The CopDoc Podcast: Aiming for Excellence in Leadership

Dr. Steve Morreale - Host - TheCopDoc Podcast

Visit our website: https://www.copdocpodcast.com The CopDoc Podcast delves into police leadership and innovation. The focus is on aiming for excellence in the delivery of police services across the globe. Dr. Steve Morreale is a retired law enforcement practitioner, a pracademic, turned academic, and scholar from Worcester State University.  Steve is the Program Director for LIFTE, Command College - The Leadership Institute for Tomorrow's Executives at Liberty University. Steve shares ideas and talks with thought leaders in policing, academia, community leaders, and other related government agencies. You'll find Interviews with thought leaders drive the discussion to improve police services and community relationships.Happy to report that The CopDoc Podcast is listed as #4 in the 10 Best Worcester Podcasts!  https://podcast.feedspot.com/worcester_podcasts/ 

  1. May 26

    Chief Tom Wetzel - University Circle, OH Police

    The CopDoc Podcast - Season 10 - Episode 170 EPISODE SUMMARY What happens when a police chief walks into his first department meeting and tells the staff, "I'm here to serve you — not the other way around"? For Chief Tom Wetzel of the University Circle Police Department in Cleveland, Ohio, that statement was not a slogan. It was a commitment he has carried through three decades of policing, from dispatcher to lieutenant to chief. In this conversation, Tom shares a leadership philosophy built on servant leadership, dignity, and what he calls the "sweet spot" between accountability and motivation. He is direct about what he has seen: too many police departments creating more stress for their officers inside the building than on the streets. The politics, the gossip, the nitpicking, the heavy-handed discipline — it follows officers home, sits with them at the dinner table, and follows them to bed. He believes that is not just a morale problem. It is a leadership problem, and it is fixable. Tom also discusses his book, A Cop and a Coffee Cup, a short, practical blueprint for police supervisors and leaders. The concept is simple: imagine a wise, seasoned officer sitting across the table from a young leader, with one cup of coffee and one shot to pass on what matters most. That is the book. It covers how to develop inspired and accountable officers, how to handle discipline with grace and discretion, and why the word "clemency" belongs in every chief's vocabulary. If you lead people in blue — or aspire to — this episode will give you a great deal to think about. Hey there! Send us a message. Who else should we be talking to? What topics are important? Use FanMail to connect! Let us know! Contact us: copdoc.podcast@gmail.com  Website: www.copdocpodcast.com If you'd like to arrange for facilitated training, or consulting, or talk about steps you might take to improve your leadership and help in your quest for promotion, contact Steve at stephen.morreale@gmail.com

    58 min

  2. Apr 29

    Dr. Heather Glogolich, Captain, NJ Instititue of Technology Police

    The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 169 EPISODE SUMMARY: Steve Morreale sits down with Captain Dr. Heather Glogolich of the NJIT Police Department in Newark, New Jersey, for a candid, deeply personal, and professionally rich conversation about what it means to lead in policing today. Heather brings more than 22 years of law enforcement experience, an EdD focusing on domestic violence and higher education, and a hard-won perspective on what it takes not just to survive in a male-dominated profession, but to thrive in it and bring others along. Heather speaks openly about her journey from the Morris County Sheriff's Office to patrol officer, lieutenant, and now captain, including having to sue her agency to secure a promotion she had earned. Rather than letting that experience define her bitterness, she channeled it into a commitment to mentorship and transformational leadership. Her story is one of accountability, growth, and choosing to lead with love, even when the institution made that difficult. The conversation ranges widely, from the real reasons women remain underrepresented in law enforcement leadership, to the operational risks of empathy, to why she believes the first day on the job should include leadership training. Heather challenges comfortable assumptions, pushes back thoughtfully on conventional DEI narratives, and delivers a message that will resonate with anyone trying to grow as a leader, regardless of rank, gender, or years on the job. KEY TOPICS DISCUSSED: How Heather's path from the Morris County Sheriff's Office to NJIT shaped her leadership philosophyWomen in policing leadership, the 30x30 initiative, and the real reasons representation remains lowBalancing being a great cop and a great parent without sacrificing eitherHer personal experience as a survivor of domestic violence and how that shaped her doctoral researchThe difference between sympathy and empathy, and why empathetic policing carries operational riskSuing her agency to earn a promotion and what she did with the chip on her shoulderCulture change within your sphere of control when you cannot change the whole organization"Lead with love," servant leadership, and transformational leadership in practiceWhy the first day on the job should include leadership trainingHow to mentor others while still seeking mentorship yourself, including her work with Simon Sinek's curve.orgHey there! Send us a message. Who else should we be talking to? What topics are important? Use FanMail to connect! Let us know! Contact us: copdoc.podcast@gmail.com  Website: www.copdocpodcast.com If you'd like to arrange for facilitated training, or consulting, or talk about steps you might take to improve your leadership and help in your quest for promotion, contact Steve at stephen.morreale@gmail.com

