“Tough times create strong men and women, strong men and women create easy times, easy times create weak men and women, weak men and women create tough times.” — Michael Hopf Those Who Remain
I know you’ve heard that saying probably hundreds of times by now.
Unlike previous tough times, it feels like we are trapped. The tough men and women are easily identifiable. So why are these men and women having such difficult times turning the metaphorical capsized ship back over?
My theory is that many in current administrations are those weak men and women who caused the tough times. They spent their entire careers not having challenges. They learned that to reach a position as an administrator they needed to play political games instead of learning how to do their jobs correctly. They did not take on roles that required conflict or difficult assignments, instead, they substituted real hands-on training and experience for online training and master’s degrees in some random field. They were admins their entire life, they took on an ideology of “fake it until you make it.” One key issue, they forgot to “make it.””
—Excerpt from Imposters on the Throne, Warriors in the Shadows —
In his book, Imposters on the Throne, Warriors in the Shadows, Turk Gallagher dives into many of the character traits and habits that are observed by those posing as leaders in one of the most dangerous professions in the world. Turk takes a deep look into tough times and those that got us there.
Turk is a 15 year officer with experience in many different assignments in law enforcement, including SWAT, K9, FTO, and investigations. Throughout his tenure he has experienced many of the highs and lows of the profession, namely, leadership. These experiences led to over a decade of battles with a former agency which put Turk through the metaphorical ringer and allowed him to “see the light” where leadership currently sits in the world of law enforcement.
After Turk woke up, he changed departments, started a podcast, and then authored this book to expose poor leadership while still providing a chance for the warriors in this profession to rise up and overcome all of the challenges they face every day by the imposters who attempt to keep them down.
In this brutally honest novel, Turk lays everything out on the line drawing from his experiences while working underneath poor leadership. Turk discusses many of the issues currently faced and felt throughout the nation concerning police leadership including “toxic managers,” “incompetent superiors,” and the “harsh realities of detrimental leadership among law enforcement,” (as reviewed online).
While outlining many of the common problematic characteristics of these imposter leaders, Turk gives firsthand, real-world examples of poor leadership in no uncertain terms, (the names may have changed but the stories tell the truth).
He does not stop with simply calling out poor leaders either, instead, through each chapter in the book, he not only details the things a good leader should avoid, but also attempts to light a fire within the reader to act and make a positive difference regardless of their rank or title. To do this, he provides motivational passages, words of wisdom, draws from a wide range of references, and challenges the reader at the end of every chapter to reflect upon themselves and their mission through positive reinforcements.
If you are a current leader within the ranks, someone looking to become a promoted leader, a person who has no problem leading without rank, or even if you don’t feel you have the experience to be a leader yet, (ironically, understanding this already puts you on the right path), but want to be a leader someday, Imposters on the Throne, Warriors in the Shadows is a great reference to help avoid all of the negative pitfalls many of todays law enforcement leaders allow themselves to participate in, and ultimately, the person they become.
Imposters on the Throne, Warriors in the Shadows can currently be found on Amazon in paperback, hardcover, and Kindle versions.
