Chief Ralphael Hernandez

10 Surefire Ways to Tick Off Your Co-workers
Kate Lorenz, CareerBuilder.com Editor


Let's face it, not everyone gets along perfectly. To be successful in your work, you at least need the respect and support of others -- your customers, suppliers, co-workers and management. But sometimes, despite your best efforts to win their support, bad habits creep into your daily work life and drive others crazy.


Here are 10 surefire ways to make sure your efforts to win their support don't backfire. If any sound familiar, you could be leaving your co-workers fuming.


1. Is it always all about you?
Are you preoccupied with your own career path and looking good at the expense of others? Do you put others down while you pump yourself up? Instead, conduct yourself in such a way that other people will want to see you succeed -- let their genuine support and admiration of who you are pull you to success.


2. Answering cell phone calls during meetings.
A surefire way to aggravate people is to consistently respond to calls, e-mails and pagers when in conversation with others. This sends a message that they are less important than the caller. Let the calls go and return them when your current conversation is over. If you are expecting an urgent call, alert those present. They will appreciate that you value their time and that you stay focused on matters at hand.


3. Sending voice mails that go on and on and on.
At the end of a voice message, replay it and hear how you sound. Difficulty in getting to the point? Just like giving a speech - state your objective or main message first and follow it with brief, supporting sub-points. Some people prefer voice mail, some e-mail - each workplace has its own expectations.


4. Acting like a bureaucrat.
Do you drag out turnaround times and play control games? Do you create obstacles or barriers for others to do their work? Making mountains out of molehills is another surefire way to alienate people. Teach people how to navigate your organization efficiently, knowing when to stick with the rules and when to break them.


5. Reading the newspaper or hammering on your laptop during training sessions or meetings.
Yes, there are way too many meetings and you've got more important things to do. Yet doing non-relevant tasks when there is a set agenda sends a clear message that this event or these people are unimportant to you. Instead, be fully focused - chances are if you completely engage, you will make important contributions while you show you are a committed team player.


6. "I'm like, ya know..."
You are your words even more so in virtual relationships. You may be communicating with people worldwide who know you only by the sound of your voice or the tone of your e-mails. Become conscious of how you use language and stop communicating in ways that cause you to sound inexperienced or unprofessional. Ask those you trust and respect for feedback.


7. Doing your bills at the office.
Whether you are paying your bills, planning your wedding, or placing an online order for a special gift, avoid doing them on office time. People understand short personal calls and respect emergencies, but they don't appreciate seeing you get paid to manage your life.


8. Skirting around the dress code.
Ask 10 companies to define business casual and you have 10 different definitions. Dressing for work has never been more complicated - especially if you work at multiple locations. Prioritize matching your customer's dress code and if visiting more than one on a given day and the codes conflict, go for a classic, neutral look and be prepared to flex - adding or losing a jacket or tie between locations.


9. Taking it too easy on telecommute days.
Run a few errands and throw in a load of laundry? Hey, you're a hard worker and deserve work-life balance. Telecommuting can be a tremendous win-win but if you stretch it to its limits, you may blow the policy for yourself and others. Meet your deadlines, be readily available during business hours and do great work -- skip the temptation to make it appear like you are working but you're really not.


10. Acting unethically.
Make sure you are clear on your organization's ethics policies and have the courage and conviction to uphold them. It's easy to draw the line on major violations but watch for the subtle ways you may be pulling others in the wrong direction to achieve goals -- massaging numbers or data, violating copyright, or providing misleading information. Raise the ethics bar high and hold yourself and others to it.

"Looking Forward" you are a complete idiot or just a complete ace kisser. This department is in major trouble and I believe that you are a poster from City Hall, because there is NO ONE within the P.D is happy at this moment. The city is at an all time high with violent crimes and we are going to cut the PD budget? Let's burden our officers with inane suggestions such as a 2.5% pay raise instead of our bargained 5% raise in October, and the re-hashed threats on the take home cars and 4-10's. Let's not give the majors a pay raise in October and lets make the Captains come in and work shifts in lieu of paying Sgts OT. The city is making it clear that there is absolutely NO incentive for anyone to want to promote and move up the ranks. Try to better yourself and the department by moving up the ladder and get screwed without the courteousy of receiving a little KY to go along with the anal rape. Pull the specialty units and make them cover shifts when officers use their annual so road officers don't make OT. Yeah, maybe I am wrong and you are right...things are real rosey around here right now! Flopp is going to try to once again pit the PD against the rest of the city on Thursday and try to make us look like the bad guys again. I would suggest that you keep sniffing what ever it is that you are using so the cloud keeps fogging up what's right in front of your RAT face!

