Tell The Right Story

You tell stories all day every day, we don't often think of it that way, but think about it. You run into someone in the hallway at the station, or meet up with a coworker in the parking lot chances are you are about to tell a story. As soon as they ask you “How’s it going?” or “What have you been up to?” BOOM! Story time.?

As leaders responsible for groups of LEOs, we tell stories every time we open our mouths in a meeting or group setting. It’s not always a “Once upon a cold dark night:” War story from your glory days, but sometimes it is. Sometimes you are telling them a story set in the future. In a lot of ways tasks or mission plans are just stories that you tell people set in the future, where they are a character.?

It’s no secret that the profession of law enforcement is currently in dark days. Crime is up, support is down, disrespect is rampant, staffing is in the gutter. This is a theme, this theme is the backdrop for many of the stories you tell. “The kingdom is being attacked.”? “The enemies are at the gates.” “The odds are long.” “The adventurers are lost.” or “The bad guy has launched his evil plot.”? Everyone knows this part of the story, they are living it. Good stories aren't repetitive, and they aren't always full of doom and gloom. You don’t want to hear that story, and neither do they.?

Don’t tell a story of defeat. You can tell people “We are losing the battle, and it’s not our fault because the odds are long.”? That's the story, I hear leaders telling pretty often these days. They aren't all bad, usually, there is a message of “hang on” hold out” " times will change, or as a lot of my fellow old LEOs like to say “The pendulum will swing back.” True people need to hear that hard times don’t last forever, but by telling stories this way leaders are leaving a lot on the table and missing a golden opportunity to tell a better more empowering story.?

You should instead tell your team a better story where they are the hero. The fact that things are hard, uncertain, difficult, daunting, and scary isn’t something to complain about, it’s something to celebrate. This story would be boring and uninspiring if things were easy.?

• Nobody would care about John McClain in Die Hard if the terrorists were pushovers and he didn’t have to overcome running around on broken glass in bare feet. He was a hero because things were hard.?
• George Washington and the colonists winning the Revolutionary War wouldn't be nearly as impressive if the British military hadn't been significantly larger and the winter at Valley Forge wasn't so brutal.?
• MLK JR and the people marching for equality were impressive because the entire system was against them and things had always been that way. There was the threat of violence, and they marched anyway.?

Time after time, story after story, our heroes faced long odds and came out on top. That is the story you should be telling. Nobody needs to hear a story about waiting out a rough patch, or keeping your head down. Nobody wants to hear a story about how you are going to escape a difficult career. People want to hear about how they can win, how they can thrive, and how they can be the hero.?

Use the fact that things are difficult to praise for your team. We are short-staffed, crime is up, I know you are all tired. It’s a good thing that you all are so strong, so tough, and work well as a team. Making it through this difficult time, will make you legends when times return to normal. I’m proud of you all for stepping up and taking on this challenge. This is hard, and you are pulling it off anyway.?

That is the story that I tell my team, and they play their parts well.?

“What would have become of Hercules do you think if there had been no lion, hydra, stag or boar - and no savage criminals to rid the world of? What would he have done in the absence of such challenges? Obviously he would have just rolled over in bed and gone back to sleep. So by snoring his life away in luxury and comfort he never would have developed into the mighty Hercules.”

-Epictetus?