Tag Archives: leader

HELP WANTED: Police Officers

February 29, 2016Leadershipenforcement, law, leader, leadership, police, sergeant, successfulThin Blue Line of Leadership

In August of 1914, Sir Ernest Shackleton led the Endurance Expedition on a voyage to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent. Prior to the expedition, Shackleton needed to raise a crew and posted the following help wanted advertisement:

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in event of success.”

Even after posting such an unflattering advertisement of the trip ahead, sailor’s responded. In the book, “Quit You Like Men” by Carl Hopkins Elmore, Shackleton said that the response to the advertisement was so overwhelming that “it seemed as though all the men of Great Britain were determined to accompany him.”

By January 1915, the Endurance had become trapped in the thick Antarctic ice and began to break apart forcing Shackleton and the crew to abandon it. They had to set out on foot dragging lifeboats and supplies across the ice for any chance of survival. Eventually they located a suitable place to establish a camp. Shackleton realized that in order to survive they were going to need to take matters into their own hands; so they developed a rescue plan to seek out help.

Prior to Shackleton leaving on the rescue mission, a crew leader told Shackleton, “Whatever happens, we all know that you have worked superhumanly to look after us.” Shackleton replied, “My job is to get my men through all right. Superhuman effort isn’t worth a damn unless it achieves results.” To make a great, long story short, it was only through the crew’s dedication and Shackleton’s leadership that they were eventually rescued over a year after the ship had become trapped. This is a fabulous story of leadership, sacrifice, and survival, but what really caught my attention was still the unflattering help wanted advertisement that attracted such a positive response from prospective sailors.

With the current climate surrounding law enforcement, how would a help wanted advertisement have to read in order to be just as truthful and unflattering, yet attract exactly the type of people we want in policing? Maybe it would read something like this . . .

HELP WANTED: Men and women wanted for hazardous 20 – 25 year career. Long hours during all times of day and night enforcing laws created by politicians you don’t necessarily agree with. Low to moderate wages protecting and serving a community that you may not even live in. Solve problems and risk life regularly for people that you don’t know and possibly don’t even like you while constantly transitioning between the roles of counselor, guardian, enforcer, educator, warrior, caretaker, and community representative. All interactions with the community must be recorded on video. Actions, especially mistakes, will be highly critiqued, criticized, and possibly penalized. Honor and recognition in event of success.

Honor and recognition in event of success . . . is that all it takes? Yep, along with being part of something greater than yourself and believing that on each and every call you have the ability to make a difference in another person’s life. Those are the results that we, those that call ourselves police officers, are looking for when we chose this career. As Shackleton stated, “Superhuman effort isn’t worth a damn unless it achieves results.” That is why we make the “superhuman effort” for a job that has this kind of description.

So, how do we maintain this level of effort? We remember our “why” . . .

Why did I chose to be a police officer?

Why did I chose to be a leader of police officers?

If you read those questions and cannot articulate an answer, or worse don’t remember, then I challenge you to sit down, brainstorm some ideas, and seek the words that describe why you were inspired to choose a career with this type of help wanted advertisement.

As soon as the right words come together and you can clearly articulate them, put them somewhere very safe where they cannot be forgotten. Your “why” will get you through that 20 – 25 years career just as it got Shackleton and his men through their expedition without a single life lost. If you get the privilege to lead officers through their policing careers, share your “why” often to motivate and inspire greatness in them so that they too may receive “honor and recognition in event of success.”

The mission at Thin Blue Line of Leadership is to inspire law enforcement supervisors to be the best leaders they can be by providing positive leadership tactics and ideas. Positive leadership and creating a positive squad culture are on-going commitments that must be nurtured and developed over time and Thin Blue Line of Leadership is here to help.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have ideas to share or suggestions for improvement. Share your thoughts or comments on this blog below or on our Facebook page. You can also follow us on Twitter at @tbl_leadership.

Continue saving the world one call at a time and as always, LEAD ON!

7 Core Values for Building a Team – Part 2

September 29, 2015Leadershipaccountability, Culture, leader, leadership, police, positive, successfulThin Blue Line of Leadership

This blog is Part 2 of 7 Core Values for Building a Team. If you would like to read Part 1, click here.

Build unity and loyalty.

Unity and loyalty . . . Aren’t those two of the greatest words to have around when it comes to being part of a team? When unity and loyalty are present, trust is flowing in all directions within the squad, precinct, district, or department – top down, bottom up, and laterally. But, there is a caveat to this and that is that there are just some people that won’t buy-in to the concepts that help build a good team. Regardless of the amount of effort expended on creating the right environment, they will just never get it. So, the leader has 2 options. They can decide that they are just not going to do anything to build a team and therefore they lose everyone. Or, they can work hard to build a team and get the buy-in of the vast majority of the people to create something really special within their department. There is no great secret to building unity and loyalty. It is one of the oldest concepts around. Treat people the way you want to be treated. That’s it. If you want to build unity and loyalty, then no matter how difficult the situation is, just ask, “How would I want someone to treat me under these circumstances?” The consistent practice of that concept will take a person a long way in their growth as a leader that creates positive cultures based upon unity and loyalty.

Exemplify, then expect personal accountability.

Personal accountability is a tough one for many because it means stepping up and taking responsibility when the world is falling apart around them and/or their team. Personal accountability is easy when everything is going great, but not so much when things are turbulent. Leaders must be cautious about forcing personal accountability upon their teams because if it gets crammed down their throats, they will immediately reject it. To bring personal accountability to the team, the leader must first exemplify it to demonstrate how it is done and how it leads to positive growth both personally and for the team as a whole. They need to see it first because the greatest fear in applying personal accountability is that they are going to get themselves into some kind of trouble when they do it. The best thing about applying personal accountability is that it puts the leader in control of the situation. The leader is saying through their actions and attitude that “the buck stops here.” Once that control is accepted, the leader must begin asking questions that lead to solutions and not allow themselves to fall into a victim mentality. Here are some examples of personal accountability questions – What can I do? How can I learn from this mistake? What can I do to make a difference today? How can I be better? Because each of these questions is based on the concept of “I,” it puts the leader in control of developing a solution to whatever the problem is through their own actions, attitude, and effort. After the team sees personal accountability applied by the leader day in and day out, they will also begin applying it to their tough situations. Having a culture based upon personal accountability is one of the biggest differences between having a culture of mediocrity and a culture of excellence.

