Gordon Graham here and hello again. In past articles I have bemoaned that “mediocrity has replaced accountability.” Without accountability, the house of cards starts to collapse. And regardless of what profession you are in, this is a ticket for future major problems.
What do leaders at each rank need to do to address the accountability issue? Executives must increase accountability by building good “systems” – policies and procedures – that are properly designed and kept up to date. Executive accountability continues with promoting good people to the rank of supervisor. People in supervisory positions must have the guts to do their job, which is the enforcement of organizational policy. Executives must also have a robust audit process in place to make sure what you say you are doing is in fact being done. Finally, executive accountability continues with having a discipline system in place to address people who think that organizational policy does not apply to them.
Supervisor accountability is much more direct. The primary mission of the supervisor is enforcement of organizational policy – i.e., “systems implementation.” Again, executives must have a promotional process in place that fully addresses how supervisors are selected, trained, mentored and developed – and they must support them when they make the tough calls. When supervisors think they will not be supported by management, they will stop making the tough calls – and that is a ticket to tragedy.
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Accountability for line personnel is even simpler: knowing the policies that apply to your job and following these policies – not some of the time, not most of the time, but all of the time.
I’ve stressed this focus on accountability in my lectures over the last several decades, yet I have not seen much improvement, particularly in government operations. The bane of civil service is that if you work hard and do your job right you get paid “X” – and if you don’t care and are counting the days to retirement you get paid “X.” So why work hard? Why care? Why should I do this when others are not?
In past articles I have talked about the “5%ers.” For those of you not familiar with that term, here is a quick explanation: Give me 100 cops, or 100 firefighters, or 100 teachers or 100 “whoever” in a class. Ten of them do not want to be in the class – in their view this is a waste of their time – and they will spend the time in the class on their phone, texting or viewing some “brain rot” sites to pass time. Eighty to eighty-five of the 100 are good people who will do what they are told to do. And then there is the 5% – maybe as much as 10% – who pay attention and have the drive and desire to do their job right and “make excellence the norm, not the deviation” – the essence of being fully accountable.
In my last article I mentioned Dr. Tony Kern, a prolific author who I’ve worked with on various projects over the decades. He is a retired B-1 pilot who picked up his doctorate along the way and is one of the smartest people I have ever met. Years ago as we were preparing a webinar, I told him “Dr. Kern – you are one of the smartest people I have ever met.” And he chuckled and responded, “I don’t know if that is true, but I do know I am intensely curious.”
Not to digress (readers of this column know I am prone to do that), but I have never considered myself smart – but I do know I am intensely curious – and while this is not the focus of this writing I wonder if there is a link between curiosity and intelligence. Perhaps I’ll explore that in a future article.
There is the 5% who pay attention and have the drive and desire to do their job right and “make excellence the norm, not the deviation” – the essence of being fully accountable.
But back to Dr. Kern. In his great book Going Pro: The Deliberate Practice of Professionalism, he talks about the “5%ers” differently. In his words, there are three levels of professionals. Level One – you are a member of the organization. Level Two – you comply with the rules. And Level Three – you are constantly trying to make “excellence the norm – not the deviation.”
For those of you who have not read Going Pro (it is on my recommended reading list), early in the book Dr. Kern talks about a young lady at Starbucks who is diligently wiping tables at 0600 HRS. He watches her using three separate cloths – one for the initial wiping of the table, a second one for drying the table, and a third one to really make it shine. Fascinated by her attention to detail, Dr. Kern asks, “Is there going to be an inspection today? Why are you so diligent in your work?” Her response was simple: “My parents told me if it was worth doing, it was worth doing right.” And that impressed Dr. Kern.
With this in mind I am asking you – each of you – to start looking at how people do their job. Don’t start with your co-workers – start with the cashiers at stores, the waitstaff at restaurants, the mechanics who work on your car, the IT person who is addressing your computer problems or the person you are dealing with on the phone. When you see “the deliberate practice of professionalism” – people who really care – let them know you are impressed.
I have been doing this now for many years (frankly, since I first read Going Pro many moons ago) and I have made it my goal to “catch people doing something right” and thank them for their efforts. I am writing this at the airport after addressing a group of risk managers, great people who are truly trying to improve the quality of sheriff’s office operations in the Sunshine State. Yesterday I met many of the “5%ers” and I was impressed.
Sheila was my Uber driver today, and she was a “5%er,” showing up early at the hotel and wearing her seatbelt, extremely courteous and an excellent driver. On my flight to Florida I sat next to a fellow who was using his iPad to watch a football game. Or rather, he was replaying (over and over and over again) the same running play. After about 10 viewings of that same play I politely asked, “Excuse me, I can’t help but notice you are watching the same play over and over.” Turns out he is an NFL referee and he wanted to see if he and his fellow referees missed anything during the game.
When I inquired whether this was a required duty of his position, he told me no, but he wanted to make sure he was doing his job right. I thanked him for his hard work and explained my thinking on “5%ers” and asked him if his fellow referees were doing the same thing. He smiled and avoided a direct answer but thanked me for recognizing his work.
During my change of planes in Atlanta I visited the Delta Sky Lounge, and the woman checking my credentials for entrance was clearly a “5%er” – very kind and courteous – advising me of my new gate and the boarding time. The crew on the quick flight from Atlanta to Tallahassee were all “5%ers” – and several passengers recognized this and said thanks to them.
In the last article I mentioned the concept of “fulfillment.” Knowing you are making a difference is important. Yet too often we ignore the great work that so many people do. Yes, I am winding this piece up because Madame Editor is the “ultimate 5%er” – but make it your goal to compliment people on their work. Of particular importance is letting the women and men you work with, or work for, or who work for you, know when they are doing great work. The number one complaint I get from line personnel around the world is, “The only time I hear from my boss is when something is wrong.”
Our people in public safety do a lot of things right. Make it your goal to catch them doing their job right, praise them in public, pat them on the back, ratify their good behavior and you will encourage future good behavior – not just by that employee but by their co-workers who see them being complimented for their work. My goal is to increase the “5%” to a higher number – and perhaps there will be a “tipping point” where excellence is achieved by all on a regular basis.
Thanks for taking the time to read this. If you are reading this line, you are probably a “5%er.”
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