety officials to improve their services with well-trained, bicycle-mounted professionals. The association also strives to remain competent in delivering updated training and anticipating future trends in public safety and technology.

Truth 3: Values Drive Commitment

IPMBA is committed to one over-arching goal: the development and delivery of world class training for public safety cyclists. Since its founding in 1992, the association has strived to develop consistent, safe, standardized, and relevant training. All instructors are provided with the same teaching materials and expected to adhere to the guidelines IPMBA has taken great pains to cultivate. Commitment entails standing by one’s principles, possessing integrity, and understanding organizational values. IPMBA holds its values dear and its standards high. Individual members value the training and other benefits from the association. IPMBA members’ personal and professional values mirror the values of IPMBA in their shared desire to provide the best service possible to their constituents. While IPMBA serves its membership, the graduates of IPMBA courses serve their communities and are committed representatives of their respective organizations. The bicycle training they receive enables them to bring more value to their organizations and communities.

Truth 4: Focusing on the Future Sets Leaders Apart

IPMBA attempts to anticipate the future of cycling and how changes will affect public safety personnel. While not always on the cusp of technology or techniques, IPMBA does its best to stay current with the ever-evolving fields of cycling and public safety and to update training and materials as quickly and thoroughly as possible. The Complete Guide to Public Safety Cycling is being updated, soon to be followed by the instructional material, and the increasing use of e-Bikes in public safety is being addressed.

Like most other facets of public safety, IPMBA is not a true innovator, but rather reacts to changes in citizen expectations, laws, and technology. As an almost all-volunteer organization whose members have full-time jobs and many other responsibilities, IPMBA strives to keep abreast of advances that affect the field of public safety cycling. Individual members have direct access to the Executive Director and the board members to effect change and affect the future. As practitioners with extensive field experience, IPMBA members are called upon to take the lead on the ideas and suggestions they propose to the board and staff.

Truth 5: You Can’t Do it Alone

The book discusses how leaders must be in tune with the emotions of others to create resonance between the leader and constituent. A leader must understand the needs of their followers, or in other words, IPMBA must strive to understand the needs of the membership. The ways in which the association engages its members, instructors, other organizations, and industry suppliers demonstrates that IPMBA is open to new ideas and assistance. As a volunteer organization, IPMBA recognizes the importance of involving all stakeholders in the furtherance of its mission. Not only does IPMBA rely on the membership and board members, it connects with vendors, other professional associations, and businesses to assist in providing current training, uniforms, equipment, and resources.

Truth 6: Trust Rules

The book states: “trust rules your…credibility. Trust rules your ability to get things done. Trust rules your team’s cohesiveness. Trust rules your organization’s innovativeness and performance. Trust rules your brand image. Trust rules just about everything you do.” (p 76). IPMBA’s role as the trusted leader in setting the standards for public safety cycling training and operations is no accident.

IPMBA was founded on trust and develops all materials through a rigorous (and sometimes time-consuming) process with the goal of getting it right and maintaining the trust of its constituents. As public safety cyclists strive to be trusted by their communities, so too does IPMBA strive to be trusted by its members.

IPMBA’s brand image flows from the trust of the membership and the organizations and public they serve. To earn this trust, IPMBA strives to behave predictably and consistently. The newsletter, emails, website, and other forms of communication are clear, candid, and forthright. Individual instructors are trusted to communicate the ideals of IPMBA and conduct their courses in accordance with IPMBA’s guidelines and expectations and to ensure that only those who meet the performance standard receive a passing grade.

Truth 7: Challenge is the Crucible for Greatness

As the book relates, “the study of leadership is the study of how men and women guide people through uncertainty, hardship, disruption, transformation, transition, recovery, new beginnings, and other significant challenges.” (p 93). Leaders must possess resilience, and IPMBA is an organization composed of public safety professionals who exhibit grit, strength, and toughness on a near-daily basis. The association is naturally resilient – ready to face challenges and overcome obstacles as it progresses through ongoing changes and developments in laws, techniques, procedures, and technology. The nature of public safety is that of resilience and facing challenges. Even with limited resources, we are expected to adapt, innovate, and overcome. Public safety professionals are problem-solvers for their communities; they stand up to the challenges, negotiate, resolve, and achieve positive outcomes as often as possible for as many as possible.

