Campus Location
Dallas Campus (Online)
Date of Award
3-2026
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0009-0008-3704-5620
Document Type
Dissertation
Department
Organizational Leadership
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Committee Chair or Primary Advisor
Dr. Katherine Yeager
Second Committee Member or Secondary Advisor
Dr. Heather Rasmussen
Third Committee Member or Committee Reader
Dr. Glenda S. Horner
Abstract
Police officers in the United States experience severe burnout at rates exceeding other service professions, with approximately 75% experiencing burnout symptoms. Current interventions predominantly focus on individual coping mechanisms rather than addressing organizational and leadership factors contributing to burnout. This qualitative single-case study explored the perceptions and experiences of police leaders and officers concerning the utility of a personal management interview program to foster positive leadership behaviors as a resource-oriented preventive strategy against burnout in a midsize municipal police department in Texas. The study employed semistructured virtual interviews with eight participants: four police leaders and four police officers who had participated in monthly personal management interview meetings for at least 6 months. The researcher analyzed data using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis approach, generating nine major themes. Findings revealed that the personal management interview program successfully fostered positive leadership behaviors through enhanced two-way communication, strengthened relationships, reciprocal development, and improved organizational climate. Participants perceived clear connections between positive leadership practices and enhanced well-being through frequent communication, early detection, emotional disclosure, individualized support plans, and formal accountability. The program functioned as a multifaceted job resource helping participants manage job demands, particularly understaffing and internal organizational stressors. However, implementation inconsistencies emerged as a critical challenge. The study demonstrates that structured organizational interventions targeting positive leadership can effectively address police officer burnout when implemented consistently and supported by accountability mechanisms. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Arnold, Lance C., "Exploring the Personal Management Interview Program as a Burnout Prevention Strategy in Policing: A Qualitative Case Study" (2026). Digital Commons @ ACU, Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 994.
https://digitalcommons.acu.edu/etd/994
Included in
Industrial and Organizational Psychology Commons, Leadership Studies Commons, Public Administration Commons