Full text: Pope Francis’ homily for his inaugural Mass, March 19, 2013

The International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) commissioned a study, The Public Image of Police, that found that 95% of the public consider the mass media their main source of information about crime. The study went on the say, “Entertainment media present images of police that distort the realities of every-day police work…police are more often than not presented as incompetent rule-breakers.”

The IACP found that even personal experience cannot be trusted. “The general thrust of this research is that how citizens experience the police personally shows a significant impact on their general assessment of the police (and)…negative experiences appear to have a more powerful effect than positive experiences.”

Since most people form their opinions from the media or from what others tell them, and of their own experiences they are more likely to remember the negative than the positive, it should come as no surprise that a majority of your “customers” have set their expectations pretty low. Are you going to be that lazy cop who can’t be bothered? Or maybe the adrenaline junkie who is bound to abuse their authority? Maybe an indifferent bureaucrat who will victimize them all over again? Odds are they will have low expectations of your ethics, your competence, the way you will exercise your authority, the way you will treat them, or all of the above.

As a police officer everyone you meet is an opportunity.  Every interaction is a chance to confirm or dispel a stereotype, and make no mistake, you are doing one or the other. Don’t waste a single opportunity to deliver a pleasant surprise.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. Customer service has its place, but if your lawyer, doctor or even your plumber tells you that you are always right, you don’t need them and they should be fired. The old adage falls even shorter of the mark in law enforcement.

A quick survey of the rules of customer service comes up with some universal truths, but always comes back to statements like this. Number one of The Ten Commandments of Great Customer Service: Know who is boss. You are in business to service customer needs, and you can only do that if you know what it is your customers want. When you truly listen to your customers, they let you know what they want and how you can provide good service. Never forget that the customer pays our salary and makes your job possible. The Ten Rules of Customer Service includes the much beloved, “The customer is always right” at #5.

In a situation requiring the police, that logic breaks down almost immediately. When a cop arrives it is almost exclusively when the customer is wrong (although, of course, assumed innocent of any crime). A police officer’s first responsibilities have nothing to do with customer service. Physical safety is far and away the highest priority. The safety of the officer and the customer trump anyone’s feelings about how well they have been served. The demeanor that an officer must assume, the command presence that is required to provide officer and public safety, bears no resemblance to what one would expect if “customer service” were the priority. It simply cannot.

It is important, but for a police officer it is not about customer service. It is about treating everyone with respect and with dignity. Having a customer that you might be required to kill changes everything. It is not about creating a feeling, it is about serving with integrity. That raises the bar well above mere “customer service.”

An unusual painting to find hanging in a police chief’s office? Perhaps, but that is where I saw this. Because I know nothing about art, I thought it may have come from a starving artist sale, but came to find out it is “The Isle of Skye” a painting of some significance and available online. The painting perfectly captures the spirit of Col. Dave Grossman’s police officer/warrior parable, “On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs” with one significant addition…

There are sheep.
They are the vast majority who live at peace and are incapable of hurting each other except by accident or under extreme provocation. They are productive. The flock thrives when the sheep are protected, healthy and happy.

There are wolves.
They are predators that lurk unseen and feed on the sheep without mercy.

There are sheepdogs.
They resemble the wolf, with fangs and the capacity for violence.  The sheep generally do not like the sheepdog. Although the sheepdog is incapable of hurting them (without being removed from the flock), he disturbs the sheep. He is a constant reminder that there are wolves in the land.  The sheep would prefer the sheepdog did not tell him where to go, or hem him in (or write him a traffic ticket). The sheep would actually prefer a world without the sheepdog at all…until the wolf arrives.

Then there is the Shepherd.
The sheepdog is constantly looking toward Him. The sheepdog must not forget who really minds the flock. If he forgets where his authority comes from he will lose it, because the authority is not his own. Under authority the sheepdog is an extension of the shepherd to the benefit of the flock. Without a shepherd the sheepdog becomes the wolf.

Based on “On Sheep, Wolves and Sheepdogs” by by Lt. Col. Dave Grossman, U.S. Army (Ret.)

Thanks to Kent Williams for introducing me to the painting “Isle of Skye” by Richard Ansdell (1815-1855) - my copy is on the way.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
John 10:11 (NIV)

We’ve made leadership about changing the world, and there is no world. There’s only six billion understandings of it, and if you change one person’s understanding of it, one person’s understanding of what they’re capable of, one person’s understanding of how much people care about them, one person’s understanding of how powerful an agent for change they can be in this world, you’ve changed the whole thing.” - Drew Dudley

If you are not familiar with TED Talks, you should be. Here is a short one; Everyday Leadership from Drew Dudley. It is worth every one of its six minutes and it may just change your understanding of leadership.