Truth 8: You Either Lead through Example or You Don’t Lead At All

“You’ve got to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. Leaders are responsible for modeling behavior based on the values they communicate. The leader must then live by them, in plain view of those he or she expects to follow the values.” IPMBA is comprised of leaders in the industry who walk the walk: the board members whose field experience enable them to guide the organization; the instructors who demonstrate the on-bike skills and hold their students to the highest standards; and the certified members who go back to their organizations and communities to exhibit the skills and safe behaviors they learned in a class, during a regional training, or at the conference.

IPMBA is often asked why instructor candidates are required to possess at least one year full-time or two years part-time experience operating a bicycle in the line of duty. It is because our founding fathers placed a premium on bringing field experience into the classroom, something that can only be achieved through “walking the walk”. Failure to match behavior with talk results in the loss of credibility and trust.

Truth 9: The Best Leaders are the Best Learners

Learning is a master skill. No matter how good one is, improvement is always possible. No leader worth anything gets to a position of leadership and rests on their laurels. Every successful leader continues to develop their skills, and becomes an even better leader. The same can be said for IPMBA as an organization. Each year the board seeks to improve the Association through position papers, new resources, an enticing and educational conference, and calling on the membership to shape the future of public safety cycling. IPMBA challenges all members to develop their skills, build educational networking relationships, and pass on knowledge to the public. For an organization dedicated to training public safety educators and professionals, it is appropriate to note that John F. Kennedy once said, “Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” Or in the words of IPMBA founding member Allan Howard, “being ‘good enough’ is never good enough.”

Truth 10: Leadership is an Affair of the Heart

“There’s no integrity and honor without heart. There’s no commitment and conviction without heart. There’s no hope and faith without heart. There’s no persistence and courage without heart. There’s no learning and risk taking without heart.” (p 136). If there is one characteristic IPMBA members have in common, it is that public safety cycling and the association is an affair of the heart. The mere fact that IPMBA is practically an all-volunteer organization speaks to the continued dedication, involvement, and commitment of our members, instructors, and Board of Directors. Those who share their passion and knowledge as Instructor-Trainers and conference instructors and presenters do so without recompense because they know the future of IPMBA and public safety cycling depends on them.

The book states that leaders should show that they care. IPMBA shows how it cares for the membership with everything it provides: certification programs, continuing education, professional development opportunities, varied resources, product discounts, and networking opportunities. The authors also advised leaders to “fall in love with what you do.” (p 144). The membership and the association both demonstrate a love for what they do – public safety is a profession which requires hard work and many sacrifices, and IPMBA exists for the sole purpose of improving the skills of those who love serving their communities.

The Truth About IPMBA

This article describes my view of how the “Ten Truths” correlate to public safety professionals and IPMBA. We are all leaders in our own right, regardless of whether or not we carry an official title. We may supervise a bike unit, oversee a shift, lead a department, or simply represent our profession on a bike in public. IPMBA certainly plays a significant role in developing its members, students, and practitioners into better leaders in the field of public safety cycling. The qualities of leadership discussed in The Truth about Leadership are promoted, exhibited, and expected by IPMBA. To quote motivational speaker and author Jim Rohn, “A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better.” What better way to summarize the aspirations and goals of IPMBA and all of its members?

Work Cited:

Kouzes, James M. and Barry Z. Posner, The Truth About Leadership: The No-Fads, Heart of the Matter Facts You Need to Know. Jossey-Bass, 2010.

Craig has enjoyed riding at his department for many years and was honored to assist with the development of the department’s bike unit. Impressed with the IPMBA Course he passed in 2009, he earned his instructor certification in 2010. Craig has enjoyed teaching bike skills throughout Illinois and once in Brazil. Craig was elected to the IPMBA Board in 2013 and is currently serving as Secretary. He can be reached at lepkowsc@cityoflakeforest.com.

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