Show recognition.

All of the above listed concepts are great, but they do not mean a thing if they are not ingrained into the culture of the team. A leader has the amazing opportunity to pick and choose what gets ingrained into a team’s culture by being selective of the actions and attitudes they recognize, reward, and promote. But, it all starts with the leader first having a vision of where they want the team to go and how they want them to get there. They must define the path and the goals to be achieved if the path is followed. Then, the leader must focus on finding behaviors that officers are doing that support that vision. When actions and attitudes are present that support the leader’s vision, it is imperative of the leader to recognize them and find ways to reward them for the behavior. One of the simplest rewards a leader has at their disposal is verbal praise. When giving verbal praise, do not just say, “Good job;” be specific about what the behavior was that made it good. If the leader says, “Good job, I really like the way you took the time to calm that victim down before doing the interview,” then not only has the leader praised the officer, but they have defined what exactly the behavior was they liked. After recognizing and rewarding something like that, what do you think that officer is going to do they next time they interview a really traumatized victim? That’s right, they are going to take the extra couple of minutes to talk to the victim on a human-level before getting down to the facts of the situation. After recognizing and rewarding the behavior, it must be promoted. One way to promote positive behaviors is to bring them up in briefing with the rest of the team around. This creates a second opportunity for the leader to recognize/reward the officer and then promotes it to the other member of the team. Obviously, the bigger and better the behavior, the more substantial the recognition, reward, and promotion should be. For example, if due to the heroic actions of an officer a person’s life is saved, then hopefully the department has some kind of official life saving award that can be given to the officer and thus the promotion of the behaviors goes to the highest ranks of the department. The key is to remember that what gets rewarded gets repeated.

Make people feel safe.

To build a team, a leader must make the people on the team feel safe. Safe is not referring to the inherent dangers of the job. Safe, in these terms, means from the internal turmoil that can be present within an organization or the team itself. When there is turmoil within a group, like backstabbing, complaining, or general apathy, then no member of the team will ever feel safe within the group because they are always worried about what is going on when they aren’t around. It isn’t until they feel safe within their team that they can go out into the community and do their best work because they know that the team has their back. Creating that sense of safety is the job of the leader. When there is safety within the team, the natural reaction is the development of trust and cooperation. Trust and cooperation will lead people to do amazing things; things that are above and beyond the call of duty. When an officer stays late to help another officer impound a bunch of evidence, that shows that they have a level of trust and cooperation built. That trust and cooperation comes back in spaded when that other officer is wounded on a call and the team comes together to rescue him or her in the face of danger. In order for this level of trust and cooperation to exist, everyone must believe at their core that the other members of the team would be willing to do the same thing for them. Ultimately, people just want to feel like they belong. If there is a strong sense of belonging among the members of the team, then trust and cooperation will flourish among the group.

Instead of looking at culture, vision, mission, purpose, alignment, and value as 6 different items that a leader must work at getting across to their group, look at it as the single task of building a team. Think back to the best teams you were ever a part of and ask what it was that made those teams so special. What you’ll find is that the team had culture, vision, mission, purpose, alignment, and value in what they were doing. By building a team, the leader is creating a lens which each individual officer can look through as they go about doing their job each shift and see things in a similar manner instead of through just their own individual perspectives. Only then will officers be willing to drop their own personal agendas and give their blood, sweat, and tears for the good of the organization and the community.

If you would like to read further about these concepts, here are some good reading suggestions:

“Start With Why” by Simon Sinek

“Entreleadership” by Dave Ramsey

“QBQ! The Question Behind the Question” by John Miller

“The Energy Bus” or any other book by Jon Gordon

“Leaders Eat Last” by Simon Sinek

Continue saving the world one call at a time and as always, LEAD ON!

7 Core Values for Building a Team – Part 1

September 21, 2015Squad CultureCulture, enforcement, law, leader, leadership, police, positve, squadThin Blue Line of Leadership

As leaders, there are terms you hear bantered about on a regular basis that are great conceptual ideas, but often lack real-world practice – culture, vision, mission, purpose, alignment, value. Typically, it is not the lack of desire to implement these concepts, but a lack of concrete know-how. So, Thin Blue Line of Leadership is going to give away the answer for effectively implementing the concepts of culture, vision, mission, purpose, alignment, and value with the least amount of time and effort necessary. Ready, here it comes . . . BUILD A TEAM!

Right about now, some people reading this might be thinking, “Wait, aren’t terms like culture, vision, and mission supposed to build the team for me?” The answer to that question is a simple “no.”

The concepts mentioned above are great for formulating the background of a team and defining the reason that a team needs to exist. But, in order to effectively implement culture, vision, mission, purpose, alignment, and value with a group of people, each individual must feel they are an integral part of something bigger than themselves. A part of something where each member feels like they truly belong and are among others that believe similarly to the way they do. Only then will they be willing to give their blood, sweat, and tears to make culture, vision, mission, purpose, alignment, and value work effectively for their squad, precinct, department, or organization.

Here are 7 core values for building a law enforcement team . . .

Know the why.

There are 3 pieces to every team: the what, the how, and the why. What and how are typically the easy parts to understand; they define what the team does and how they do it. For example, we are police officers that enforce the law and here is the ginormous book of General Orders that says how to be a police officer. The why is where it becomes a little more complicated. The why is referring to the reason a person ever wanted to be a police officer in the first place; that core belief inside that drives them to run towards danger for people they have never met. To build a team, the leader must know their why and maintain it as a strength throughout their career in both good and bad times. Then, a leader must learn their officers’ why’s and cultivate them in much the same way the leader does with their own why. Finally, the leader must be willing to talk about it. Talk about their why and their officers’ why’s on a regular basis to keep the why fresh in the front of their minds through each and every shift. This provides purpose, value, and clarity to the members of that team.

Be a leader.