This post is the first in a series from REDEMPTION/revolution, written by Matt Furr, a gifted leader who’s blog is definitely worth checking out. I could not agree more with him on how critical it is for leaders to understand the importance of “emotional intelligence.”  Matt writes…

I had a great breakfast with a couple of guys who are a bit further down the leadership road than I am. An important part of our conversation was about “emotional intelligence.” It’s an intriguing notion that I’d like to explore for a few days.

Thanks to Facebook, we’ve got a number of IQ tests available to us. For the most part, we’re trying to measure how smart we are. Emotional intelligence is measuring something different. It would seem that there are 2 pieces to EI:

1. how well we know our own selves
2. how well we read and understand the emotional selves of the people around us

Why does EI matter? Let me toss out a couple key reasons:

1. for most leaders, EI will become their ceiling – their effectiveness at leading others will hinge less on the leadership skills they develop over time and more on their ability to “know thyself” and others.

2. our personal emotion (and I’d even say spiritual) health rides on our capacity to know ourselves – our faith journey cannot be distinguished from our journey toward emotional adulthood. It will impact our perspective on God and His role in our lives.

Do a quick little test for yourself…ready?

On a scale of 1-5, rate yourself in these ways:
1=never
2=rarely
3=sometimes
4=mostly
5=always

1. I take time to reflect on how I respond to others or present ideas during a meeting.
2. I eagerly invite others to give me their impressions of my motives and growth points based on our interactions.
3. I know when I’m reacting in fear or pride during a conversation.
4. I consistently take the emotional temperature in a room and tailor my response accordingly.
5. It matters to me how my interactions impact others during a meeting or conversation.

Add your score and see where you fall…

5-7 Have you ever read Dilbert? You know the manager? Yeah…
7-14 There are probably some great growth steps for you to take in the area of EI.
15-22 You’re growing in this area and are probably eager to grow some more.
23-25 Yeah, right…have you ever read Dilbert? You know the manager?

The great thing about emotional intelligence, is that we can all take some steps of growth, if we determine to. So where are you? And do you want to grow your EI IQ?

Check out the rest of the series:

Emotional Intelligence: Self-awareness

Emotional Intelligence: Awareness of Others pt 1

Emotional Intelligence: Awareness of Others pt 2

Emotional Intelligence: Being A Thermostat

Emotional Intelligence: What’s The Big Deal?

He should be the soul of tact, patience, justice, firmness, kindness, and charity. No meritorious act of a subordinate should escape his attention or be left to pass without its reward, even if the reward is only a word of approval.

Conversely, he should not be blind to a single fault in any subordinate, though at the same time, he should be quick and unfailing to distinguish error from malice, thoughtfulness from incompetency, and well meant shortcomings from heedless or stupid.

In one word, every commander should keep constantly before him the great truth, that to be well obeyed, he must be perfectly esteemed.”

–  Captain John Paul Jones, USN  (1747–1792),
from letters compiled by Augustus C. Buell 

The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.
-       Mark Twain (1835-1910)

A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves.
-       Lao Tzu (6^th century B.C.)

So, the best leadership draws out your best while going undetected.

General Petraeus would tell you that personal character and public leadership are inextricably linked. The decision to resign was clear to him, but not so to everyone. Senator Diane Feinstein, on the Senate Intelligence Committee since 1993 and chair of that committee since 2009,  sees it differently. Feinstein said, “I wish President Obama had not accepted this resignation, but I understand and respect the decision.” She said that she would have “stood up for him” and ”I wanted him to continue.”

Petraeus’ resignation was essential and he knew it because he is an authentic leader. For Senator Feinstein to publicly wish it wasn’t so, is simply poor leadership. Poor leadership that we have become very tolerant of. No one has a keener radar for the ethical rationalizations that have numbed America than ethics pro Jack Marshall. I could not have said it better than he did, so I will not try…

I have no doubt, none at all, that had Petraeus chosen to stay, the public, the Obama Administration, Republicans (who idolize him) and Democrats like Feinstein would have been thrilled to allow him, and to let the scandal fade away. After all, he’s good at his job—it was just one mistake—it’s only sex—lots of leaders do it—he’s only human—it was personal conduct…forgiveness is divine. We know these by heart, don’t we? They were all trotted out ad nauseam in the defense of President Clinton, who as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed forces also should be living by the Army’s principles of leadership, and who not only engaged in on-the-job adultery but with a subordinate employee, and lied about it under oath, twice. Accountability is almost invisible on Capitol Hill. Leadership means holding power, keeping it, wielding it, not ennobling it. The public sees so little true leadership that it no longer recognizes what a leader is. – Jack Marshall