True (Leadership) Confessions…PAINFUL COMMAND LEADERSHIP LESSONS
Throughout my career in law enforcement, which involved multiple agencies and commands, I think overall, I did a reasonably decent job. While I know that I made many mistakes along the way and can only say that I tried hard to learn from them, and hope others can as well. It can be said with some degree of truth that I likely made every mistake that could be made and ultimately stumbled across the right approaches through the process of elimination!
These thoughts are based on my failings in a single command when I was a new command officer. In all fairness to myself, like old wine I think I got better with age (experience). Notwithstanding an occasional blip in my trajectory, I believe that my leadership performance and effectiveness improved with each new rank and each new position.
Mistake #1 – Accepting the Assessment of Others
During the period of adapting to my new assignment, I made the serious mistake of pretty much accepting as gospel that which I was told by others in whom I had confidence. Accepting the perceived characterizations of others, without the process of some reasonable time and reflection to make my own independent assessments resulted in some initial impressions -- positive and negative -- that to some extent became self-fulfilling prophesies. The information that I was given was universally well-intended and from people that I justifiably held in high esteem, but I had not yet internalized the reality that everyone has opinions of everyone else, and often for different reasons based on different circumstances and from different perspectives. This very serious failure was a factor in the lack of confidence that I had in several key supervisors, and also a reflection of the exaggerated confidence that I had in selected members of the administrative staff that were in place upon my arrival.
Mistake #2 – Failing to Develop & Mentor my Staff
I failed to practice what I had learned and had been teaching, to coach and develop my staff to appropriate degrees. I had a pretty decent resume when I assume my new assignment, including a graduate degree in leadership. I was an adjunct professor at a nearby college, had scored very well on a recent leadership promotional examination, and had all of the experiences that new law enforcement command officers typically possessed. In hindsight, what I needed was solid mentoring by a senior command officer who possessed a solid track record for dealing with complex leadership issues. Realistic command development was pretty lean in past years but has fortunately improved greatly in the last couple of decades.
I remain absolutely ashamed in my failure to coach and mentor several supervisors, especially two lieutenants, who had room to grow. They were good and decent individuals who I believe would have responded well and appreciatively to coaching and mentoring. In hindsight, I must sadly concede that among their serious handicaps was their weak commanding officer – me. While I was severely overwhelmed by the magnitude of the command’s operational and administrative workload, nothing should have been more important than my failed responsibility to develop my subordinate managers. I failed both of them, as well as others who would likely have benefitted from their coaching and mentoring as well. Looking back, I can see where I was too deep in the proverbial forest to see the trees.
Mistake #3 – Failing to Delegate
The failure to delegate, at all levels, is among the most common and troublesome failing for those in positions of leadership and certainly among my most devastating mistakes. In an environment where the number of critical tasks was staggering, I found myself – in some instances – bypassing two of my three lieutenants and essentially doing things myself or assigning them to the single lieutenant in whom I had greater confidence. Among the consequences were other critical leadership responsibilities that were not being adequately addressed, one lieutenant who was badly overworked, two lieutenants who were not being developed, and a command that deserved better leadership than was being provided.
Key Lessons Learned
Be Realistic About Your Weaknesses as Well as your Strengths. In addition to introspection, have an open mind and solicit the candid perception of others in whom you have confidence. Don’t necessarily accept those perspectives as gospel because not everyone sees things in the same light, but gratefully accept input and let it be part of that introspection. Avoid blaming others when things don’t go well, learn from your mistakes and share the lessons with others.
Do Not Accept as Accurate the Perspective of Others. This is especially true when going into a new assignment or department. There are typically well-intentioned individuals who will offer their opinion about the strength and weaknesses of others; do not permit these assessments to become self-fulfilling prophesies. While availing yourself of multiple opinions and perspectives, be primarily influenced by your personal observations and experiences over a reasonable period of time. Recognize that things are almost never as they initially appear. Be especially careful not to be unduly influenced by the various administrative and support employees; while likely fine people, the potential for unintentional inherent bias should be recognized and considered.
Always Seek to Develop and Coach Others, Especially Key Individuals. Recognize that staff development is a key leadership responsibility, and never give up on the development of other people. Avoid being the type of leader who seeks to bring outside personnel into the workplace when there are inside personnel who will likely rise to the same skill level with coaching and mentoring.
Don’t Fall into the Trap of Failing to Delegate. Be clear and realistic about which tasks are your responsibility and which tasks should be performed by others, and by whom. If you have reservations about the skill level of a person who should be performing a particular task, assign it to that person anyway, then monitor and mentor and devote whatever time is necessary to ensure the person gets it right. I realize that this is often much easier said than done, but it is something you must do to either get the job done or legitimately develop a case for personnel replacement.
Don’t be Obsessed with the Opinion of Others. We must always be sensitive and responsive to our chains of command, but also recognize that the perfect boss and the perfect chain of command do not exist. Listen, learn and be responsive, but don’t go into a tailspin when potential criticism comes your way. Recognize that life isn’t always fair and develop the attitude that your greatest satisfaction is likely to come internally by knowing that you have done the best job that you can; over time this attitude will likely serve you well.
Don’t Ask or Expect a Subordinate to Improve the Performance of a Superior. While not always acknowledged, the reality is most everyone in the workplace at all levels plays a role in the success, failure and effectiveness of others. This reality often includes a subordinate’s recognition that the boss has room to grow, and hopefully involves reasonable efforts to contribute to that growth. Helping your boss to succeed it a good thing (especially when you are the boss!). However, it is neither appropriate or realistic to ask or expect a person to keep his or her boss on track and out of trouble.
Use a Process to Manage Your Time and Prioritize Tasks. Whether done on a computer, iPhone or calendar book, adopt and religiously use a schedule and prioritization process. It is very easy to fall into the trap of spending too much time on minor and personal tasks to the detriment of more important tasks and responsibilities; adherence to a formal process is invaluable and essential.
In Conclusion
Those individuals who have an open mind and truly learn from their mistakes, and who are genuinely committed to continued professional development will absolutely continue to grow in terms of leadership effectiveness. It is good to learn from your mistakes, but it is even better if you can learn from the mistakes of others To that end, I hope that today’s leaders can benefit from my mistakes, and that the humiliation of my candor will not have been in vain!
Keith Bushey retired from the Los Angeles Police Department as a commander, from the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department as a deputy chief, and from the United States Marine Corps Reserve as a colonel. Other law enforcement experience includes having served as a Los Angeles County deputy sheriff, a State of California deputy game warden, and as the Marshal of San Bernardino County. He is an instructor emeritus for the FBI Law Enforcement Executive Development Association and has lectured and written extensively in the areas of leadership, management and ethics. His entire eight booklet Leadership Series is in the public domain and may be downloaded without cost from KeithBushey.com.
November 2020