Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Leadership Development In Corrections

a black woman sitting on a concrete block alongside a street

Why Leadership Development in Corrections?

NIC believes it takes visionary leaders to improve correctional practices and outcomes. We believe leadership development is a process that requires dedicated effort. We believe effective leadership development programs align with agency operational and strategic needs.

To that end, NIC developed Correctional Leadership Competencies for the 21st Century, a compendium of the characteristics that result in the best performance of correctional executives, senior level leaders, managers and supervisors. For each leadership profile, key skills, knowledge, and attributes of effective and successful leaders are linked to a set of specific behaviors.

The Academy Division’s programmatic offerings are designed using NIC’s competency model targeted to four profiles, which are research based in content and delivery modes.

We are pleased to offer the following programs to meet your agency's needs:

First Line Supervisors

Essential Skills for New Supervisors

Mid-Level Managers

Management Development for the Future (MDF) Series
Leadership Development for Mid-Level Managers Virtual Instructor Led (VILT) Series

Senior Level Leaders

Correctional Leadership Development (CLD) Series

Executives

Executive Excellence

Leadership Organizational Development

Leadership Development Partnership Initiative

Click on the image below to watch a video about Patti Wachtendorf discuss her story about becoming the first female warden of Iowa's toughest prison.