By Mark Foster
For the ‘Mentor Series’
I recently came across an article by Dr. George Thompson, founder of the Verbal Judo Institute, called The “Hook Down Theory” and the contact power of leadership.
In the article, Dr. Thompson states that he believes the work of patrol officers — or in the case of corrections, line officers — is the most important of all of a department’s functions. Of second highest importance is the work of field trainers, those who are “training and developing the future of the department”. And third is the work of the supervising sergeant.
Dr. Thompson points out that, although they are third in importance, it is the supervising sergeants that “make it all go.” The supervising sergeant’s task is “to train, evaluate, support and back his troops” on the line. Dr. Thompson says, “Being there is a necessity!
Assuming we can agree that the above corollaries between patrol and corrections are accurate, how then can Dr. Thompson’s “Hook Down Theory” apply to supervisors in corrections? My interpretation of Dr. Thompson’s theory - as applied to corrections - follows:
A line officer is on the line 100 percent of the time. Once promoted, a sergeant’s time should break down to 80/20; eighty percent of their time should be spent watching, evaluating, training and supporting the officers throughout the shift and around twenty percent should be spent in the office doing paperwork. These percentages are Dr. Thompson’s and are certainly subject to debate depending on the nature of the shift, the amount of officers being supervised, etc. However, the bottom line is that a supervising sergeant’s priority is first-line supervision (meaning on the line). The supervising sergeant must lead from the front – never from behind a desk.
Dr. Thompson goes on to break down percentages for lieutenants and higher grades and ending ultimately with the amount of time he believes the highest supervisor (in our case, the Sheriff) should be spending with the troops. Dr. Thompson uses former LAPD Chief Darryl Gates as an example of leading from the front and being considered by his officers as “one of us.”
The boss as a team player
While reading Dr. Thompson’s article, I was reminded of Tom Peters and Bob Waterman’s 1982 book In Search of Excellence. It has been about 25 years since Peters and Waterman offered up the ideas of “management by wandering around” (MBWA), but I think that many of the principles are still valid. As long as MBWA doesn’t morph into micro-management, supervisors will be able to effectively lead from the front. This provides the opportunity for the sergeant to effectively train and evaluate his/her troops. It also provides the officers with the opportunity to say, “Wow, the Sarge really does care. He’s one of us!” Officers will see this type of supervisor as a team player – and we all know that good teamwork creates good morale.
Dr. Thompson writes that you “earn your authority and believability through close contact… distance and separation are the evil twins of ineffective management and should be avoided at all costs.”
The atypical “Big Boss”
We have all seen the typical tour conducted by the “Big Boss”. First, the inspection tour is announced weeks in advance, and then the Big Boss is escorted around the facility by a half dozen or more Lesser Bosses. If the Big Boss stops to ask something of a line officer, the line officer’s response is either tempered by the presence off all the little bosses or it is filtered so that the Big Boss doesn’t get the answer as stated by the line officer.
I have been working in corrections for more than twenty years. I have seen countless Big Boss tours and experienced even more “visits” by supervisors who stopped by the post just so the log book reflects their “supervision.” But I have also been surprised by certain atypical visitors on my post.
I remember one Christmas evening, while working the midnight shift, being visited most unexpectedly.
A partner and I were working at one of the facility’s outlying buildings. It isn’t a big building, housing only ninety six inmates. Moreover, it’s in an out of the way location tucked next to a maintenance facility that isn’t open past 5 p.m.
After completing a post visual inside the building I stopped at the door and took a look down the sidewalk, only to see this little figure coming up the walk. Despite the fact it was Christmas morning, my partner and I surely weren’t expecting Santa. The unescorted figure came closer and I could tell they were in civilian clothes, so it wasn’t the shift sergeant. I knew that the nurse has come and gone off the post, so it wasn’t medical staff. As the figure came closer, I began to recognize the face but I couldn’t quite put my finger on why. About the time the civilian got to the post door I figured it out. It was the Corrections Bureau Major!
Now, I’ve seen lots of majors but I had never seen one at 2 a.m. and most certainly never at 2 a.m. on a holiday! The major entered the post, reintroduced himself - lest we didn’t recognize him - and said, “I just wanted to say thank you for all that you do. It’s hard to work on Christmas and I wanted you both to know that I appreciate it.”
The major left us each a piece of candy and departed. You could have knocked me over with a feather. I’ve been to the big roll calls where the captains and majors stand in front of us and occasionally say “Thanks,” but I’ve always felt that it was just out of obligation. But that Christmas visit will stay with me for a long, long time. I knew then the kind of leader I wished to become.
Have you, as a leader, ever been guilty of consorting with the evil twins of ineffective management? If you have, reconnect with the troops. Get out of the office and provide them with the positive feedback that they deserve and the support that they need. When your troops have done a task well, let them know it.
Back in my military days we had a saying: “Praise in public and discipline in private.” All too often we don’t let the troops know when they have done a good job. The psychologist William James once said, “The deepest human need is the need to be appreciated.” Let your troops know that they are valued!