    48 min

  3. Apr 15

    From Dirt Road to Doctorate: Leadership Lessons from Chief Lance Arnold, Broken Arrow Police, OK

    The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 168 What does it take to go from a dirt road in Northeast Texas to leading one of the most progressive police departments in the country? In this episode of The CopDoc Podcast, Dr. Steve Morreale sits down with Dr. Lance Arnold, Chief of Police in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma. Lance calls his journey "dirt road to doctorate," and that phrase captures something essential about who he is: a leader who never lost sight of where he came from, even as his thinking about leadership grew more sophisticated, more deliberate, and more people-centered with every passing year. Lance spent 20 years at the Norman, Oklahoma Police Department before taking his first chief's job in Weatherford, Texas, and then moving to Broken Arrow. Along the way, he earned an Ed.D. in organizational leadership and built systems for developing leaders from the inside out. He arrived at a deceptively simple conviction: the job of a leader is to create conditions for people to flourish. Not just survive. Not just get to retirement unbroken. Flourish. This conversation is one of the most substantive explorations of police leadership development you will find anywhere. Lance and Steve dig into why leadership training rarely sticks when the culture does not change around it, why most supervisors manage fires instead of preventing them, and why "we tried that in 1995, and it didn't work" may be the most dangerous sentence in policing. Lance is direct about his own early failures, honest about what it took to grow, and clear-eyed about the gap between what most agencies say they value and what they actually build systems to support. If you are a leader at any level who has ever felt like you were swimming against the tide, this one is for you. Hey there! Send us a message. Who else should we be talking to? What topics are important? Use FanMail to connect! Let us know! Contact us: copdoc.podcast@gmail.com  Website: www.copdocpodcast.com If you'd like to arrange for facilitated training, or consulting, or talk about steps you might take to improve your leadership and help in your quest for promotion, contact Steve at stephen.morreale@gmail.com

    1h 1m

  4. Mar 3

    "Standing in the Gap: Gina Hawkins on Culture, Women in Policing, and What Standards Really Mean"

    The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 167 What does it take to walk into four different agencies, each with its own culture and expectations, and lead effectively in all of them? Gina Hawkins has done exactly that — from the Atlanta Police Department where she came of age as a young officer, to Sandy Springs, Clayton County, Fayetteville, North Carolina, and now Cobb County's Sheriff's Office. Along the way she has learned that culture doesn't start inside the building. It starts with the community that either demands excellence or tolerates mediocrity. In this conversation, Gina shares the hard lessons she picked up at each stop — managing stress that nearly broke her health, losing custody of her daughter the weekend the moving truck arrived as she headed to take command in Fayetteville, and still walking into that organization and pouring herself into the work. She talks about what it means to develop leaders, why women belong in policing at every level, and why the absence of universal standards for 18,000 law enforcement agencies is one of the most pressing problems in the profession. This episode is candid, personal, and practical. Gina Hawkins doesn't give you theory — she gives you earned wisdom. KEY TOPICS DISCUSSED: How culture is shaped by the community before it is ever shaped by the chiefLeading through personal crisis while commanding a new organizationWhat it's like to be the outsider hired over the heads of internal candidatesThe importance of women in policing and Cobb County's annual Women's SummitHer experience on the President's Commission on Law Enforcement and why the lack of universal standards remains a critical gapThe role of transparency, accountability, and body cameras in rebuilding public trustWhat retirement looks like when you can't stop servingHey there! Send us a message. Who else should we be talking to? What topics are important? Use FanMail to connect! Let us know! Contact us: copdoc.podcast@gmail.com  Website: www.copdocpodcast.com If you'd like to arrange for facilitated training, or consulting, or talk about steps you might take to improve your leadership and help in your quest for promotion, contact Steve at stephen.morreale@gmail.com

    55 min

  5. Feb 10

    Cyndee Woolley - C2 Communications

    Season 9 - Episode 166 - The CopDoc Podcast Hey there! Send us a message. Who else should we be talking to? What topics are important? Use FanMail to connect! Let us know! Contact us: copdoc.podcast@gmail.com  Website: www.copdocpodcast.com If you'd like to arrange for facilitated training, or consulting, or talk about steps you might take to improve your leadership and help in your quest for promotion, contact Steve at stephen.morreale@gmail.com

    53 min

  6. Feb 1

    Chief Jeremy Story: Building Leaders, Telling Stories, and Changing Policing in Las Cruces, New Mexico