Being a good leader is not a theory. Being a good leader is taking concrete, positive actions for the good of the team and repeating them over and over and over. The key piece to the last sentence is that it must be for the good of the team. The leader must put the needs of the team above their own with the realization that ultimately the success of the team equates to their own success. A good leader must be authentic. They cannot walk around the department pretending to be something they are not because over time everyone will see through the charade. A good leaders knows their own character, strengths, weaknesses, and values to the extent that they can clearly articulate them to anyone who will listen. Lastly, a good leader recognizes that they must give long before they can expect to get from their team. Until a team knows that a leader cares for them and has their best interests at heart, they will still be just a group of individuals. To build a great team, there must be a great leader.

Actively create culture.

Culture . . . one of those magical words that gets thrown about leadership circles, but only a few can define. So, here is the definition of culture – it is the prevailing actions and attitudes of a team demonstrated over time. Actions and attitudes, it really is that simple. To begin actively creating a culture, a leader must first know what they want their culture to be. What are the actions the leader would like to see their team value the most? Once the actions are defined, then a leader must nuture the attitude with which they want their team to carry out those actions. Recently in law enforcement, there has been a lot of discussion regarding the attitudes or mentalities with which officers do their job. Are we warriors or are we guardians? The leader of the team must make that distinction, exemplify it on every shift, and expect the same from their officers. The key is that the leader must be intentional about it. If the leader does not step up and steer the culture in a particular direction, then a culture will still form, but it may not be the desired one. The final question that must be answered is when do law enforcement leaders have the opportunity to actively create culture when officers work the majority of their time as one or two officer units? The answer to that is simple – to actively create culture, it must start in the briefing room or meeting room for leaders that are higher up in the department. By defining the actions and attitudes of the team over time in a briefing setting, where everyone hears the same words at the same time, the leader is able to efficiently share their cultural vision with the team. As law enforcement professionals, we have to win in the briefing room before we can truly expect to win in the community.

This is just Part 1 of 7 Core Values for Building a Team. If you would like to continue to Part 2, click here.

Continue saving the world one call at a time and as always, LEAD ON!

5 Steps to Develop Squad Culture

August 10, 2015Squad CultureCulture, defined, definition, enforcement, law, leader, leadership, policeThin Blue Line of Leadership

Whether you are a brand new law enforcement leader or one that has been around awhile, you must recognize the importance of developing a squad culture. If a squad culture is not developed intentionally, then the leader will be putting him or herself at the mercy of whatever fills that culture vacuum. So, the question becomes, how do you intentionally develop a squad culture?

Before getting into the nuts and bolts of developing a squad culture, there are two things that must be understood. The first thing to understand before developing a squad culture is the definition of culture. The culture of a group can be defined as the conglomeration of a group’s actions and attitudes over time; it’s atmosphere. The second thing to understand in developing a squad culture is that it doesn’t happen in a day, it has to happen every day. It must be taught, explained, reinforced, and made a priority in everything your squad does for it to take hold.

Here are 5 steps for developing a positive squad culture . . .

Know what is already out there.

Before you can begin to establish your own culture, you have to have an idea of what is already out there within your organization. Study what is and what is not working. Then, seek out the leaders that are having success in developing their squad’s culture and talk to them about it. Save yourself some time and learn from their experience. Also, consider your own past experiences with law enforcement leaders. What did your previous sergeants do that made you feel like your work mattered and you were part of a team? Start isolating traits they had or things they did that helped to support the squad culture either positively or negatively. Sometimes your best learning experiences can come from the worst leaders by defining what you do not want to be or do.

Identify what is important to you.

Now that you have seen what is out there and thought about past experiences, it is vital to identify what is important to you. What are the top 3 – 5 traits that you would want your squad to be known for – teamwork, officer safety, problem solving, being active, trust, positivity, treating people right, innovative, hardworking, caring about the community, responsive, rewarding, etc. Those are just a few of many words that could be used to describe a positive squad culture. The key is to settle on the ones that you want to make the focus of your squad.

Visualize yourself in that environment.

After deciding on the 3 – 5 traits that you want your squad to be known for, you must now begin to visualize yourself being in and leading in that environment – see it, feel it, hear it. Start making your own personal actions match those traits you selected. If you chose teamwork, then it is imperative that you exemplify teamwork. Remember the definition of culture, it isn’t this ambiguous thing floating in the sky; it is the consistent actions and attitudes of your squad. Just as officers are told to play the “what if” game while thinking about calls they are responding to, the leader must play the “what if” game with the tough situations they may face as a leader and then look at them through the lens of the culture you desire to create. Ask yourself, how would having a strong, positive squad culture help deal with this? Walk through situations like an officer having a personal issue at home, handling an officer discipline situation, one of your officers involved in an officer-involved shooting, or dealing with a year without pay raises. Do the traits you chose to exemplify your squad’s culture support handling those types of scenarios? If not, refine them until they do.

Put your culture into words.

Finally, it is time to take the traits you chose and put them into words that your officers can understand and relate to. Help them to understand why it is valuable to have a well-defined culture. As you create the wording to define your culture, keep the following questions in mind: Are they worded in a positive way? Avoid words like never, no, and don’t. Are they simple to understand? The less complicated the better; not because your officers aren’t smart, but because you want your culture to be easy to remember and adaptable to a multitude of situations. The more complicated you make them, the more restrictive they will become. Do they bring value to your officers? If they don’t, then what is the point in the first place? Do they have the potential to motivate and inspire? Ultimately, people decide if they want to be motivated or inspired, but that doesn’t mean your culture can’t be the fuel for motivation and inspiration. Does your culture provide opportunities for feedback? Feedback goes both directions; feedback for you and feedback for your officers. A solid culture is rich in trust which makes feedback able to be given and received without concern about negative ulterior motives.

Develop a mechanism for reinforcing your culture.

As stated earlier, culture is not made in a day, it is made every day. You must teach your squad to look at every situation though the lens of the culture by talking them through incidents, scenarios, and calls for service with their relationship to the squad culture explained. Develop mechanisms to quickly reward officers when their actions and efforts support and build up the desired culture. (Also see blog: Law Enforcement Recognition: Idea #1) Vice versa, be willing to have the tough conversations when officers do things that do not support the culture. But, first and foremost, to support your desired culture, YOU must exemplify it in everything you do. Without that consistency from you, the leader, the squad will not take the culture seriously and you will run the risk of being labeled a hypocrite.

