MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - TelAve -- Jon Fehlman, a retired police chief with three decades in law enforcement, launched Thatcher Lewis to address a systemic problem: public sector organizations promote people into leadership roles without training them for those positions.

The company serves law enforcement departments nationwide and is expanding into fire departments, EMS services, public administration, and nonprofit and faith-based organizations starting in 2026.

Fehlman's law enforcement career included service as a field training officer, detective, and police chief across three different agencies. He later worked as an instructor with the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association (LEEDA).

Fehlman witnessed firsthand what happens when organizations promote unprepared candidates. The results include low morale, poor officer retention and, in some cases, litigation and financial payouts.

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"The fault often lies with the people who promoted," Fehlman said. "Organizations need to train their people so they are prepared. A leadership title does not necessarily mean the person demonstrates leadership. This can cost an organization significantly."

Thatcher Lewis's solution: train leaders before titles are assigned. The "Training Tomorrow's Leaders Today" program targets sergeants, field training officers and support staff for intensive leadership development before promotion. Companion command leadership training focuses on executives already in organizational roles.

The model rests on four core principles: leadership can be taught, leadership can be caught through mentoring, leadership cannot be bought with a title, and leadership should precede promotion. Core curriculum covers critical conversations, decision-making consistency, relationship-based leadership and accountability.

Thatcher Lewis currently offers police leadership training and fire leadership development. The company is developing specialized curricula for city administrators, emergency management officials, church leaders and nonprofit executives.

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"We've built a comprehensive executive training course for municipal staff and administrators," Fehlman said. "You get the title, let us provide the training of the needed leadership skills. We start with foundational leadership training: accountability, integrity, relationship-building, knowledge."

Thatcher Lewis's expansion into churches, nonprofits and schools reflects gaps in leadership development across sectors. Schools commonly promote excellent teachers without equipping them to lead. Churches operate without formal succession planning or leadership pipelines.

The company is booking classes now through 2027. Recruitment of experienced fire chiefs and retired executives as instructors begins soon, expanding instructor depth.

"I want to build something sustainable," Fehlman said. "The foundation has to be solid. Once we have the right people ready, we bring them on board."

The ultimate goal: a network of instructors delivering police leadership training, fire leadership development and executive programs across sectors while maintaining training quality.

About Thatcher Lewis

Thatcher Lewis provides leadership training for public sector organizations, including law enforcement, fire, EMS, public administration, nonprofits and faith-based institutions. Visit thatcherlewis.com for more information.