CHIEF LEADERSHIP
ROADMAP
WELCOME TO THE CHIEF LEADERSHIP ROADMAP
The Chief Leadership Roadmap is a practical leadership development resource designed to support First Nations police leaders throughout their professional journey—from aspiring and emerging leaders preparing for executive roles, to newly appointed Chiefs navigating their transition, and experienced Chiefs committed to continuous growth. It also serves as a valuable resource for Police Boards and other First Nations governance partners by promoting a shared understanding of the Chief’s executive leadership role, fostering strong governance relationships, and supporting effective collaboration in the delivery of community-centred policing.
Rather than prescribing a single path, the Roadmap provides a flexible framework that helps leaders understand the many dimensions of the Chief’s role, assess their leadership competencies, identify areas for development, and access relevant learning resources, tools, and guidance when they need them most.
Grounded in the realities of First Nations policing, the Roadmap recognizes that effective leadership extends beyond operational policing. It embraces strategic leadership, governance, community relationships, Indigenous perspectives, organizational excellence, and personal leadership development, and more. By encouraging reflection, lifelong learning, and the sharing of knowledge among First Nations police leaders, the Roadmap helps strengthen individual leaders, supports successful leadership transitions, and contributes to building resilient and effective First Nations police services for future generations.
The Roadmap was developed through extensive consultation with experienced First Nations Chiefs of Police, emerging leaders, First Nations police governance representatives, and leadership development professionals. Their collective knowledge and lived experience have helped ensure that the framework reflects both the executive responsibilities of the Chief of Police and the governance expectations that support accountable, community-centered policing.
The Roadmap is organized into three complementary sections:
01
CHIEF'S LEADERSHIP ROLE FRAMEWORK
Understand the Role
Explore the executive role and responsibilities of a First Nations Chief of Police. This section provides a practical overview of the leadership functions, responsibilities, and relationships that Chiefs navigate in serving their police service and community.
02
LEADERSHIP CAPABILITY FRAMEWORK
Assess your Leadership
Effective Chiefs draw upon a diverse range of leadership capabilities throughout their careers. This section introduces the personal, professional, technical, and cultural leadership capabilities that contribute to executive leadership success.
03
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PATHWAY
Plan your Professional Growth
Leadership is a lifelong journey. This section encourages you to build a personalized development pathway by exploring opportunities for academic learning, mentorship and coaching, and executive leadership development.
Making the Most of the Roadmap
The Chief Leadership Roadmap is intended to be explored at your own pace. As you work through each section, we encourage you to:
a) Read and explore the information provided.
b) Reflect on how the content relates to your own leadership journey — consider your current strengths and areas you would like to develop.
c) Consider reflecting on self-reflection questions provided throughout the Roadmap available in each of the three sections.
d) Participate in online discussion forums by sharing your experiences, asking questions, and learning from others.
e) Consider completing the Leadership Profile & Personal Development Action Plan to structure your pathway forward.
f) Revisit sections of the Roadmap as your leadership responsibilities and experience evolve.
There is no single path to becoming an exceptional Chief of Police. Every leader brings unique experiences, strengths, and perspectives to the role. The purpose of the Roadmap is not to evaluate your leadership, but to support your ongoing learning and thoughtful reflection.
Recommended Approach:
Review
Assess
Self-REFLECT
Using this Tool
With this tool, emerging First Nations leaders have an opportunity to reflect on their readiness and preparation for executive leadership, while new and active Chiefs reflect on applying those competencies in practice, building relationships, and leading their organization through transition. Both perspectives are grounded in the same Chief’s Leadership Role Framework and are intended to support continuous growth throughout a leader’s career.
This tool is designed to be used by emerging First Nations leaders, by active and new Chiefs of Police and by Board and Commission members who want to learn about the role of the Chief. It is expected that both emerging leaders and chiefs will potentially use this tool for their growth and development. For this purpose, it is recommended for these two groups to review and study this tool and then consider the self-reflections questions that are provided below for each group.
Recommended Steps:
Review
Assess
Self-REFLECT
Chief’s Leadership Role Framework
01
UNDERSTAND THE ROLE
This framework reflects the collective executive leadership responsibilities generally expected of First Nations Chiefs of Police. Developed from a police governance perspective, it is intended to serve as a practical leadership reference rather than an official job description. This framework can be used by First Nations police leaders and First Nations police governance bodies. It provides the 5 core leadership functions and a list of stakeholder relationships of a First Nations Chief of Police.
THE 5 CORE GENERAL FUNCTIONS ARE:
01
PLANNING
02
Organizing
03
Directing
04
Controlling
05
Evaluation
STAKEHOLDER RELATIONSHIPS
Chiefs will interact with the following groups / areas. Click on the graphic to see the list.
Management and Key Stakeholders
5 Distinct Functions
01
Planning
Set direction
Setting goals, objectives, performance metrics and resources required in the current legislative and fiscal environment.
- Legislation – review the legislative base (Police Act), criminal codes, various provincial laws, First Nations laws and by-laws
- Police Governance Terms of Reference – Board of police commissioners (in Québec: Justice Committees)
- Strategic Planning – in collaboration with Board/Commission (5-year)
- Annual Operation Plan – Objectives, timing and resources required
- Empower planning – officers and civilian staff, performance benchmarks
02
Organizing
Build capacity
Providing human and non-human resources to the Police Service.
- Organizational Chart of Sworn and Civilian Members, with Job descriptions that have clear lines of authority and communication
- Recruitment and retention of sworn and civilian staff
- Policies and Procedures Manuals for sworn officers
- Policy and procedures for finance, HR management, procurement and office management
03
Directing
Lead operations
Daily Operations
- Scheduling – personal and organizational tasks and assignments, including meetings with stakeholders
- Shift deployment of sworn officers
- Daily administration oversight – Finance, Office Management, Human Resource, Procurement
- Operations and Maintenance staff – building and yard maintenance
- Oversight of cases and ongoing investigations
04
Controlling
Monitor performance
Monitoring performance against standards, correcting if necessary.
- Officer and staff performance against Operations Plan and daily assignments
- Expenditures against budget: monthly, quarterly, annually
- Quality of facility operation against O&M plan and resources
- Oversight of communication strategy and stakeholder relationships
05
Evaluation
Assess results
Organizational performance assessment, fiscal accountability and personal performance assessment.
- Reports to the Board on organization effectiveness and efficiency
- Reporting to the Funding agencies (quarterly reports prepared by the financial officer, annual reports and annual audits)
- Performance assessment of sworn officers and civilian members
- Assessing Quality of relationships with First Nations and stakeholders
- Annual performance assessment of Chief by the Board