ICLD 1.6 Personal Leadership: Discussion Board

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• The part that stood out to me was the comment about respect and when someone is talking to you not to check your emails, or phone. I have bosses now that do both in the middle of a conversation and in my opinion one of the most disrespectful things you can do.

• I am sharing my thoughts on personal leadership. As we all know, leadership is a crucial aspect of any organization or group, and individuals must also develop their leadership skills. One personal leadership approach I find particularly helpful is the 5 L’s: Love, Learn, Labor, Laugh, and Leave from the Personal Leadership module.

  Love refers to having a passion for what you do and being motivated to pursue your goals. Learning reminds us that we should always seek knowledge and learn from our experiences. Labor means putting in the hard work necessary to achieve our goals. Laugh reminds us to have fun and enjoy the journey, even when things get tough. Finally, Leave reminds us that we must be willing to let go of our ego and pride and be open to feedback and suggestions from others.

  In addition to these five principles, I also enjoyed when the speaker stated good leaders should spend twice as much time observing, listening, and taking suggestions from others before they speak. This allows for a more collaborative and inclusive approach to leadership and ensures that all voices are heard.

  By following the 5 L’s and being open to feedback, we can become better leaders and create more positive and impactful outcomes in our personal and professional lives.

• Poor leaders are not only found in the law enforcement profession they are found in every trade or profession across the globe. I like the idea of not wasting energy on things you can’t change and while some leaders I have worked for were not that great, I still learned a great deal from them. I enjoyed the speaker that mentioned not all leaders have great personalities. I think that is the absolute truth, I have worked for some very non people leaders, but I respected them and followed them because of their other qualities.

• Every one of the speakers brought great energy to what they were saying and made wonderful points about leadership. A number of things presented I try to emulate on a daily basis. The idea that “personality” doesn’t make or break a leader I think is right on target. I have worked for supervisors in the past that had very little people skills, but I knew where they stood and I knew that I wanted to follow them, because of their other attributes.

• One of the most important points I took away from this lecture was in the section “What Defines a Great Leader” by Jim Collins. He said the key to being a great leader is humility, to have an absolute burning ambition that is not about them. To me these people are driven and ambitious while still putting the needs of others above their own. Instead of inspiring people to follow a person, they inspire people to follow a cause.

• Some good videos and information in this lesson. One of the overarching messages that will be important to implement is listening to others. It was mentioned that as leaders we should be spending twice as much time listening and observing as we do speaking and engaging. I think this is very important. It’s important as a leader to stay connected to those around us, know them as people and hear their input and views. Leaders don’t manage behind their desks, so getting out and being proactive about this behavior will gain respect and trust from staff and eliminate some of the “us vs them” mentality. They also talked about being aware of special issues like speaking with people when they don’t get promotions to explain why. Also knowing staff enough to celebrate life milestones like marriage, births, and loss of loved ones.

  This lesson also talked about the 5 “Ls” of leadership – love, learn, labor, laugh, and leave. I think these are good cornerstones to becoming an effective leader. Continuing to learn is vitally important as a leader, but compassion is also very important. Knowing when to leave a role and to put aside personal wants to better an agency is truly being a good leader.

  • I agree, often times people stay in a role or on a department way too long and often for their own selfish reasons. Sometimes it is important to let go and know when to leave and let the people you’ve mentored step in and take over to carry on the mission.

• I think the most important part about this lecture is being able to keep strong morals. I also want to mention that leadership is often challenged and many will argue that some leaders only perform for the people they report to. This method of leadership tends to promote cancer among your subordinates. I think it is important to demonstrate that you are willing to go above and beyond for everyone that on your team. But I also think they need to know that your character as a person is to be a stand up individual and that your actions are for the overall goal of professionalism and meeting the standards that you present to the overall team. Your character needs to lead by example. Your values in a work place needs to lead by example. Your subordinates need to believe in you and believe that you are there for them just as much as you are for the administration of whom you report to. In the lecture he had mentioned how to deploy the resources we are given. I think it is important to use what we are provided but I also believe that being able to improvise and show that we can stretch our resources further is a good way to get the benefit in what we are trying to accomplish. Some of the best leaders I have been around improvised daily and had very little resources at their disposal. But they showed me ways to succeed without having the best and in the days we are in it has become well known that departments will experience lower funds but a good leader can overcome by not allowing society or politicians believe that we can not perform our duties and need to rely on their services if we do what we are trained to do and do it right. I will always find ways for my squad to perform at the best standards possible because first I believe in them and I know that they can succeed because we work together.

  • I completely agree with you; it’s crucial to maintain solid morals and demonstrate good leadership qualities. Unfortunately, some leaders only perform for those they report to, which can create an unfavorable environment for subordinates. It’s essential to show that you are willing to go above and beyond for everyone on your team while leading by example and promoting professionalism. Being able to improvise and stretch resources is a valuable skill for leaders. It’s inspiring to hear about leaders who succeeded with minimal resources. As you said, a good leader can overcome challenges and ensure their team performs at the highest standards possible. Keep up the great work!

