Command and Control

Unregistered · 04-09-2019, 08:30 AM

Traditional Law Enforcement Management: The Root Cause of Low Morale and Organizational stress

Deputy Chief at Loveland Police Dept
Several years ago during in-service training, my Department’s (then) Deputy Chief proclaimed during in-service training, “Morale is a personal issue.” The Deputy Chief went on to say (essentially) officers can choose to come to work happy or sad; the Department has nothing to do with an officer’s morale. He continued by offering that if officers do not like it here, they can go somewhere else, because there are plenty of people who are more than willing to take the officers’ places. So much for a positive, upbeat, and motivating speech from one of my Department’s top managers. While I do agree with the Deputy Chief that people choose their level of motivation, I disagree that organizations have nothing to do with people’s motivation. I believe managers of organizations must create environment through influence to which people will choose to be positively motivated. The former Deputy Chief’s comments have always stuck with me, because they are typical of the status quo, traditional command and control management style used, touted, and rewarded by law enforcement agencies.

Throughout my 30-plus year law enforcement career, I have worked for some excellent supervisors. These supervisors were effective leaders who demonstrated impeccable character and confidence. These supervisors influenced and inspired me to work hard and be the best law enforcement official I could be; they led by example and created positive working environments. I have also worked for many more ineffective managers who subscribed to the command and control style. These managers were not inspiring and did not lead by example. Many lacked either character or competence; many lacked both. The effective leaders propelled me to follow and emulate them; the ineffective leaders drove me to promote.

Recently, a friend of mine (and fellow command-level officer from another law enforcement agency) sent me an article published in Police Chief Magazine written by David Cruickshank titled Recognizing the True Cost of Low Morale. Cruickshank’s (2012) article discussed the affect and cost poor morale has on organizations. Cruickshank pointed to the traditional law enforcement management style of command and control as the culprit of low morale and organizational stress. Cruickshank identified the following as the “five primary issues impacted by a morale problem” (para. 9): turnover, absenteeism, low productivity, civil liability, and officer suicide.

Cruickshank’s (2012) article is “on point.” Organizational stress is a byproduct of non-supportive and often caustic management practices, which are the norm, rather than an anomaly, for American law enforcement agencies. Cruickshank’s comments back up my longstanding belief that law enforcement agencies are responsible for creating a positive environment, so employees are happy and positively motivated to do the job. I opine the problem with many articles and books written about leadership and morale is such articles and books never clearly address the real issues and why things do not change, which is the broken law enforcement culture that grooms and promotes the wrong people into the driver's seat of organizations. Cruickshank hinted at this when he wrote the following:

Top administrators are generally in the twilight of their careers and are therefore hesitant to institute change. Senior law enforcement professionals have worked their entire careers to advance and are unlikely to risk failure or admit that there are issues within their agencies after coming so far. Accordingly, they keep to the ways they know--the same ways that got them to where they are. (para. 6)

Traditional law enforcement management culture is one of command and control, which uses legitimate and coercive power (French & Raven, 1960)—almost exclusively—to get things done. Law enforcement agencies instill this mentality in their respective officer and deputy recruits from day one of the academy. Law enforcement agencies are bureaucracies that live by command and control management and they create conformist followers. Such bureaucracies reward those who conform to this style of management with promotions and good assignments. Individuals who attempt to buck the command and control management style for a servant or transformational leadership style (i.e., the use of referent and expert power bases [French & Raven, 1960]), which is preached as the leadership style of choice in the International Association of Chiefs of Police’s (IACP) Leadership in Police Organization’s (LPO) class, are often punished or banished for attempting to buck the norm and change the culture and management style. Couple this with the common traits of those that are often driven to promote (e.g.,. a need for power, arrogance, and narcissism) and one can see why the command and control style and the “good ole boy” systems are alive and well in law enforcement agencies. Research conducted by McQuaid (2012), showed that approximately 66% of employees thought their bosses sucked because they demonstrated behaviors associated with poor managers (e.g., micromanaging, “do as I say not as I do attitude, poor communication, playing favorites, playing office politics, etc.).

Authors and researchers can write, talk, research, and present all the findings they want to explain the differences between bad managers/leaders and effective ones. Unfortunately, nothing will change until management stops grooming and rewarding bad managers and bucks the status quo to change the management culture. Change will only happen when those that display effective manager/leader behaviors decide to promote and fill the seats, taking them from the old heads. Easier said than done, you say? Yes it is, because many do not want to work with those currently in the seats. Think about this, who do you surround yourself with, people you like or people you do not like? Many will not test for promotion, because if they do test and are promoted, they are now peers with people they do not like or agree with (from a management/leadership perspective). I have talked to several people about this very issue and they all say they do not want to promote and be around those people. My rebuttal is “well then you will have to continue to work for them."

I can go on and on, standing on my soapbox, but I will stop. The other issue is that cities, when it comes to hiring police chiefs, need to start hiring those that demonstrate effective leader behaviors. Unfortunately, this again is often not the case, because the city officials in power often have the same command and control mentality and look to hire conformists as chiefs, who will gladly accept that role, for the financial rewards and to fuel their egos, arrogance, and quench their need for power. As such, this vicious poor management cycle continues.

