Rank does not confer wisdom but does confer responsibility

In my career in policing, I was inculcated with the ethos of #commandandcontrol.

It was a rare and pleasant experience for me as a fresh-faced constable to meet a sergeant or inspector who was actually interested in me as a person.

When I reflect on my progression through my service, the famous quote of Maya Angelou springs to mind :

"I've learned that people will forget what you've said.

People will forget what you did.

But people will never forget how you made them feel."

Many of the sergeants and inspectors behaved towards lowly constables as mere performers of tasks. Our individual views were rarely sought.

When I was fortunate enough to pass my probationary period ( two years ), I became a substantive constable and a person of slightly more consequence. I became more trusted to perform my duties, often as a solo officer.

I use the term 'fortunate' because if a 'personality clash ' developed with a sergeant or inspector, it was relatively straightforward to dispense with the services of a constable as a probationer. The term 'unlikely to make a good and efficient officer ' was the phrase used in reports recommending that services be dispensed with.

In contrast, serving in teams with a human-centric sergeant was as refreshing as taking a shower.

Policing was a disciplined, hierarchical organisation in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Conversations with me were prefixed with 'PC Munday ' or 'Constable Munday ', with a particular tone indicating that I was being admonished.

I always respected the rank, if not the person.

After my probation, sergeants were addressed as 'Sarge ', 'Skip ', or 'Skipper '. Inspectors and above were addressed as 'Sir ' or 'Ma'am'.

As I became more trusted, I was addressed as 'Tony '. Formal names were replaced with nicknames, some appropriate, others less so.

The better sergeants took time to get to know me as a person. I never forgot how proud I felt.

I would say that my quality of performance improved as trust in me increased.

Such sergeants were never of the micro-manager type.

In those days, paper was the preferred medium for reports, rather than digital versions such as email.

It is fair to say that certain sergeants were notorious for taking great delight in belittling constables with the infamous 'red pen'—it was like being back at school!

One Christmas, whilst still a uniform constable, I earned the opportunity to join the town centre squad. We were all experienced officers. The sergeant was old school. He hated my maverick, questioning nature and the fact that I had a degree.

He did his best to belittle me with his 'red pen ' on my arrest reports. In the end, I bypassed him. I submitted my arrest reports via a Detective Sergeant, and all was well.

I never forgot the lessons I learned as a constable.

As a sergeant or inspector, I always understood that I retained ultimate responsibility for the performance and actions of people in my teams or departments.

I knew people had developed specific areas of expertise beyond mine.

My responsibility was to develop a culture where we had mutual trust, confidence and respect for each other.

As a maverick thinker who practised a coaching style of #leadership, this was quite natural for me.

It meant that my responsibilities became more positive after dealing appropriately with wilfully poor, toxic performers.

Paramount for me was to facilitate people's development and fulfil their true potential.

My first book, 'The ESSENTIAL Heart of a Leader,' describes my #leadership journey in the police.

https://amzn.eu/d/e8B7dXH

I recognised that the role was not the person.

In that book, I describe the awful circumstances of my first day as a leader that seared that view of #leadership in my memory.

This mindset removed any illusions to believing that my rank conferred a monopoly of wisdom on me.

I always understood and accepted that I bore ultimate responsibility for the people in my teams or departments.

I knew that there is rarely only one way to undertake a task.

Therefore, colleagues learnt better by devising their own solutions to the myriad of serious tasks they faced.

I would support them as was appropriate. They were not left to sink or swim on their own.

I would ask, " What do you need?" or " How can I help?"

I was conscious that my colleagues needed to act on incomplete or partial information. I would ascertain their rationale for making decisions proportionately.

I was able to practice coaching as a leadership style because we knew each other as people.

As a result, I had no fear about what each day would bring.

We shared trust and confidence in each other's roles and responsibilities.

It was a culture of mutual respect.

Culture drives Performance.