Stripes Don’t Make You a Leader—Respect Does

No matter what type of business you’re in, the organization cannot survive without someone being in charge. That’s called a bureaucracy, and those within it who make the decisions, we call supervisors. There is a hierarchy where one person is over another, and over another, and yet another until you reach the person at the bottom who actually does most of the work. In police work, as in the military, we call that the Chain of Command. Contained within the chain are many supervisors, but few actual Leaders.

Leadership is that innate characteristic that separates those from the pack – those that others will actually follow into battle, or closer to home, through that door. What I learned throughout my 37 years on the job is that many make the mistake of believing that because they have achieved a certain station in their organization, becoming a supervisor, that in and of itself makes them a leader. In achieving rank, as in the case of making sergeant, there are those who believe officers will automatically follow them through the proverbial door. But of course they won’t if they don’t believe in you. Because you took a test and have stripes doesn’t entitle you to blind loyalty. You have to earn it. The same holds true for new lieutenants, captains, majors, chiefs, and sheriffs. Subordinates will obey and follow orders, to a point, because they fear reprisal if they don’t. Fair enough. But they’re not doing it because you inspired them; this will take time. So how do you earn their loyalty?

First: You have to show your people that you are human and, in that respect, just like them. They may no longer be your peers as far as rank goes, but you are not now superior as a person and will still be prone to mistakes. You may have accumulated knowledge and experience, but don’t ever act like you know it all because you don’t.  

Second: Don’t talk down to your people. Engage them and ask their opinion when circumstances allow. If it’s not an exigent situation where you have to issue orders as in an emergency, and one of your officers asks you, “What do you think, Sarge?” Ask them instead, “What do you think?” Young officers may not have the answer, but guidethem towards that answer and let them figure it out. You’re including them in the decision-making process, and that will pay dividends.

The same holds true for every rank ascending the coveted corporate ladder. Allow your subordinates to make decisions and don’t micromanage them if they are competent, and most are. Did you like it when your supervisor, office manager, or boss micromanaged you? No, you didn’t. So don’t be a hypocrite and don’t do it to them. 

Third: When someone comes to you with a problem, don’t push them off and tell them to figure it out on their own. They came to you as their supervisor, and it probably means that they have exhausted every other avenue they know to resolve their situation. Whether it’s work-related or personal, help them help themselves. This will show them and everyone they work with that you care. Two things will happen: 1) if you help them resolve their problem, you’ve earned their trust and that of those they will be talking to. 2) If you didn’t help, you’ve alienated them, and those same people will be talking to you in the first instance. We don’t need social media to get the word around in a police station or corporate office, do we?  

Fourth: Don’t berate your people publicly. If someone screws up badly enough that they need to be chewed out, do it privately, and then if permitted, don’t follow it with paperwork.  Sometimes the a$$-chewing is enough and sends the message, and both of you can move on. Is it correction you’re after or humiliation? No one likes to be reprimanded, and a public thrashing will obtain the opposite effect than what you are seeking. If you do it publicly, you’ve lost that person forever, so word to the unwise.  

I actually heard a high-ranking supervisor say to a group of officers and supervisors that he was meeting for the first time in his new command, that he had an undergraduate degree in Organizational Leadership. Impressive! Glad he went to college. He then went on to say at the end of that meeting that he had his program, and if you didn’t get with it he would replace you. All that the personnel in that room remember is his final ultimatum and nothing else. Good first impression. He then went on to violate everything I just talked about and wasn’t liked and even less respected. If you think because you are in a command-level position or in any supervisory capacity, for that matter, that you can speak to your people any way you choose and not expect pushback, you’re dead wrong! Many will not challenge you because you are the boss, but rest assured that the salty, older veteran is going to reach a saturation point and will come back at you. I’ve had to do this myself.

Fifth: Don’t expect your people to do anything you wouldn’t do yourself. In police work, the officers do the work. They respond and handle calls, fine. That’s the way it’s set up. But let’s start with your role as the squad leader, the sergeant. Your job is to direct and guide them. But how do you do that? Bark out orders and tell them to go in and take care of business? With some veteran officers, that might be the case, as they should know what they’re doing, so treat them that way. With young and inexperienced officers, it’s a recipe for disaster. Our responsibility as police supervisors and our mandate is to train the young Jedi Knights coming up under us, and show them the way. If you get your hands dirty with them, they will take notice. They will walk through fire and follow you to the ends of the earth.

Years ago, at my brother’s wedding, a North Miami PD officer came up to me and said he knew of me through my work at the Intracoastal Station, and he wanted to get some advice since he was about to be promoted to sergeant. Flattering to say the least, I was glad to help. He went on to say he would give his upcoming new squad their marching orders and “cut them loose.” I told him not to do that, and he was surprised. I went on to tell him that his officers will be looking for him to lead them from the front, not the rear. If you show them you are willing to be the first through that door, the sergeant who starts his own case and finishes it, writes his own arrest forms and tickets, and doesn’t dump any of his work on them, in time, they will do anything you ask of them. Issue orders as needed. Complete the missions, as there will be many, and LEAD by example. So don’t crack that whip from the rear. Take that whip, stretch it out behind you, and tell them to hold on and pull them along with you.

Since I’m on the topic of doing your own work, never dump work that you don’t want to do onto your subordinates. This is particularly true in the case of some sergeants and lieutenants think that because they got promoted, officers and sergeants below them are now their personal secretaries. They are not. Everyone in the chain has their own specific duties and responsibilities that come with their position. Shame on you if you staff out your administrative work to a subordinate. Officers are busy handling calls or running down cases. Sergeants are busy supervising and guiding their squads on the frontline as they should be. Lieutenants should be leading their platoons and guiding young sergeants without over-managing. Promotion doesn’t mean you don’t have to work any longer and are R.O.D., Retired On-Duty. I have seen many a lazy supervisor and tried my best to stay away from them. They don’t share my work ethic or sense of duty, and I didn’t run in the same social circles with them because of that. This may sound harsh or even arrogant, but I tried to surround myself with people who were hard workers, loyal, and remembered why we took this job.

Finally: Never tell someone, “You work for me!” I absolutely hate that saying. It is widely used in our profession to denote that someone is under your supervision. I get that. But I have seen it used in a very negative and demeaning manner where some full-of-him/herself supervisor was berating and intimidating a subordinate and threatening them with discipline. For those that have rank, by all means do supervise, issue orders, and be responsible for those that we are appointed over. Unless you own the business, and none of us do in police work, no one actually works for you. They are responsible to us. There’s a huge difference. Build your own business, and you can say someone works for you all day long if it will make you feel better. Having said that, we actually work for the public we are charged to protect. That’s the job. A long time ago, I read a saying from an unknown author that I adopted as my own, and use it below my email signature: “Leaders are like eagles; they never flock together, you find them one at a time.” Be that eagle, and others will want to fly with you. It has been perfected over time by those who came along before any of us. Heed the advice, be the eagle that soars above the fray to lead and guide others. You’ll be glad you did.