Police leadership tends to align with one of the three most common leadership styles (1) Authoritative; (2) Transactional; and (3) Transformational. While there are other leadership styles, these three tend to be among the most common.
Authoritative leadership is a more traditional approach in which the leader sets high expectations for their staff and holds them accountable. This style of leadership focuses on providing clear structure, guidelines and direction to those under them.
Transactional leadership takes a more hands-on approach with its employees, focusing on developing performance-based rewards that are linked to specific results or goals. This is often used within police departments as it encourages officers to meet particular standards in order to receive recognition or other incentives for their efforts.