• Chief Tobia discussed in this module the cornerstones of leadership. The one cornerstone that most resonated with me was keeping a strong moral compass. I believe as a leader; all eyes are on me. Subordinates are watching me, and I am setting the example whether I acknowledge it or not. If I don’t keep a good moral compass, then I may end up acting or speaking in an immoral manner. Whether these deemed immoral actions are legal or illegal, it will set a precedent and an example for others to follow.

• This section has a good information that I think we all have experience with. Through our careers we have an assortment of different leaders good or bad. It’s easy to dwell on thinking that your’e not advancing or fulfilling you career due to poor leadership, but I think it is very important to step back and ask yourself if your supervisor has poor leadership skills or do I just not like what they have done personally. The Leader may be acting appropriately and you are just feeling consequences for actions that you don’t see as wrong.

• I was really fascinated by the information that was presented in the video on “The Narrow Road of Leadership,” this provided a different way of looking at leadership. When presented with the question of what is going on wrong within in the department, having the ability to recognize and say we or me is the issue and not the fact that upper management isn’t providing resources (Enter, 2008). Several months ago, I had a staff member say that upper management and HR weren’t doing what they needed to do to get staff hired on fast enough. However, the real problem was that the four members and I weren’t working as a team. We were constantly working against each other, which was causing all of us to worker harder not smarter. There was a lack of communication among members, causing work to be completed incorrectly or not timely, which caused more turmoil and animosity amongst members.

  I have tried on several occasions to solicit feedback from members on the team, sometimes I am successful and other times there is dead silence. However, I liked the question being posed as, “Do you agree with me that we should do….” (Enter, 2008). This provides the ability to have an open discussion about why or why not to try a different way of doing things. It also allows me to communicate the vision that I am seeing and explain why or how I am seeing the current issue at hand.
  Reference
  Enter, J. (2008). The narrow road of leadership. 1.6, Week # 2. National Command and Staff College. Retrieved from https://cloud.scorm.com/content/
  courses/NAGVXPB5E6/PersonalLeadership5097833a-b1ba-438f-a6c9-01f1d54a5b70/3/index_lms.htmlEssay 1.6

• Listening to Tony Robbins again was great. I’ve always loved listening to his speeches years ago. I wanted to talk about the bad leaders were learned in the week’s module. It seems in most cases a bad leader generally looks after themselves. This leader tries to look good with the bosses and does not care about the expense of the others they may cause to co-workers. This leads to bad results for both sides- the co-worker and the boss. Co-works lose trust in the bad leader for obvious reasons, but it’s bad for the boss if the boss believes what the bad leader is saying. No leader is perfect. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses. A good leader takes the time to figure out their weaknesses and work on making themselves a better leader.

• You’re going to come around good and bad leaders in any career. It is also your responsibility to do what is right. On or off duty you should always be doing the right thing. There is always eyes on us from the public. People may know outside of our career but because we sworn to protect and serve the community we are held to a higher standard.

  • You are right, there are always eyes on law enforcement officers from the public. We are living in “cancel culture.” A message to everyone, please be care what you post on social media. It may come back to bite you. This is one of many reasons I stay off social media.

• I like that Dr. Enter spoke about being aware of what is going on and not always placing the blame on others. This is very important when a leader is trying to grow. You cannot grow with the preconceived notion that you are perfect and believe there is nothing else you can improve on. There is a saying or belief that you should always try to learn something new each day. I also like that he spoke about when discussing a problem within an agency that it is always a “THEY” problem instead of saying “WE” have a problem. I think that accountability is one of the most important cornerstones that an effective member of any agency can have, not just the leaders. When trying to identify if something is not working, is it failing at a majority level or are you failing the majority of your subordinates? If you cannot think you are part of the problem, then are you even able to identify that there is problem?

  • I would have to agree that one of the most important aspects of being a leader is having the ability and desire to learn. It is imperative to listen and observe what is occurring within the department, agency and amongst your members. If a leader is always speaking and not actively listening and observing, they aren’t going to be able to build relationships or recognize when there are issues within their unit. A leader also has to have the ability to observe how their members are doing the job to determine if they aren’t completing tasks appropriately or if they are completing tasks more efficiently. Also, leaders have to be willing to attend additional training to improve their skills and abilities.

    • I agree with your statement. It is easy to take actions from leadership that you view as negative and dwell on them. It is very important to view all aspects of the job as a learning experience. If you see something that you view as poor leadership, try to analyze it and apply it toward your learning to be a leader your self and how to either modify the behavior or change it entirely when you are in the same position of leadership.