After going through the 5 steps listed above, you should have a good handle on the concepts you would want to base your own squad’s culture on. If you would like to see the results of me going through this same process, read the blog entitled Culture in Just 4 Words. I purposely chose to make my squad expectations the cornerstone for establishing my squad’s culture. Squad expectations should be about the culture; not policies and procedures. Cops know the policies and procedures through their General Orders. A strong, positive culture will support doing the job the right way without making officers feel like the rules are more important than they are as people.

Continue saving the world one call at a time and as always, LEAD ON!

Creating “Wow” Moments in Policing

August 3, 2015LeadershipCulture, enforcement, law, leader, leadership, police, positive, sergeant, successfulThin Blue Line of Leadership

Why does the general public like the fire department better than the police department? The simple answer is this, the fire department is better at creating positive “wow” moments – saving lives, putting out fires, and of course getting cats out of trees. Sure, as law enforcement, we have our positive moments too, but we also have the disadvantage of having to hold people accountable for their unlawful actions by making traffic stops, writing tickets, placing people under arrest, and occasionally using force.

It would seem that law enforcement is stuck between the proverbial rock and a hard place. Therefore, it becomes imperative of law enforcement leaders to support, recognize, reward, and promote their officers when they have the opportunity to take initiative and create positive “wow” moments for those they serve.

I would like to share a story that occurred a couple of weeks ago which represents the concept of creating a “wow” moment in policing. Anyone who has ever worked overnights can sympathize with the call that comes out with only 30 minutes remaining in the shift. The call that you know is going to unexpectedly cause you to stay late.

This particular call happened to be a 90 year old male who was having difficulty breathing. The two assigned officers arrived at the nursing home to find the fire department doing their best to save the elderly gentleman’s life, but ultimately learned that this medical call had become a death investigation. As the primary officers, they both knew they were now going to be on this call for at least a couple of hours past their regular time off.

The officers began doing their due diligence with the investigation – speaking to the reporting party, taking notes, locating a doctor to sign the death certificate, and so on. After just over two hours, they had everything completed with the investigation and were ready to go home to get some much deserved sleep before coming back that evening to do it all again.

As the two officers were getting to the nursing home’s front doors, they heard one of the nurses mention that the deceased’s wife was on her way there. The nurse mentioned that the couple had been married for 67 years and she still lived on her own just down the road. The officers spoke briefly and then asked one of the nurses if they could go back up to the room before the wife got there.

In order for the fire department to do their job, the elderly gentlemen had been placed on the floor, his clothes removed, LEDs placed all over his body, and an oxygen mask put over his face. That is how he was left by fire and after completing their investigation that is how he was left by the officers to wait for the mortuary company to pick him up . . . until they heard about his wife.

The two officers returned to the room and carefully moved the elderly gentleman’s body up into his bed. They removed the LEDs, rebuttoned his shirt, took off the oxygen mask, pulled up the covers, and made him look as if he was comfortably sleeping. They passed by the wife without saying a word about what they had just done and for all she knew this was exactly how he had passed.

That is how you create a “wow” moment in policing. While the wife will probably never know what they did, every employee at the nursing home that saw the actions of those officers experienced a “wow” moment. Service to the community that goes above and beyond what you could ever ask for or expect; service that makes the average bystander step back and say, “wow.”

How many times do you think the nursing home employees shared that story? What do you think the positive trickle-down effect is from this one event? We’ll never be able to quantitatively measure it, but just knowing the power that negative police interactions can have gives you some idea. The key is that we, as law enforcement, need to continue getting better at creating these “wow” moments.

Here are 5 ways that law enforcement leaders can help officers become better at creating positive “wow” moments:

Point out opportunities that present themselves. The first step is just recognizing opportunities that are there. Being a supervisor that is out on the road with your officers puts you in the position to see the potential and help lead your officers down the path of creating a “wow” moment, if they don’t see it themselves. Think positively outside the box.
Support your officers when they find an opportunity. Inevitably, opportunities to create “wow” moments are going to come when you are slammed with calls for service or are running under staffed. Being a leader means that you are willing to take on extra work when needed to support officers that find an opportunity to create a “wow” moment. You may have to help cover calls or do other work to make up for their temporary absence from the road, but in the end it will be well worth it.
Recognize “wow” moments when they occur. To reinforce the effort made by officers to create positive “wow” moments, you must keep a watchful eye out for when they occur and note them for future reward.
Reward officers for their effort to create “wow” moments. Once you recognize that an officer has gone above and beyond to create a “wow” moment, it is imperative that you reward it in some way as soon as possible through whatever means of recognition your department has. If there is no formal way through the department or it doesn’t rise to that level, create an informal way to recognize the effort within your squad.
Promote both the officer and the “wow” moment. Publicizing the exceptional work done by one of your officers is not only good for the officer and his/her career, but also for the department. The more often “wow” moments are recognized, rewarded, and promoted both internally and externally, the more likely they will be to be repeated. Once this is done effectively enough times, the momentum will help to keep the “wow” moments coming without nearly the effort it took to get them started. In addition, as other officers hear about the varying ways “wow” moments have been created and were rewarded, the more innovative they will be in finding their own opportunities to create “wow” moments.

Please do not hesitate to contact TBLL if you have ideas to share or suggestions for improvement. Share your thoughts or comments on this blog below or on our Facebook page. You can also follow us on Twitter at @tbl_leadership.

Continue saving the world one call at a time and as always, LEAD ON!

4 Keys to Building Influence

June 23, 2015LeadershipCulture, enforcement, law, leader, leadership, police, positiveThin Blue Line of Leadership

Leadership is derived from influence…

Leadership is not born out of a title, a position, financial well-being, or seniority. While those factors may force someone to listen and do as you say in a particular moment, without influence they will never go above, do anything extra, or show true selflessness for those around them. In short, leadership from position only breeds mediocrity, short-sightedness, and selfishness.

When I say influence, I am referring to influence that inspires others to work hard because it is the right thing to do, put “we” before “I,” and to think of themselves as being a part of something greater. As in most professions, but especially in law enforcement, if you lead a team or squad with true influence, then they will do amazing things when it comes to saving the world one call at a time.

There are 4 keys to building true influence with your officers – contact, communication, connection, and contribution.