More Kool Aid Please ! Its called not having any ba--S or a plan. You must lead by example and show you are not afraid to get out and work and put the bad guys in jail... the heck with cleaning everything until we get the city under control!
Lets worry about crime, the troops, and the rest will come together with the support instead of always being at each others throat. Patrol needs more officers on the road now ... what about the select "few" always hiding in task forces ! Hmm. What have they brought in and what are they producing ! That is 3 more bodies we can use now ! Make them a CST unit.. do soemthing positive !

The person who chose to write the Miss Manners post is obviously someone who doesnt work in the police department. If they do, then we are really in a sad state of affairs. We need to realize that most of the shootings, rapes, robberies, burglaries, are not made public. Most dont make the news. You can tell that the councel and the citizens have no idea what really is happening to their city otherwise the biggest complaint would not be skateboarders. I blame the person who should be bringing this to their attention and that is the Chief. It is normal for a city to want to save money when there is clearly an economic crisis. But the normal person would never save money when it comes to their own safetly. The Ft. Lauderdale Chief understood that and because of his own strong ethics, he went public with that information, even though it cost him his job. Our Chief does not have that kind ethics. You can tell that he really does not care about our safety or the safety of the citizens because otherwise, his first and only priority would be to try and come up with solutions to combat the mayhem that is going on in our city. Communty Contacts, putting two people in community patrol, and making the specialized units, who in their own way curtail crime, work the shifts, is not making a dent in the daily shootings. DO YOU REALLY THINK THAT THE COUNCEL OR CITIZEN KNOW THAT WE ARE NOT REPLACING OFFICERS! Do you think that they know that one of our officers was shot at during at robbery, that another officer was shot at at the middle school, that a women was raped by 5 thugs on their bike path, then they robbed someone else at gun point, took their two cars, and then one proceeded to run the car into a inocent person who is now in critical condition? Do they know that the house that was shot at by a ex boyfriend was not the only house in this city that has been shot at? There have been dozens that are not domestic related, but gang related but for some reason they didnt make the news. The metro Officer that was shot during a burglary in the residential area behind the high school, that wasnt close enough to us for the citizens to worry about? Not if they dont realize that the subjects that shot that officer were residents of our city, subjects that we have come n contact with dozens of times and probably committed many burglaries in our city. Our officers were just lucky enough not to have come across them during a burglary in our city. WAKE UP. We have a Chief and a City Manager that is really not concerned with keeping this city safe or the officers safe. Their concern is cutting the budget, even if its at the expense of our safety. They are not going to let the councel or the citizens know what is going on. That is going to have to be our job.

Excellent, intelligent post 545. That is what we need to worry about NOW!

Uh-oh Ralphy that little business from the late 70's & early 80's is starting to rear it's ugly head again :wink: .... What's it gonna be this time??? Those NMB guys & gals are only going to sit on that for so long you know ops:

Uh-oh Ralphy that little business from the late 70's & early 80's is starting to rear it's ugly head again :wink: .... What's it gonna be this time??? Those NMB guys & gals are only going to sit on that for so long you know ops:

He got away once and will again! Stop wasting your time and join me in a KOOL-AID ****tail!

I worked with "RH" at BSO and he is a real piece of work. He was always hitting on married women [ my wife was one ] she told him to "F.O." but she was
afraid to tell me because he was one of Nick's boy's!

I remember the day he suspended me for something that I didn't do.....and I also remember when I came back and BSO had to pay me for their mistake.

I met a guy that retired fro the Secrete Service and he told me all about "RH."

I can't believe that he is still a cop, he must have friends .

I hope some day I run into him and I can tell him what a POS he really is!

Youre a day late and a dollar short buddy. Ralph was fired from NMB and working for a security company now i think. So no more hitting on PO's wives for a while.

Youre a day late and a dollar short buddy. Ralph was fired from NMB and working for a security company now i think. So no more hitting on PO's wives for a while.

Did anyone look up why he was fired???? Because he stuck up for his officers. The city manager wanted to layoff 24 officers. It's all over the media....hello. I know plenty of officers that think the world of Rafael. He is straight and those in the know realize that. If you really knew about law enforcement - you would know that FBI and FDLE don't fool around when they do backgrounds on Chiefs.
It is too bad, that many are so sour and hold grudges. The guy has moved up the ranks and has moved up as Chief from small cities to big cities - that is not being a gypsy, that is moving up. FYI, a lot of Chiefs move to enhance their career. Duh!