    Season 9 - Episode 166 - The CopDoc Podcast What does it take to lead a police department through tragedy, transformation, and tremendous change? Chief Jeremy Story of the Las Cruces Police Department in New Mexico knows firsthand. A Marine Corps veteran who served in Iraq, Jeremy joined policing in 2007 after choosing family over a military career. He rose through the ranks touching nearly every division—SWAT commander, K-9 handler, gang unit sergeant, training director, and deputy chief—before becoming chief at a younger age than he expected. In this powerful conversation, Chief Story talks about: Leadership That Teaches: How he runs a command staff book club (yes, really) and why teaching is a critical part of being a chief The Toughest Year: Losing the department's first officer in the line of duty in 96 years, then losing their first officer to suicide two months later—and what they learned about officer wellness Evidence-Based Policing: Implementing stratified policing to make proactive work as normal as answering 911 calls Training Investment: Why he sent a patrol officer to a three-week leadership course and how the department nearly doubled the state's required academy hours Telling the Story: Speaking to hostile crowds, correcting false narratives, and why chiefs must educate the public Humility & Vulnerability: Sharing his biggest mistake with academy recruits and why admitting failures builds trust Preparing the Next Generation: How Las Cruces PD rotates officers through specialized units for a month to prepare them for promotion Civilianization Done Right: Using civilians for everything that doesn't require a badge—and why their legal advisor and former news anchor PIO are game-changers Chief Story is direct, thoughtful, and unafraid to challenge the status quo. He's a thought leader who believes the majority is rational—if you give them the right information. He's building something special in the New Mexico desert. Whether you're a new supervisor, a seasoned chief, or someone considering a career in law enforcement, this episode offers invaluable lessons on leadership, resilience, and what it really takes to be a police chief in 2026. Hey there! Send us a message. Who else should we be talking to? What topics are important? Use FanMail to connect! Let us know! Contact us: copdoc.podcast@gmail.com  Website: www.copdocpodcast.com If you'd like to arrange for facilitated training, or consulting, or talk about steps you might take to improve your leadership and help in your quest for promotion, contact Steve at stephen.morreale@gmail.com

    59 min

  7. 12/30/2025

    Chief Kathy Lester, Sacramento Police

    The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 165 There's a consistent problem in American law enforcement that rarely makes headlines but shapes everything: what we do with people when they get promoted to lieutenant. Traditionally, they get a rank, a schedule, sometimes a handshake, and they're told to run the night shift. Nobody teaches them they've fundamentally changed jobs. They still think like a sergeant, which makes sense. They were excellent sergeants. So they become, as researcher Steve Morreale puts it, "a super-sergeant, not a lieutenant." Sacramento Police Chief Kathy Lester identifies this gap as one of the most important leverage points for changing police culture. It's not the strategy. It's not the programs. It's the person standing between upper management and line-level officers. That's where culture actually shifts or stalls. When Lester got promoted to lieutenant, the model was basic: "Congratulations. You're going to graveyard. You've got a brand new set of patrol teams. Nobody has more than three or four years experience. Here are the keys to the city. Try not to break it." She had one lifeline: she could call the previous lieutenant for emergency numbers if something went sideways. That was the leadership development program. Now as chief, Lester has completely reimagined lieutenant development. She has roughly twenty lieutenants at the Sacramento Police Department. She doesn't just develop captains and deputy chiefs. She spends significant time with lieutenants because they talk to sergeants every single day, and sergeants have the most influence over how officers behave. Here's what she does differently: lieutenants ride with her for a week at a time. They go to every event. They attend city council meetings, press conferences, community meetings. They see behind the curtain of what executive leadership actually manages. They understand why decisions get made the way they do. They become ambassadors who can explain departmental direction to their sergeants and officers. The first year, people wondered if this transparency was authentic. Four years in, lieutenants bring real problems to leadership expecting real solutions. They've seen that the chief actually listens and acts. That changes everything about how they lead underneath them. Lester is also clear that this isn't about being soft. When people are elevated to captain, she looks for who will be a future chief. She's assessing leadership capacity, not popularity. The distinction matters. She's developing people who understand the department's direction, can navigate difficult situations, and model professional behavior. Some of that comes from state-required training. More of it comes from internal programs built by leaders who are passionate about seeing people succeed in this profession. The lieutenant development gap exists in most departments. It creates a vacuum where middle managers either become loyal implementers of whatever came before, or they try to be mini-chiefs without the authority or context. Lester solved it by making lieutenants visible partners in leadership. They see the actual job. They understand the constraints. They build relationships with senior leaders. And they take that back to their sergeants and officers. That's how culture changes, not through mandates from above, but through lieutenants who genuinely understand the "why" and can articulate it to people doing the actual work. Hey there! Send us a message. Who else should we be talking to? What topics are important? Use FanMail to connect! Let us know! Contact us: copdoc.podcast@gmail.com  Website: www.copdocpodcast.com If you'd like to arrange for facilitated training, or consulting, or talk about steps you might take to improve your leadership and help in your quest for promotion, contact Steve at stephen.morreale@gmail.com

