Date of Award

2025

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

Jonathan Greenberg

Second Advisor

George Giokaris

Third Advisor

Michael Goold

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative research was to explore how police sergeants effectively lead their police officers in managing stress post-COVID-19 using the leadership traits of collective interest, moral purpose, personal temperament, and resilience (Fast, 2021).

Methodology: This phenomenological qualitative research approach focused on the lived experiences of police sergeants and aimed to explain how they reduce stress among police officers. Participants were selected using purposive and convenience sampling. Semistructured interviews were conducted with police sergeants from the Los Angeles Police Department. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and coded. Themes naturally emerged and were compared across participants to identify patterns, similarities, and differences. Data triangulation was applied through analysis of organizational documents and artifacts.

Findings: Findings from the study indicated that supervisors play a critical role in reducing officer stress through supportive leadership rooted in collective interest, moral purpose, personal temperament, and resilience. Unexpected findings highlighted the importance of humor, calm demeanor, empathetic leadership, showing vulnerability, and the critical role of training as coping mechanisms and mitigating officer anxiety.

Conclusions: Police sergeants play significant roles in supporting officers’ stress management in a post-COVID-19 environment. Rooted in the key traits of collective interest, moral purpose, personal temperament, and resilience, the study explains why these elements shapes the supervisory approach to managing officers’ well-being.

Recommendations: Future research should investigate how to develop and incorporate resilience, emotional intelligence, empathy, and long-term tolerance in supervisors’ training. Research must be dedicated to understanding the stress levels of civilians working in a law enforcement environment. Future research must include urban and rural settings and large and small departments to gain variance and different perspectives on how police sergeants help subordinates manage stress in the post-COVID-19 environment. Future research should compare how police lieutenants, captains, commanders, deputy chiefs, assistant chiefs, police chiefs, and police commissioners effectively assist their subordinates in managing stress. Law enforcement organizations must incorporate mental illness awareness training for sworn officers at basic levels of training, like the police academy and probationary supervisor training. Future research should replicate this study in the fire service because firefighters respond to emergencies like police officers do.

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