The City of Southlake is committed to developing the next generation of leaders. Over the last six months, 15 Public Safety employees participated in our first DPS Leadership Academy. The course focused on ways to strengthen the skills of class participants from the Police and Fire departments.
Employees who attended the inaugural leadership academy heard from experts who spoke on the topics of Pride and Ownership, Vision and Direction, Leadership and Communication Skills, Customer Service, Strategic Thinking, Employee Relations and Generational Differences, Employee Engagement and Creating the Southlake Culture. Participants also learned about the importance of developing quality leadership and management including how to manage Southlake’s organizational philosophy, culture and values.
One of the keynote speakers, Lewisville Fire Chief Rick Lasky, talked about the importance of really understanding your organizations mission and vision and applying it to everything you do. Sergeant Luna said, “I think that is really an important message and one that encourages individuals to take pride and ownership in their profession.”
Sgt. Luna added, “The course also reinforced the importance of communicating and working together as a team not only within the police department but with the fire department as well especially since we work so closely together and have similar goals.”
During breakout sessions participants discussed how to build on the organizations strengths and how to best mentor and lead the next generation coming up through the ranks. Sgt. Luna said, “That is really key and it’s important to help the next generation of leaders get started on the right track.”
Fire Battalion Chief Trey Porter said the course was very informative and there were many takeaways from the panel of experts in the leadership academy. B.C. Porter said, “One of the biggest takeaways for me was hearing the panel of experts talk about the best practices in leading a diverse group of individuals; and the ability to recognize the different types of generations and generational gaps. Everyone brings different life lessons and experiences to the table — and being able to master and incorporate that knowledge will help me become a better leader.”
The participants and graduates of the DPS Leadership Academy were:
This exciting new program was made possible by a very generous anonymous donation facilitated SDCA.