    57 min

  8. 12/04/2025

    Joanne Sweeney on AI - Host of AI6 Podcast

    The CopDoc Podcast - Season 9 - Episode 164 AI Advocate: Joanne Sweeney on Leadership in the Age of Artificial Intelligence This week on The CopDoc Podcast, we're back with Joanne Sweeney from Galway, Ireland, reconnecting for our second conversation about one of the most transformative forces in modern organizations: artificial intelligence. She is the host of AI6 Podcast.  About AI in six minutes. What started as curiosity three years ago when Sam Altman introduced ChatGPT has evolved into a mission to help government and public sector leaders understand that AI isn't a threat—it's an enabler of their best work. Joanne didn't arrive here as a true believer. Like many of us, she was skeptical. Early versions of ChatGPT frustrated her. She walked away. But she came back. And what she discovered changed everything—for her business, her career trajectory, and now for the thousands of leaders she's training worldwide. Why This Episode Matters Now We recorded this conversation as 2025 comes to a close, a moment when organizations across policing, government, and the public sector are finally asking serious questions about AI adoption. But many are approaching it wrong—with fear, with uncertainty, with paralysis. Joanne's message is direct: you're out of time for skepticism. The question isn't whether to use AI. It's whether you'll lead the adoption or get left behind. This isn't about hype. This is about the future of leadership itself. From Survivor to Pioneer: How Joanne went from teaching communications and marketing for 20 years to becoming one of the most sought-after AI literacy trainers in the public sector. When your entire skill set gets threatened, you have three choices. She made the right one. The Real Power of Conversational AI: Most people use AI like a search engine—ask a question, get an answer. That's a massive miss. Joanne shares how she thinks with AI, how she uses it to organize her stream of consciousness, how she trains custom assistants that become genuine thought partners. The difference? Productivity multiplies. The Police Budget Scenario: Steve walks through a practical example every police chief faces: walking out of a meeting empty-handed after requesting resources. Instead of stewing about it, what if you dictated to your AI assistant in the parking lot? "Here's what happened. Here's the pushback. Find me similar agencies that succeeded. What are my counter-arguments for next time?" You'd have answers in minutes. Why Policy Matters More Than Technology: Here's what surprises Joanne most: three years into the AI revolution, most organizations still don't have policies. Shadow AI is real. People are using these tools without permission, on their own devices, for work. Joanne breaks down what good AI policy actually requires—and it's simpler than most leaders think. The Agentic Shift Is Here: ChatGPT has agentics. Claude has skills. The technology is moving from tools you command to agents that work independently on your behalf. This happened faster than anyone predicted. Organizations still learning spreadsheet-level AI use have no idea what's coming. The Nefarious Use No One Wants to Talk About: Steve pushes hard on this. Our voices are out there on podcasts. They can be cloned. Deepfakes are evolving. How will the police prove fraud took place? Are departments ready? Spoiler: they're not. But this is coming faster than we think. Joanne references the first documented agentic AI attack (documented by Anthropic/Claude), where 80-90% of the attack was executed by AI agents with only 10-20% human involvement across multiple organizations simultaneously. Custom AI Assistants as Your Second Brain: Joanne walks through the game-changer: training your own AI assistant with your knowledge, your work, your approach. She shows real re Hey there! Send us a message. Who else should we be talking to? What topics are important? Use FanMail to connect! Let us know! Contact us: copdoc.podcast@gmail.com  Website: www.copdocpodcast.com If you'd like to arrange for facilitated training, or consulting, or talk about steps you might take to improve your leadership and help in your quest for promotion, contact Steve at stephen.morreale@gmail.com

    57 min
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4.5
out of 5
22 Ratings

About

Visit our website: https://www.copdocpodcast.com The CopDoc Podcast delves into police leadership and innovation. The focus is on aiming for excellence in the delivery of police services across the globe. Dr. Steve Morreale is a retired law enforcement practitioner, a pracademic, turned academic, and scholar from Worcester State University.  Steve is the Program Director for LIFTE, Command College - The Leadership Institute for Tomorrow's Executives at Liberty University. Steve shares ideas and talks with thought leaders in policing, academia, community leaders, and other related government agencies. You'll find Interviews with thought leaders drive the discussion to improve police services and community relationships.Happy to report that The CopDoc Podcast is listed as #4 in the 10 Best Worcester Podcasts!  https://podcast.feedspot.com/worcester_podcasts/ 

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