I cannot end my commentary without a challenge to all who are sick and tired of poor managers and ineffective management. I challenge each of you to write down 10 behaviors you associate with effective managers/leaders. Behaviors are actions that individuals demonstrate. So, if I sat down with you and asked you to name an effective manager/leader, I would ask you to identify the behaviors the person displayed that influenced you to believe the person was an effective manager/leader. After you write those 10 behaviors down, I want you to think about someone you believe was a poor manager/leader. Write down 10 behaviors the person demonstrated that caused you to label that person a poor manager/leader. Once you have written down both sets of behaviors, I want you to read both and ask yourself this questions: “What set of behaviors do I like?” “Who would I rather work for, the person demonstrating the effective behaviors or the person demonstrating the ineffective behaviors?” I surmise you like the effective manager/leader behaviors and want to work for the person demonstrating such behaviors. If my assumption is correct, then my challenge is that you demonstrate the effective manager/leader behaviors at whatever management level or rank you hold in your organization. I must note you do not have to hold a managerial rank to be a leader and demonstrate effective manager/leader behaviors. My challenge is for you to be the leader you would follow; and be the follower that if you were the leader you would want following you.

Additionally, I want you to answer this question: “What type of behaviors are typically displayed by managers in the organization I work for?” If your answer is the poor manager/leader behaviors, then my challenge to you is to promote up, challenge and change the status quo traditional management style, and unseat those who subscribe to, tout, and maintain it. If you choose to do nothing, do not complain about your organization’s poor management, because you are part of the problem. Rather than choosing to be part of the problem, be part of the solution.

Unregistered · 04-09-2019, 02:00 PM

Yaaaaaaawwwwwwnnnnnn.

Unregistered · 04-10-2019, 12:23 AM

This is a great post. A great post. I personally do not blame low end supervisors fully. I feel they are stuck in between us and the command and the executive staff. However, I do believe that their their personal agendas for promotions keep them from standing up for us. Same as our middle level command. In these times at this agency, this is the trend. Standing up for your troops is seen as a bad thing. The problem with promoting to move up in hopes to change things is this... “ Such bureaucracies reward those who conform to this style of management with promotions and good assignments“. In order to do so, you must become like them. Or, better yet, act like them for 20-30 years and still never get promoted or get good assignments. There is no fix by climbing and clawing from the dead bottom so everything stays the same here. Our problems come from the top and only their kind are groomed from the beginning, fast tracked if you are connected to them, or brought straight in from the outside to replace them. The same mentality lives on.

Most overthink moral. Its as simple as staffing us properly, canceling calls that are non police calls, and giving us time to write reports and administrative work. Maybe stand up to retailers and people using us to profit or as liability buffers. Very basic needs not things. Be in this with us. We cant light the candle at both ends for decades and continue to “choose” to come to work happy. All while watching many others ride the gravy train away from all the BS and danger. With no systems in place for being short handed for us, most of us dread coming to work. Heck, they made things worse by removing our mid shift, so now we go home late more. Come watch our deputies during meetings and roll calls. Everybody stares down or at the wall. Completely defeated and disengaged. With nothing to say. Maybe a fake laugh or fake smile here and there to stay off the radar. Read the D1 post regarding only 4 deputies working on a squad on a busy day with no systems to address it. Not to mention the default dangers and stresses from police work alone and the constant influx of crazy people and drug addicts that keep moving here. This county gets bigger and bigger with more businesses and neighborhood. Everyone benefits and the tax money rolls in, yet we drown in burnout.

All while our sheriff is too busy using every possible opportunity to put his face all over the social media and TV. Look at that helicopter crash call in Tampa. The NTSB and FAA handled that crash along with FHP and HCFR. We did nothing but traffic detail blocking a few lanes. We did no investigation or report. However, our sheriff just had to use that opportunity to get himself on the TV. Our moral and burnout is zero priority here. They make sure to only promote followers that wont buck their self serving system so there will be no change. Heck, most deputies blame themselves for not being able to get to the flood of calls and nonstop holding calls instead of seeing it for what it is. A massive logistical negligence. The hero KoolAid drinker crap they push is a mind fuk and makes everything else here worse.

Best advice is to not come here. It is completely consumed and saturated in toxicity. Everyone, especially low end supervisors are beyond paranoid and decisions come from a place of fear. There is no one left that runs this place from a calm, confident, centered place. For the rest of us that came here long ago when real cops ran this place, is to take that pay cut at another job, down grade, and retire early. A few more years and a few more dollars are not worth the constant stuck, drowning, and “no way out” feeling, admin stress, and burnout. We need a fresh new paradigm not new cute patches and decals.

Lastly, great highly respected supervisors that many of us respected and would emulate have been done away with. Most have retired early or finished their last 5 years or so with their tails between their legs. Supervisors with big hearts that cared for us troops and looked out for us became targets and were pushed out. Like D4 sgt RS. We all cared for him and he cared for us. He came from a great era when we were a family. Supervisors now are terrified to stick up for us and seem to have to burn us to prove themselves.

Great article, I agree with it and your post, but I just see no hope here for now. Our leaders are way way too far detached from deputies and detectives. Most of us are just limping by like a prison sentence. Maybe things will change when we are ALL in this together, but as of now, we are not.

Unregistered · 04-10-2019, 01:17 AM