Second Edition
The Essentials of
LEADERSHIP
in Government
UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS
By Darryl Plecas, Colette Squires & Len Garis
,About the Authors
Darryl Plecas, University of the Fraser Valley
Darryl Plecas is Professor Emeritus, University of the Fraser Valley. Prior to his retirement he
served as the RCMP Senior University Research Chair and Director of the Centre for Public
Safety and Criminal Justice Research in the university’s School of Criminology and Criminal
Justice. While he continues to teach, research, and write on a range of public safety issues, his
most recent focus is on improving the effectiveness of government. A second-term MLA for
Abbotsford South, he is Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for British Columbia.
Colette Squires, Justice Institute of BC
Colette Squires is a Sessional Faculty member at the Justice Institute of BC in the Centre for
Conflict Resolution, and an Instructor in Criminology for the Sociology Department at Trinity
Western University. A published writer, Colette is also an organizational consultant and
mediator working with government and the not-for-profit sector, providing training, conflict
resolution services, research and proposal writing, organizational development, program
design, and evaluation. In 2016 she was part of the design team for the City of Surrey’s new
Public Safety Strategy, and she continues to work with a variety of organizations to foster
community well-being, and excellence in organizational strength and leadership.
Len Garis, University of the Fraser Valley
The Fire Chief for the City of Surrey, Len Garis is also Adjunct Professor in the School of
Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.
He also serves as an Associate to the university’s Centre for Social Research, as an Affiliated
Research Faculty at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, and as a faculty member of
the Institute of Canadian Urban Research Studies at Simon Fraser University. His most current
work is focused on addressing public safety challenges through evidence-based decision making
and innovation. His most recent book with Darryl Plecas, Paul Maxim, and Mona Davis, The
Right Decision: Evidence-based Decision Making for Government Professionals, is the recipient of
the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators 2016 Professional Development Award
and is the third in a series of books on evidence-based decision making.
This book has been printed on forest-free Sugar Sheet™.
Produced with the waste of sugar cane, Sugar Sheet™ reduces
deforestation and greenhouse gas. It looks, performs,
recycles, and costs the same as traditional paper, all with a
low environmental impact.
,The Essentials of
LEADERSHIP
in Government
UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS
By
Darryl Plecas
Colette Squires
Len Garis
, Copyright © 2018 City of Surrey, Len Garis
Second edition. All rights reserved.
This work may not be reproduced in whole, or in part, by photocopy or by other means,
without the permission of the authors. For more information about this book or for
permission to reproduce selections of this book, please contact Len Garis, City of Surrey, at
SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY & CENTRE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY &
CRIMINAL JUSTICE CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESEARCH
For additional public safety publications, please visit http://cjr.ufv.ca
The Essentials of
LEADERSHIP
in Government
UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS
By Darryl Plecas, Colette Squires & Len Garis
,About the Authors
Darryl Plecas, University of the Fraser Valley
Darryl Plecas is Professor Emeritus, University of the Fraser Valley. Prior to his retirement he
served as the RCMP Senior University Research Chair and Director of the Centre for Public
Safety and Criminal Justice Research in the university’s School of Criminology and Criminal
Justice. While he continues to teach, research, and write on a range of public safety issues, his
most recent focus is on improving the effectiveness of government. A second-term MLA for
Abbotsford South, he is Speaker of the Legislative Assembly for British Columbia.
Colette Squires, Justice Institute of BC
Colette Squires is a Sessional Faculty member at the Justice Institute of BC in the Centre for
Conflict Resolution, and an Instructor in Criminology for the Sociology Department at Trinity
Western University. A published writer, Colette is also an organizational consultant and
mediator working with government and the not-for-profit sector, providing training, conflict
resolution services, research and proposal writing, organizational development, program
design, and evaluation. In 2016 she was part of the design team for the City of Surrey’s new
Public Safety Strategy, and she continues to work with a variety of organizations to foster
community well-being, and excellence in organizational strength and leadership.
Len Garis, University of the Fraser Valley
The Fire Chief for the City of Surrey, Len Garis is also Adjunct Professor in the School of
Criminology and Criminal Justice at the University of the Fraser Valley in British Columbia.
He also serves as an Associate to the university’s Centre for Social Research, as an Affiliated
Research Faculty at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, and as a faculty member of
the Institute of Canadian Urban Research Studies at Simon Fraser University. His most current
work is focused on addressing public safety challenges through evidence-based decision making
and innovation. His most recent book with Darryl Plecas, Paul Maxim, and Mona Davis, The
Right Decision: Evidence-based Decision Making for Government Professionals, is the recipient of
the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators 2016 Professional Development Award
and is the third in a series of books on evidence-based decision making.
This book has been printed on forest-free Sugar Sheet™.
Produced with the waste of sugar cane, Sugar Sheet™ reduces
deforestation and greenhouse gas. It looks, performs,
recycles, and costs the same as traditional paper, all with a
low environmental impact.
,The Essentials of
LEADERSHIP
in Government
UNDERSTANDING THE BASICS
By
Darryl Plecas
Colette Squires
Len Garis
, Copyright © 2018 City of Surrey, Len Garis
Second edition. All rights reserved.
This work may not be reproduced in whole, or in part, by photocopy or by other means,
without the permission of the authors. For more information about this book or for
permission to reproduce selections of this book, please contact Len Garis, City of Surrey, at
SCHOOL OF CRIMINOLOGY & CENTRE FOR PUBLIC SAFETY &
CRIMINAL JUSTICE CRIMINAL JUSTICE RESEARCH
For additional public safety publications, please visit http://cjr.ufv.ca
