About Your Guide
Jerin Falcon - Federal Leadership Experience
Why a Retired Federal Agent Created the Federal Managers Survival Guide
From Rookie Agent to Senior Executive
My name is Jerin Falcon. I retired from federal law enforcement in November 2024 after 23 years of federal service and 27 years total in law enforcement. For over half of my career, I was a federal supervisor and manager, responsible for leading teams across some of the most challenging law enforcement operations in Indian Country.
I didn't start out knowing how to manage people. Like most federal employees, I was promoted because I was good at my job as an individual contributor. Nobody handed me a "Federal Management Handbook." I had to figure it out through trial, error, and a lot of hard-won experience.
That's exactly why I created the Federal Managers Survival Guide.
This isn't another corporate leadership book written by consultants who've never managed a single federal employee. This is real-world guidance from someone who spent over a decade learning what actually works in the unique environment of federal service.
The Numbers Tell the Story
Over the course of my career, I didn't just supervise. I led operations across multiple states and dozens of tribal communities, managing everything from high-stakes investigations to large-scale organizational change.
The Real Experience Behind the Advice
Over the course of my career, I served in leadership roles including Deputy Associate Director of the BIA's Division of Drug Enforcement, Deputy Associate Director of Field Operations, and Special Agent in Charge for both District VII and District VIII in the Office of Justice Services. At various points, I supervised criminal investigations, drug enforcement operations, corrections, uniform police agencies, telecommunications, and all the administration and support staff that make things really run across multiple states and approximately 20 different reservations.
But here's what those titles don't tell you: I made mistakes. I had to learn how to delegate to subject matter experts who knew more than I did about their specialties. I had to figure out how to motivate people with completely different personalities and backgrounds. I had to navigate union dynamics, EEO issues, and the unique challenges of managing people who have strong job protections.
Hands-On Leadership Experience
Led teams across 13 states and 25+ reservations from corrections to tribal police to federal operations, including high-stakes undercover narcotics work and multi-district management
Multi-Agency Coordination
Directed cooperative efforts across DOI, DOJ, DHS, HHS, state, local, and tribal law enforcement agencies
Crisis Management
Managed major drug trafficking investigations and multi-state operations under intense pressure
Federal Training & Development
Graduate of the U.S. Indian Police Academy and Federal Law Enforcement Training Center
The Reality of Federal Management
Let me be honest about something: Even after reaching senior leadership positions, I still felt imposter syndrome at times. That voice in your head that says "Do I really know what I'm doing?" or "What if they figure out I'm making this up as I go along?"
Here's what I learned: That feeling doesn't make you unqualified. It makes you human. The fact that you question yourself, worry about doing right by your people, and want to improve actually makes you more qualified to lead, not less.
Honestly, the higher you get, the more of a subject matter expert you become, the more you really DO make it up as you go along. You become the innovator. YOU make the program. YOU set the standard. There's no playbook for every situation when you're breaking new ground or adapting to unique challenges. That's not imposter syndrome talking. That's leadership.
My Leadership Philosophy: Servant Leadership
When I came into law enforcement and federal service in the late 1990s, the majority of supervisors were still leading with an iron fist. I watched this old-school approach closely and saw its fundamental flaws.
Here's what I observed: Fear-based leadership only worked to a point, and that point was when people were scared. But scared employees don't build great agencies. Nobody worked to better the organization because they believed in it. Nobody worked hard for their boss out of respect. Nobody was empowered to progress themselves or take initiative.
Most telling of all, everyone was afraid to stick their neck out for themselves, their boss, their peers, or their agency. Why? Because in that leadership style, heads got chopped off at the drop of a hat. Innovation died. Initiative was punished. People learned to keep their heads down and do the bare minimum.
I knew there had to be a different way.
Then I started noticing something. Every so often, a different kind of leader would come through our ranks. This leader would take over a team that was mediocre or even failing, and within a few months, something remarkable would happen. Everyone was becoming an all-star. Rookies were getting it right and staying highly motivated. Your middle-tier guys seemed to get their pep back. Even the old salts had what seemed like a new breath of life.