CONTACT: Contact is time, nothing more. While time may seem like the simplest of things you can offer, remember that it must be focused and consistent. Here are 4 opportunities to build contact into your everyday routine as a law enforcement leader…

Be purposeful in your briefings by finding ways to make them worthwhile for your officers.
Get out of the office and go handle some calls with your officers.
Find time to meet informally with each of your officers just to chat, see how things are, grab a coffee or beverage of choice.
Schedule department required trainings together with your whole squad or at least as many as possible.

COMMUNICATION: Two people can sit in a room for hours, but without communication during that time it means nothing. This is where building influence starts to require foresight, vision, and patience on your part. Communication by definition is a two-way street; an exchange. It requires that you not only have the ability to speak with meaning, but just as important you must be able to listen. Sometimes the most difficult part of communicating effectively is being quiet and listening to what your officers are telling you through both their words and actions. Here are 4 opportunities to increase your level of communication with your officers . . .

Consistently repeat, reword, and incorporate your squad expectations into everything you do. The more they hear the message, the more they will believe in it.
Be specific when praising your officers for a job well done. Don’t just say, “great job” and walk away. Say something along the lines of, “The way you were handling that interview with our victim was awesome, you really showed some empathy which got them talking. Thank you!” Not only have you praised them, but now they know exactly what you liked about what they did. Remember, what you reward will be repeated.
Before leaving from a call, make it a habit to go up to the case officer on scene and ask if there is anything you can do for them to help. This quick moment of communication shows that you are not above getting your hands dirty and shows that police work is a team effort. Of course, if they ask something you better be willing to do it.
Create a feedback form and give it to your officers to complete anonymously. Be specific about the traits you want them to evaluate you on and provide space for open-ended comments. This must be done in an environment of trust where the officers know that any advice they give will not be taken personally, but as constructive criticism. If you cannot handle open, honest feedback from your officers, then you need to reevaluate your leadership style and the environment you have created.

CONNECTION: Consistent contact and effective communication lead to the development of a connection. Connection is a bond developed in which there is mutual respect, honesty, and confidence in one another regardless of rank or position. Both sides of a connection trust that the other person has their back, will hold them accountable, and wants what is best for them as a team. Here are 4 opportunities to increase connection with your officers…

Build mentoring relationships with your officers. Have meetings with them regularly to discuss their career goals and give them ideas regarding things they can do in their current position to reach their career goals.
Know your officer’s strengths and put them in positions of leadership to make the most of them. If you are weak in a particular area of policing (tactics, investigations, traffic, etc.), empower an officer with those skills and defer to their expertise. If a call comes up that would give them some valuable experience in their area of interest, call them over to handle it.
Admit when you are wrong or could have done something better. When in briefing going over the latest hot traffic, do not let position or ego stand in the way of you admitting that there could have been a better way to handle it. Policing has many moments that force a leader into making quick decisions with limited information. Thus, we are bound to make mistakes. Treat mistakes, both yours and your officer’s, as learning opportunities so long as they are not injurious or a violation of rights.
After receiving feedback from your officers, show them that you have read them and are willing to improve in the areas they identified as your weaknesses. Inevitably, they are going to see things about you that you do not; recognize it and learn from it.

CONTRIBUTION: Contribution is when your officers show that they have bought into your influence through their wording, actions, and attitude. They are willing to not only follow your leadership, but they are also spreading your leadership themselves. Contribution is your confirmation that true influence has been established and if nurtured properly will be self-sustaining. Here are 4 examples of contributions you might see from your officers that reinforce your true influence in a positive way. . .

When discussing how to handle a call, they are exemplifying similar values and beliefs in policing that you have been instilling in them through your contact and communication.
When your officers are on a call with officers from an overlapping squad, they are confident enough in their knowledge, skills, and your leadership support to step up and take the lead on the call when others are hesitant or indecisive.
You will see your officers making the effort and taking the road that has more work because it is the right thing to do; not because it is the easiest.
When new officers arrive on your squad, your officers will immediately help them to feel like a part of the team, get them involved, make them feel comfortable, and teach them the culture of the squad.

The road to building true influence is not an easy one and it cannot be circumvented; the same 4 steps will always apply – contact, communication, connection, and contribution. If you want your team to excel and your officers to reach, not just their career goals, but their true potential as law enforcement professionals, then it is incumbent of you to build true influence with them and deliver the right message. This will then build the right concepts of leadership into the department’s next generation of leaders.

Share your thoughts or comments on this blog below or on our Facebook page. You can also follow us on Twitter at @tbl_leadership. Continue saving the world one call at a time and as always, LEAD ON!

Shifting Gears in Policing

June 3, 2015Leadership, Squad Culturebriefing, Culture, leader, leadership, police, sergeant, squadThin Blue Line of Leadership

Recently Harvard Law Review published an article by Seth Stoughton entitled “Law Enforcement’s ‘Warrior’ Problem.” It discussed the need for law enforcement to move beyond the idea of being “warriors” and accept the concept of becoming “guardians.” Stoughton wrote that the concept of being warriors started with the best of intentions, but has “created substantial obstacles to improving police/community relations.” Whichever side of the discussion you fall on, warrior or guardian, it is a huge over simplification to think that a single mentality can define the role patrol officers must play each shift to remain safe and protect the community. Law enforcement cannot be one or the other; we must have the ability to fill many different roles dependent upon the circumstances presented by the situation.

As a patrol sergeant with one of the youngest squads in the department, I knew that it would be vital to define the mentality I expected my officers to have while on the road. I could not support a singular mentality whose sole purpose was to either keep them safe or allow them to more easily interact with the public. Through this internal debate, I concluded that one of the biggest challenges facing law enforcement is getting away from any concept that takes a “one size fits all” approach. Patrol officers should not be asked or expected to be just warriors or just guardians. They should be expected to be and trained to be warriors, guardians, caretakers, counsellors, educators, enforcers, and community representatives with the ability to shift gears from one role into another seamlessly based upon the circumstances of the call.

Officers must possess the intelligence to quickly assess a situation, decide on the role they must play, and then execute it successfully while continuing to assess their ever changing environment. As law enforcement supervisors, we have to assist our officers in rectifying the conflict between showing compassion, empathy, and understanding while at the same time being ready to maintain control of the situation and possibly use force. Training the ability to show compassion, empathy, and understanding while also maintaining officer safety is the challenge law enforcement faces and the primary reason why a “one size fits all” mentality so easily took hold in the first place. One requires constant thinking, adapting, and assessing; while the other allows for simplicity.