    • I believe it is important to have the desire to learn and challenge ourselves. we are not always going to make the right call or decision. But standing up behind what we say or do builds a great foundation and respect. I have know problem in telling someone I was wrong. But I will always provide a solution and memory reminder to not do it again. I also, believe speaking honestly and keeping an open door policy allows for them to know that I am approachable and i do care what they think and believe. I allow for suggestions and I ask for their input.

• Tony Robbins. Now there is a name I haven’t seen in a LONG time. I used to love watching Tony Robbins when it occasionally showed up in daily life. When someone would send an email chain on how to be better or when certain jobs loved using his lectures for training purposes. He knows what he is talking about and he has a way with words that really allows you to walk away feeling like you have the capacity to be a better person.

  In particular, I loved this lesson of his and the metaphor of using muscles and muscle memory. When he talked about a lack of resources I really felt like it struck home with me. Not just in my own personal life but always what I’ve encountered as a supervisor. You’re given a goal but you don’t reach it. You want to blame anything you can outside of your own power. But Tony Robbins made it pretty clear in his lecture: you can’t rely on the resources available, but you have to rely on your ability to maximize the resources you do have. An amazing theory of psychology but so incredibly simple. You can whine and complain about not being given the tools you need to succeed, or you can succeed with the tools you do have in spite of what you don’t. Amazing.

  • I agree being able to maximize on the minimal amount of resources you do have. We may not have it all but we have what we have and must make the best of out of it.

  • I would have to agree it is always easier to say we couldn’t accomplish the goal because we didn’t have enough time, money or manpower. However, when we stop and think about it, these are all excuses. We or the members of the team are not in the right frame of mind. Having the right mindset is going to determine what we are going to accomplish. It is like the old saying, “mind over matter” or “you can achieve what ever you put your mind to.” As leaders we have to find a way to inspire our members to have this type of emotional memory.

  • I also really liked how he focused on resourcefulness as the ultimate resource. Whether that be vision, creativity, courage, determination, compassion, connection, caring, love, playfulness, commitment, or willpower, all of these things play into your ability to execute on your plan. As he said, things will always stand in your way or work against you or cause challenges. As a good leader, it is our job to rise in the face of those challenges and do the best we can with what we have to better our agencies.

• One thing that I would like to have seen more discussion on in this module is related to not wasting energy on carrying anger toward terrible leaders.

  Chief Tobia basically recommends that we should identify terrible leaders quickly, and stay as far away from them as possible.

  In an ideal world, that sounds great. However, when you report to or must regularly interact with poor leaders, you can’t just isolate yourself from them and stay away. Personally, I’ve had to modify my behavior and expectations to get along with bad leaders, seeking to identify common ground or determine what, if anything, will satisfy them. I’ve seen others who have taken other approaches, including shutting down and becoming unproductive, withholding information from the leader, or openly challenging the superior. Seldom do these responses help to improve the organization, or help to resolve the situation for anyone involved.

  A review of strategies or approaches that have worked to help these circumstances would be helpful.

  • Tony Robbins talked a lot in his lecture about using the resources you have available to you and not complaining about the resources you lack. I think this can be easily related to your challenge with Chief Tobia’s viewpoint on identifying and avoiding terrible leaders. Coming up through this profession, I have encountered great leaders, terrible leaders, and leaders who just like to sit under trees and get by. But I wouldn’t take away my experiences and what I learned from any of them. I wouldn’t WANT to avoid the bad one. The great leaders taught me what to do and how to get it done. The bad leaders taught me what to avoid and what hurts morale on the squad. The mediocre leaders taught me how to fly under the radar.

    All of these combined shaped me into the leader I am today. An amalgamation of every leader I’ve ever had watch over me. Good… and bad.

    • I like that he used some of the business leaders or scientific leaders to show relevance regarding what people can do when internally motivated. The example of Sam Walton going to each local business and use what he believed as working for him or her and use it for himself. We do this every day when trying to be more like the leaders that inspire us in our own way. You take the example of Bill Gates buying the MS DOS idea and then selling it at a substantial profit. We do the same thing when creating or drafting policy or training blocks. Dr. Stephen Hawking was given an ultimatum for a short period of life, yet he used that time to do the most possible good and luckily had a lot longer time to perfect and master his craft. They all have ways to shape you as a good or great leader. The lack of being able to make the most out of your time as being a leader can set you apart or label you as being good or bad.

  • I agree with you that avoiding poor leaders is not always feasible in our line of work. I like your approach with modifying your behavior and expectations to get along with poor leaders, but only for the reason of passing the time until you can separate yourself from the poor leader as fast as possible as possible.

  • I have had to deal with terrible leaders in the past as I’m sure most people have. I agree it’s hard to “not waste energy” toward bad people. I have experiences that even if you try and be the bigger person, do the right thing, the bad leader’s actions directly affected me. A bad leader has a tendency to misinterpret and take damaging action, whether malicious or not.

• I am a Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs (WASPAC) evaluator and am testing the system.