When we arrive at work each day, we unconsciously decide if we are going to be rolled, or ride, the tide of engagement. The other day, my officers left a nice picture on the board with rainbows and “Welcome to Phibbsville’. The officers and I understand that sometimes we are over whelmed by calls and crime, and occasionally feel we have too few officers. However, I try to keep them motivated and upbeat at every turn. I tell them, “Everyone Makes an Impact”. Together, as a team we will make a stand and overcome!
It is all in the attitude you bring to new assignments, and your daily activities. I feel one must always try to create a vision for a team that resonates down to the individual level. Motivation should come from the top down and bottom up. Individual officers do extraordinary things that make everyone scream, “YES!” If I‘m wrong in my philosophy and vision, the officers may take it as a joke and quite working hard, I lose, the city loses.
Last week, I gave the officers areas to patrol. Hard works can now focus their efforts and lazy officers can’t hide in the peripheries avoiding calls and responsibility. They don't have to stay in the area the entire shift, but they are required to handle the problems in their areas. “No Excuses Allowed”. The officers have embraced the idea. They like having the ability and responsibility to have an impact and focus on an area. Within the sector we have a “maintenance zone”, and area that is the key to the success or failure of the entire sector. Every officer in the sector is required to assist in the “maintenance zone”. As a team we help each other out in the individual areas; and, as a team we “all” maintain the zone. With all changes, questions came up. I'm glad they could be resolved early. I like to use examples from the book "It’s Your Ship". If you have ideas run with them. If you have problems in your area come up with an answer. I tell the officers to come up with something that has never been tried before. I will support you. If the officers plan fails, we’ll do an after action evaluation and see what went wrong. It’s about providing trust to let people stretch out and makes the difference. However, with trust comes responsibility and accountability for actions.
To get every shift and everyone on board, I have spent more time with the night shift than I can ever remember. This begins to build trust and I am hearing, "Lt we have your back." That is enough for me. Those guys do have a tough job. They put the city to bed and wait for it to wake up in the morning. The patrol the areas in the mean time ensuring the citizens are safe. The officers then go to court and go home and sleep during the day. Some people love the night shift, others hate it, but together they get through.
The key to creating synergy in a 24/7 operation is to show each shift how their collective actions impact the all three shifts and sector effectiveness. By creating a unified vision and having targeted initiatives that all three shifts work shared responsibility. Together, we all share in the rewards and failures of our collective actions. There is now more efficient cross communication between shifts. Officers are more willing to come in early, or stay late, to accomplish the mission and vision of the sector. They can do plain clothes assignments, or ride bikes, depending on what we are targeting. The key is to get the individual excited to come to work. The individual impacts the team. The team impacts the shift. The shift impacts the sectors. Together, we make an impact to improve the communities. Eventually, we all move on. I'm setting the stage for the next guy to ride the tide of engagement and knock it out of the box.
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