FLAGLER COUNTY, Fla. – After more than 50 years of leadership experience spanning law enforcement, business ownership, higher education, and public service, Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly is sharing the lessons that shaped his career in his first book, Transformational Leadership: Inspiring Change, Empowering People & Creating Vision.
While becoming a published author is a milestone in itself, Staly says the true purpose behind the book is far more personal.
“I really did it to pay it forward,” Staly said. “I’ve had people throughout my career mentor me, coach me, support me, and invest in me. This book is my way of giving back and helping someone else become successful.”
Written over approximately 18 months during evenings and spare moments, the book is designed not only for executives and seasoned leaders but also for aspiring managers, entrepreneurs, public servants, and anyone seeking to positively influence others.
At its core, the book challenges a common misconception about leadership.
“Leadership is not about position,” Staly said. “It’s about influence, trust, vision, and elevating others.”
Throughout the book, Staly shares practical strategies drawn from decades of real-world experience. Readers will discover lessons on communication, accountability, organizational culture, decision-making, adaptability, and perhaps most importantly, developing future leaders.
One of the book’s central themes is empowering people rather than controlling them.
“If you encourage your people to take chances and think outside the box, your organization becomes successful,” Staly said.
He often describes leadership boundaries as “riverbanks”—defined by ethics, integrity, laws, and organizational policies. Within those boundaries, leaders should allow employees the freedom to innovate, learn, and grow.
“If it doesn’t work, that’s okay,” he said. “We learn from it and try something different.”
The philosophy has helped transform the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office into one of Florida’s most recognized law enforcement agencies. Under Staly’s leadership, the agency has achieved significant crime reductions, implemented cutting-edge technology, and earned national recognition for innovation and public safety initiatives.
But Staly believes the greatest accomplishments come not from the leader, but from the team.
“You can’t do it alone,” he said. “It takes a team.”
Drawing upon his experience working under five sheriffs before becoming one himself, Staly identifies a clear difference between successful and unsuccessful leaders.
“The successful leaders trusted their employees, invested in them, encouraged innovation, and developed future leaders,” he said. “The unsuccessful ones had one common denominator—their ego.”
That observation became one of the book’s most important lessons: leadership is about serving others, not serving yourself.
Staly also emphasizes the importance of learning from failure.
In the book’s dedication, he thanks not only the mentors who guided him but also acknowledges the value of life’s “hard knocks.” Those setbacks, he says, often become the most powerful teachers.
“Those are lessons as well,” Staly noted.
Another key takeaway readers will find throughout the book is the importance of making the right decisions rather than the convenient ones.
“What drives me crazy is when leaders make political decisions instead of the right decision,” he said. “If you make the right decision, the rest will take care of itself.”
His business background also influenced many of the principles outlined in the book. As a former business owner, Staly learned to evaluate every initiative through the lens of return on investment—a concept he believes applies equally to public service and private enterprise.
“I want to know what the return on investment is,” he explained. “Every leader should.”
For Staly, transformational leadership is ultimately about creating an environment where people are empowered to succeed, organizations continuously improve, and future leaders are developed.
With Transformational Leadership, he hopes readers will discover practical tools, timeless principles, and the confidence to lead with purpose.
“I’ve got 51 years of experience now,” Staly said. “Maybe I can help somebody else be successful.”
Dr. Joe Saviak, professor, attorney, consultant, author, and senior executive, whose column Leadership Lessons with Dr. Saviak, features Staly as a transformative leader, recommends Transformational Leadership: Inspiring Change, Empowering People & Creating Vision as a must read.
“This is the definitive book to read to optimize your opportunities for success as a leader. The lessons involve irrefutable truth about what works in leadership. Every single time for over five decades that Sheriff Rick Staly has been placed into a position of leadership, incredible results followed. Read this book and begin to apply his strategies and principles and you will see your impact as a leader grow exponentially,” said Saviak.
The book is available through Amazon and serves as both a leadership guide and a reflection of the values that have shaped one of Florida’s most respected law enforcement leaders.
