Sam McGhee
I’ve been a Police Command Officer since 1995 and a cop since 1980. I’ve had great experiences in a number of assignments over the years such as Patrol, SWAT, Training, Drug Enforcement, Internal Affairs and Media-Relations.
As I progressed through my career, and became a supervisor and later a manager, I discovered I wasn’t instantly brilliant. I could take a test and be impressive in an assessment center but as it turns out it didn’t automatically translate into the ability to communicate effectively to other human beings or to inspire people into action; that’s what real leaders do. You cops out there know exactly what I’m talking about.
I wanted to know more about how effective leaders became effective. What do people who inspire other people do when they inspire them?
I searched for years to find and study leadership and self mastery books, tapes and seminars. I committed to becoming a positive influence in peoples’ lives, and as corny as it sounds, was transformed into a student of effective leadership. Since my job was to carry out organizational objectives, (even objectives that weren’t popular), I became particularly interested in the resiliency to change that some organizations are able to create.
I learned the acceleration of change is an opportunity for exponential growth for individuals, teams, and organizations. Practicing the tools and principles I discovered, I realized creating an atmosphere, which capitalizes on the organization’s greatest asset – the energy, expertise and talents of the staff – will develop the natural leadership abilities we all possess. This, in turn, builds trust and reduces or eliminates fear. The result is buy-in for achieving the organization’s goals and a focus on results…imagine an environment like that!!!
I was like a scientist in a laboratory. I could practice newly learned concepts apply them in the work place, then test for results and decide to retain it or discard them.Application transforms theory into a valuable practical result. I’ve gained unique insights into human behavior through my work as a cop on the street, but it wasn’t until I became a boss in the organization that I realized how crucial it is to be an effective leader. I have continued to focus on learning these amazingly simple yet powerful tenets that play critical roles in determining one’s ability to create desired outcomes. What is more, the tools can be applied universally, meaning anywhere in our lives whether at home or in the workplace.
I believe effective leadership can be threatening to the status-quo mind set. This means when living as a leader it can be a lonely place. It means that sometimes those who represent the status-quo may take pot-shots at the new thinking. In the police culture sometimes it sounds like “That’s touchy feely bullshit.”
I love sharing transformational lessons I’ve learned. I never really planned to be a trainer, speaker or personal coach but that is what has happened over the past 10 years or so. I absolutely thrive on sharing these tools and principles not by giving more information (we have enough information!), but through experiential learning that brings people to the fundamental truth about themselves, transforming limiting behaviors into powerful, supporting convictions that produce results.
I work with people from all walks of life; from any industry or work discipline you can imagine and it is due to my experience as a resigned and cynical cop that gives me the insight needed to draw on what really makes a difference in life. Ah…the extraordinary feeling of liberation when producing results that transform constriction and limitation into full expression and the rediscovery of living full-out.
I also enjoy writing about my experiences and learning points I derive from them. Sometimes clients will ask me to write about a given subject, feel free to do the same. I hope you receive some value or benefit by reading my pieces. Comment if it moves you to do so.
Thanks,
Sam
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Regarding your November 2008 musing: “…are we too comfy,” and your subsequent example of Rome. If you read the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, you’ll find that they started out much as we did, hard and disciplined, ready to throw down the plow and go to war if needed (as Cincinnatus did) then come back and tend the land. Slowly as Rome gained their empire, the people were asked to sacrifice less and they became rich, soft and lazy, eventually falling into decline. Beginning with the republic, Rome lasted almost a thousand years; the United States of America has been in existence less than two hundred and fifty.
This doesn’t mean we should fear or succumb to apathy or any of the negative stereotypes attributed to us recently, but it may mean we may have to re-learn how to insert ourselves more into the grand design, the great experiment, which is Democracy, to participate, to ask “…what you can do for your country…” As you say, we have the benefit of history, if we have to courage to learn from it. Thanks for the reminder!