When speaking to leaders in Law Enforcement organizations I am
often asked questions that are along the lines of; how do I motivate my people?
This is a difficult and complex question with no easy answer. When attempting to answer something this complex we must keep
in mind that every situation is different and we must work to analyze what is the root cause of the lack of motivation. When we analyze what is going on, one of the
first and most important things we should do is take a hard look at ourselves. What are we doing, and what messages are we sending with our behavior (intended or unintended)? Often employee motivates has a lot to do with our individual leadership styles.
We need to ask ourselves, how much control do I allow my people to have over their work? A leaders need for control can be an incredibly destructive force. It is so destructive that it will attack an officer’s trust in their leader and consequently their trust in the organization. This lack of trust will ultimately affect their motivation. To find out how our behavior surrounding control is demonstrated we need to ask ourselves the following:
We need to ask ourselves, how much control do I allow my people to have over their work? A leaders need for control can be an incredibly destructive force. It is so destructive that it will attack an officer’s trust in their leader and consequently their trust in the organization. This lack of trust will ultimately affect their motivation. To find out how our behavior surrounding control is demonstrated we need to ask ourselves the following:
Am I a Perfectionist or a Bully? Do I
chastise my people for minor mistakes? Do I refuse to allow any deviance from
the way I believe things must be done (often my way)?
Do I demand conformance from my
officers? No one dares to be creative or come up with a new way of doing things out of fear of what we might do in response. Do you tell your officers to be creative and express
frustration because they won’t? Look in the mirror at what you are doing and
ask yourself, is my behavior sending a different message than what I am asking
for.
Do I believe I am the smartest
person in the room? If I believe this then my behavior will reflect that belief.
The result will be when I ask for input from my people they will not offer
anything. In their minds they are thinking, why should I bother he/she won’t
listen anyway.
Do my people avoid being around
me? The more control I exert over my people, the more frustrated
they will be. In order to avoid that frustration they will actively seek ways
to avoid being around me, for example; changing days off or shift hours, taking
vacations opposite mine, walking the other way when they see me coming.
When Officers (and really all people) are not allowed to use their
abilities to solve problems and learn from their mistakes, they will either
leave the organization out of frustration or they will become mindless
automatons waiting for instructions to come down from on high. Neither option helps
the organization get to its goals.
We hire people in our profession for their problem solving abilities (most agencies in fact test for this ability); we then exert control over them to the point that they no longer use that ability. We tell ourselves that we must use control with our officers because we are “accountable” for what they do. The reality is we are not accountable for what they do, we are however, responsible to hold them accountable for what they choose to do. We are not accountable for their behavior, they are. We must give our officers the ability to have control over elements of their jobs; doing so will unleash those problem solving abilities for which they were hired.
Organizations grow and advance not because of the person at the top but rather because of the people doing the day to day work throughout the organization. We must work to find ways to release this untapped human potential. Remember: We can tell our people what we want done; we don’t have to tell them how to do it. Be a coach and mentor to help them figure out what works best for them. By relinquishing control over the how, we are empowering our people and increasing their motivation. This will create an environment where both they and our organizations will grow.
We hire people in our profession for their problem solving abilities (most agencies in fact test for this ability); we then exert control over them to the point that they no longer use that ability. We tell ourselves that we must use control with our officers because we are “accountable” for what they do. The reality is we are not accountable for what they do, we are however, responsible to hold them accountable for what they choose to do. We are not accountable for their behavior, they are. We must give our officers the ability to have control over elements of their jobs; doing so will unleash those problem solving abilities for which they were hired.
Organizations grow and advance not because of the person at the top but rather because of the people doing the day to day work throughout the organization. We must work to find ways to release this untapped human potential. Remember: We can tell our people what we want done; we don’t have to tell them how to do it. Be a coach and mentor to help them figure out what works best for them. By relinquishing control over the how, we are empowering our people and increasing their motivation. This will create an environment where both they and our organizations will grow.