Department training must adapt to this more complicated and effective style of policing. Just as it is critical for officers to have on-going training in firearms, legal updates, emergency driving, and defensive tactics; it is equally as important to find training techniques that emphasize problem-solving, de-escalation, and proper “gear selection” based upon a call’s circumstances. There must be an emphasis on finding solutions to problems and not just being a Band-Aid.

I understand that making training changes within a police department can be like turning around the Titanic; so here are 10 ways patrol supervisors can reinforce “gear shift” thinking within their squad.

When officers call you with a question, walk them through your decision-making process by asking these 3 questions: 1) What do you know? 2) What do you want to do? 3) What is your intent with the chosen solution? Then affirm their answer or provide other options, but ultimately leave the decision up to the officer unless it endangers or violates rights.
Take the time to train officers in all of the department’s available resources and referral services such as crisis lines, shelters, etc. Knowing the options available to them increases the number of possible solutions to a call for service.
Debrief calls in detail and discuss alternative options at critical decision points.
Send officers to outside trainings that build their knowledge base in other roles such as Crisis Intervention Training (CIT), negotiating, and de-escalation techniques.
Be on the road as a resource to your officers, but refrain from taking over calls unless necessary. Help them to recognize opportunities to use the department’s available resources and referral services when making an arrest is not the best “gear” to be in. Remember, solutions not Band-Aids.
Tabletop training scenarios in briefing with multiple acceptable endings: arrest, warning/discretion, use a resource, or make a referral. Just like reality, there is rarely a single correct answer.
Discuss de-escalation techniques and how to tone down “command presence” without sacrificing officer safety. Have officers that have attended training on topics like this share what they learned upon returning to the squad.
Recognize and reward thoughtful, creative problem solving in briefing. What you reward will be repeated.
Bring experts into briefing to discuss department resources and all the ways they are available to help officers when they are on calls. Do not assume that your officers know all of the resources available to them.
Train your officers to be leaders on calls. When officers from other squads are hesitant to make a decision, your officers can take them over and set the example of finding solutions.

So, how does law enforcement need to be training for the future? Not just as warriors and not just as guardians, but as thoughtful officers that respond to situations in the most appropriate gear for finding solutions to the problems they are presented with.

The mission at Thin Blue Line of Leadership is to inspire law enforcement leaders to be better than they were yesterday. Positive leadership and creating a positive squad culture are on-going commitments that must be nurtured and developed over time. To lead your officers in this direction, you have to make the most out of the precious time you have available in briefing to establish the culture you wish for them to demonstrate on your road.

Share your thoughts or comments with us below or on our Facebook page. Continue saving the world one call at a time and as always, LEAD ON!

Squad Expectations: The P.R.I.D.E.S. MODEL

April 21, 2015Squad CultureCulture, enforcement, expectations, law, leader, leadership, police, positive, sergeant, squadThin Blue Line of Leadership

The mission at Thin Blue Line of Leadership is to share positive leadership tactics with the field of law enforcement. Positive leadership starts by creating a positive squad culture. The P.R.I.D.E.S. Model is a framework for establishing squad expectations that support the goal of cultivating a positive squad culture.

The purpose of establishing a framework is to create guidelines that are flexible to any situation’s circumstances, easy to remember, and easy to apply. The P.R.I.D.E.S. Model is a framework that is clearly defined and sets officers up for success. Consistency is established by routinely reminding officers that this framework is the expectation that governs everything they do and how they will be evaluated.

The P.R.I.D.E.S. Model directly addresses two prongs that define a squad’s culture – actions and attitudes. Actions and attitudes that fall within the framework of the P.R.I.D.E.S. Model should be rewarded as a matter of routine practice to reinforce desired behaviors. Rewarding positive behaviors will foster a positive squad culture where every officer knows how to excel under your supervision. Actions and attitudes that fall outside of the framework become easy to address because the model clearly defines the boundaries of what is acceptable. By regularly referencing the P.R.I.D.E.S. Model, common ground is already established to start conversations addressing issues of concern.

The P.R.I.D.E.S. Model – PATROL CULTURE

The “why” behind using this model is that it focuses on establishing a positive patrol culture. By establishing a positive culture based upon actions and attitudes, not a generic list of rules, officers recognize a supervisor that truly cares about doing the right things for the right reasons. Once this model is established and being supported by the supervisor, it will begin to support itself through momentum. Officers that are engrained within the P.R.I.D.E.S culture will bring new officers into the fold as soon as they join the squad. This momentum occurs because, deep down, everyone wants to belong to a group that is truly doing something positive and bigger than its individual pieces. In the end, a positive patrol culture will reflect in how officers interact with the public that they serve.

The P.R.I.D.E.S. Model – RESPOND AND INITIATE – ACTIONS

The first task in establishing a framework that supports a positive squad culture is to clearly define what actions your officers are expected to do during a shift. These actions can be broken down into two categories: respond and initiate.

RESPOND: Any action not generated by the officer: report calls, domestic violence calls, fights, alarm calls, disturbances, emergency traffic, etc. Any paperwork generated on any of these calls for service would also fall into this category. Responding is not just work based. It also means reminding officers to respond to their fellow officers, their families, and themselves.

INITIATE: Any action generated by the initiative of the officer: traffic stops, check subjected, close patrols, consensual contacts, beat problems, motorist assists, community policing activities, etc. Any paperwork generated due to the initiative of the officer would also fall into this category. Beyond police activities, initiating also includes functioning as a team and maintaining the P.R.I.D.E.S. culture.

These two actions, responding and initiating, are a simplified way of categorizing the plethora of actions that may be taken by an officer during any given shift. The expectation is that when the officer is not responding to activity, then they should be looking to initiate activity. On a busy shift with a lot of calls for service, there would be a rise in the amount of time spent responding to activity. On a shift with minimal calls for service, there would be a rise in the amount of time spent initiating activity. This does not establish any specific minimums or maximums limiting an officer’s activity level; nor does it define a hierarchy of actions. This allows officers the ability to work within their areas of strength and succeed accordingly. The key simply to maintain a high activity level.