Most telling of all, none of them would let you talk bad about their new supervisor. They'd defend him to the end.
I looked at this transformation and really wondered why. What was different? Then I started watching how these leaders operated. They really watched out for their people. They were mentoring the young guys, not just barking orders. They were listening to the old guys, not dismissing their experience. And here's the key: they weren't just giving lip service to suggestions. They were actually implementing good ideas, regardless of who they came from.
It gave everyone a genuine sense of ownership in their team and work product. People weren't just doing a job anymore. They were contributing to something they helped build.
Here's the tragic part: most of the time, these transformational leaders got hammered from above because they weren't "holding their people accountable" for their mistakes. But they were holding them accountable. They were just doing it in a way the iron fisters didn't understand. Instead of beating people up over mistakes, they were teaching them through those mistakes. They were helping them succeed and learn the correct way.
Unfortunately, most of those guys got run out by the iron fist crowd. But not before I saw what actually worked. I witnessed firsthand that there was a better way to lead, even if the old guard couldn't see it.
I didn't formally discover "servant leadership" right away. I just saw what worked and started implementing those same approaches. I began mentoring my people through their mistakes instead of punishing them. I listened to their ideas and actually used the good ones. I followed the golden rule: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.
It was only later that I discovered this was actually a recognized management philosophy called servant leadership, developed by Robert Greenleaf. The philosophy is simple but revolutionary: the leader serves first. You put the needs, aspirations, and interests of your people above your own. Your job isn't to accumulate power or control people. Your job is to remove obstacles, provide resources, and create conditions for your teams to excel.
In federal law enforcement, this meant I wasn't there to rule through fear. I was there to help my people "grow healthier, wiser, freer, more autonomous, and more likely themselves to become servants." When people feel supported rather than threatened, when they know their leader has their back, that's when you see real performance and genuine dedication to the mission.
And in full transparency, you really do want to have all your folks be standout all-stars, right? Because if all your folks are all-stars, well... guess who else is an all-star? That's right... YOU. Not only that, this plays very well upward. If your team are all-stars, YOU are an all-star, and of course it rolls uphill. Your boss looks like an all-star as well, and it's never bad to have them look good for what you do.
The fact that you're reading this, investing in your own development to better serve your people, tells me you understand this too. You're one of the good ones. That servant's heart is the foundation everything else is built on.
The Truth About Federal Leadership
The best federal managers I knew weren't the ones who had all the answers. They were the ones who knew how to find the answers, how to empower their people, and how to create conditions for their teams to succeed.
That's what real leadership looks like in the federal environment.
Why I'm Sharing This
After retiring, I could have walked away and enjoyed my pension. But I kept thinking about all the federal employees who are being promoted into management roles right now, today, without any real guidance on what they're getting into.
During my career, I became frustrated by how little practical guidance was available for federal employees about their own benefits and retirement planning. So I took it upon myself to master the FERS system, TSP, RAS, and all the complexities of federal retirement. I developed comprehensive training programs and taught hundreds of federal employees from both DOI and DOJ about their retirement benefits, translating complex regulations into clear, actionable strategies.
I remember the senior supervisor who told me "I can train a monkey to do your job" early in my management career. That same guy micromanaged everything and created a toxic work environment. I also remember the great leaders who made me want to be better, who trusted me with important work, and who taught me what real leadership looks like.
The federal government desperately needs good managers. But it needs people who understand what that actually means. People who realize that management is about service, not power. People who understand that their success is measured by their team's success.
My Commitment to You
Everything in the Federal Managers Survival Guide comes from real federal management experience. These aren't theories from business school. This is what actually works in the unique environment of federal service.
I'm not claiming to be the sole expert or have all the perfect answers. I'm sharing what I learned through trial, error, and hard-won experience in the hopes it helps you avoid some of the mistakes I made along the way.
I won't sugarcoat the challenges or pretend that management is easy. But I will give you the practical tools and honest insights that I wish someone had shared with me when I was starting out.
Your people are counting on you. Let's make sure you're ready for that responsibility.
Ready to begin your federal leadership journey?
From landing your first job to retiring with grace, this survival guide has you covered.