The P.R.I.D.E.S. Model – DECIDE, EVALUATE, AND SERVE – ATTITUDES

The second task to establishing a framework that supports a positive squad culture is defining how your officers go about the actions of responding and initiating. While this is the last piece of the model to be discussed, its importance should not be taken lightly. Establishing the proper attitude is the foundation for the whole thing. There are three necessary attitude components to properly support the actions taken by your officers.

DECIDE: All decisions should be made based upon the law, department policy, best practices/procedures, officer safety, spirit of the law, equality, fairness, and in support of the department’s mission. A sound decision will apply all of these sources equally. As a TBL Leader, you should be conducting briefings with purpose to make sure your officers are trained in the most accurate and up-to-date information possible.

EVALUATE: Every decision, even those made with the best of intentions, should be evaluated as a standard practice. The more that is at risk in the decision, the more evaluation that should be done. Routinely discuss evaluation questions with your officers. When an officers calls you with a question about a call for service they are on, use these same questions to walk them through your decision-evaluation process instead of just giving them the answer. Examples of evaluation questions: What are the options? What evidence is present to support a particular decision? What is the ultimate goal of this decision? What was the decision made and how was it reached? Why was/is this the best course of action? What could be done better the next time a similar situation presents itself? The more officers practice evaluation, the less they will need external confirmation they are making correct decisions you support.

SERVE: Law enforcement serves to protect the community by establishing the thin blue line separating the good from the bad; order from chaos. In doing this, it is imperative for officers to recognize that they have chosen a profession based on service. This is NOT to be confused with being subservient. People are policing and as such officers must always remember their duty to serve their community, department, family, fellow officers, citizens, victims, and even the suspects they arrest. Throughout their careers, your officers are going to be asked to take on tasks or assignments that they do not like. The TBL Leader must consistently and strenuously remind them that the work they are doing is valued no matter how big or small the task. Serving is an officer’s “why.” When officers lose their “why,” they lose their way.

By operating within the framework of the P.R.I.D.E.S. Model, officers are given clear expectations related to time management, production, public interaction, officer interaction, decision making, evaluation thinking, etc. Discuss it daily. Walk through situations/scenarios using it. When you feel sick of talking about it, you will be about halfway to your squad fully accepting, understanding, and integrating it.

The absolutely vital key is for you, the TBL Leader, to consistently reinforce the model and explain the “why” behind it. What is the “why” behind the P.R.I.D.E.S. Model? To build and establish a positive squad culture that officers desire to be a part of because it is something bigger than themselves.

Do you think the P.R.I.D.E.S. Model could work in your department?

Share your thoughts or comments with us below or on our Facebook page. Continue saving the world one call at a time and as always, LEAD ON!

Good to Great: A Law Enforcement Leadership Interpretation

April 15, 2015Leadershipaccountability, Culture, enforcement, expectations, law, leader, leadership, police, sergeantThin Blue Line of Leadership

Jim Collins starts his book, “Good to Great,” with this simple quote: “Good is the enemy of great.” That quote struck me like a lightning bolt because, all too often, law enforcement gets stuck in the rut of thinking that good is a fine place to be. How often have you heard the phrase, “Good enough for government work” thrown around the department? We, as first-line supervisors, preach to our officers about avoiding complacency, but if we allow our squads to just be good then aren’t we exemplifying complacency in our leadership?

Whenever I read a book of this type, I am always thinking about how I can apply it in my role as a sergeant of eight officers that are within my span of influence. So, I decided that I would write this blog to share my thoughts on the major concepts described in “Good to Great” and how I see those applying to law enforcement leadership.

Before going any further, let me give you an idea of how the “Good to Great” concepts were formulated. Jim Collins and his research team conducted a detailed analysis of over 1,400 Fortune 500 companies looking for ones that demonstrated a very specific pattern of growth: At least 15 years of good results, a clear transition point, followed by at least 15 years of great results. Great results were defined as having a total stock return of at least 3 times the general market over the same period in time. Of the 1,400 companies they looked at, only 11 met that very specific criteria. They then began the lengthy process of analyzing what the distinctive traits were that those companies had in common which took them from good to great.

Now the question becomes, what does this business mumbo jumbo have to do with policing? Following the success of “Good to Great,” Jim Collins began hearing a similar question from multiple areas of social sector work – law enforcement, non-profit organizations, hospitals, education, etc. In 2005, he released a monograph (like an additional chapter) to supplement the book entitled, “Good to Great and the Social Sectors.” This supplement is geared specifically to the social sector and the unique constraints faced by these types of organizations such as hiring, firing, compensation, etc.

As he did in the original book, Jim Collins starts the monograph off with a profound statement, “We must reject the idea – well-intentioned, but dead wrong – that the primary path to greatness in the social sectors is to become ‘more like a business.’” Business concepts on leadership have their place, but they must be properly interpreted in order to effectively be applied in law enforcement. Law enforcement must be led in a way that only a law enforcement leader can; by someone that has handled calls, made arrests, used force, and been in situations that they will never forget. The bottom line is this . . . law enforcement measures greatness through their service to the community, not profits.

Before proceeding into the “Good to Great” framework, the question law enforcement supervisors must answer is how do you define greatness in policing at your department? What specifically defines a good officer and what specifically defines a great officer? The only way to determine that answer is to look at your department’s mission statement, goals, strategic plan, performance evaluation process, etc. and understand how those things are measured at the officer level. Once it is understood what your officers must demonstrate in order to be considered great, under the guidelines of your department, then you can proceed in applying the Good to Great concepts. Just a quick note to any chiefs or command staff that may read this . . . if you cannot define greatness in your organization in concrete detail, then neither can your officers or first-line supervisors. Honor-Initiative-Excellence are great qualities to put on the side of a patrol car or hang on a wall in the briefing room, but if you don’t define them in concrete, “this-is-what-it-looks-like” terms; then they are just words.

STAGE 1: DISCIPLINED PEOPLE

Level 5 Leadership: For a squad to go from good to great, it is first necessary for them to have what Jim Collins refers to as a Level 5 Leader at the helm. A level 5 leader is ambitious and initiative-driven when it comes to applying their department’s definition of greatness to their work as a police officer. I say police officer because regardless of rank, we all started as police officers and that is the common denominator when it comes to the reason we started in this career. Level 5 leaders demonstrate that it is more about the job and their officers than themselves. They share a passion for learning, teaching, and leading other officers in the proper way to police. Ultimately, level 5 leaders realize their success comes through making those they lead successful. (For more similar to this, see our blog entitled, “The 10 Law Enforcement Leadership Commandments.”)

First Who…Then What: The most valuable resource in a police department is not people, it is having the right people. The only way to take a squad from good to great is to have the right people on it; ones that are willing to get on board and make the transition to greatness. Unfortunately, due to the structure of police departments, we cannot always control who we have on our squads. Therefore, it is incumbent of the first-line supervisor to do everything within their power to mold their officers into being the right people. This will not always work, but it is an effort that must be made. Developing the right people can be accomplished through training, honest evaluations, handling call with them, briefing discussions, assigning them to ride with more experienced officers, good field training officers, etc. Once you have the right people on your squad, then you have to get them into the “right seats on the bus.” Assess the skills and talents that your officers possess and assign them to beats where those skills and talents can be best applied. Then, help direct those officers into specialty units that fit their skills and talents to benefit the department as a whole. (For more similar to this, see our blog entitled, “6 Ways to Positively Influence Officer Behavior.”)

STAGE 2: DISCIPLINED THOUGHT

Confront the Brutal Facts: Confronting the brutal facts is all about retaining unwavering faith in the goal of becoming great while at the same time recognizing the challenges to that goal. They may stem from the community, the department, policies, staffing, politics, compensation, or internal squad issues. You must possess the discipline to recognize your current reality and work tirelessly to improve the circumstances you find yourself in no matter the difficulties. Find like-minded individuals within the department that also have the desire to be great and collaborate with them to begin tackling the issues that you can control. Don’t waste your time on things you can’t control. Dealing with these issues will take dedication, time, and effort; but as long as your intentions are directed towards reaching the goal, the squad will come along. (For more similar to this, see our blog entitled, “Change and Reputation.”)

The Hedgehog Concept: The Hedgehog Concept has to do with having simple, basic principles for your squad to follow that support the goal of becoming great and maintaining that greatness. These principles should be the intersection of the 3 circles – what you can be the best at, what you are passionate about, and what drives your department’s vision of greatness.

The first two circles are pretty self-explanatory, but measuring a police department’s vision of greatness can be difficult because it is not as simple as measuring profits in a business. A police department’s vision of greatness comes through in their community’s perception of them. Does the community trust that the department is there to protect them and act in their best interest with the power and authority that has been granted upon them? Like the Colorado River slowly forming the Grand Canyon, the thing to remember about the Hedgehog Concept is that the simple, basic principles of your squad need to be applied and reinforced on a consistent and on-going basis. (For more similar to this, see our blog entitled, “Setting Squad Expectations: The R.I.D.E.S. Model.”)

STAGE 3: DISCIPLINED ACTION

Culture of Discipline: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. As law enforcement, we have a great deal of power and authority and we must be constantly accountable to the community we serve. There are many pressures that can instigate the slide down the slippery slope of dishonesty, malfeasance, and abuse of power. Therefore, it is incumbent upon the first-line supervisor, to nurture a culture of discipline within their squad that does the right things, at the right times, for the right reasons without emotion or prejudice and for the good of the community at-large. If a culture of discipline is set in place from the beginning, then having to deal with actual discipline will be limited to the minor mistake that can be handled and put into the past. (For more similar to this, see our blog entitled, “The 3 Accountability Relationships in Law Enforcement.”)

The Flywheel: The flywheel is about consistently applying the concepts listed above in such a way that you start the flywheel of greatness spinning. The more the above concepts are applied, the faster the wheel begins to spin, and the less effort necessary to make it continue. Eventually, so much momentum is gained that it generates its own energy. The patrol culture you create is the first-line supervisor’s version of a flywheel. By putting the time and attention necessary into nurturing the right patrol culture, the first-line supervisor can start the flywheel of greatness spinning. If focus begins to slip and the Hedgehog Concept gets muddled up, the flywheel will begin to slow and greatness will begin to slide back to good or worse. Therefore, the entire process must be internalized by the first-line supervisor and assume their role to actively lead their squads towards greatness. (For more similar to this, see our blog entitled, “A Law Enforcement Leadership Reward.”)

The mission at Thin Blue Line of Leadership is to inspire law enforcement leaders to be better than they were yesterday. Positive leadership and creating a positive squad culture are on-going commitments that must be nurtured and developed over time by anyone in a law enforcement leadership position. By discussing topics like this, law enforcement leaders are tending to the welfare of the “whole” officer, not just the one in uniform.

Share your thoughts or comments with us below or on our Facebook page. Continue saving the world one call at a time and as always, LEAD ON!

The 10 Law Enforcement Leadership Commandments

March 25, 2015LeadershipCulture, enforcement, law, leader, leadership, police, positiveThin Blue Line of Leadership

The mission at Thin Blue Line of Leadership is to inspire law enforcement leaders to be better than they were yesterday. Sharing positive leadership tactics and creating a positive law enforcement culture are on-going commitments that must be nurtured and developed over time by anyone in a law enforcement leadership position.

Here are 10 Law Enforcement Leadership Commandments . . .

Emphasize good culture over rules. Good culture within the organization or squad will take care of the rules.
Create and train your officers to be the next leaders of the organization. Develop them through mentorship.
Remember your “why” and share it often. Know your officers’ “why” and don’t let them forget it.
Your officers will only be as good as they are trained to be. Work to create a learning culture.
Emphasize the value in doing the right thing at the right time for the right reasons.
Teach your officers not to operate in fear when intent is pure.
Recognize, reward, and promote good police work as a matter of routine.
Be purposeful in your briefings. Don’t let the little time you have with the whole squad go to waste.
Create influence through contact, communication, and connection. Then you will get contribution. Get out and handle some calls with them.
You will succeed the most through your officers succeeding. Don’t put personal gain above their needs.

Have something that you would have added to this list? Share your thoughts or comments with us below or on our Facebook page. Continue saving the world one call at a time and as always, LEAD ON!