The Tyranny of the Police Org Chart
It happened again. I am listening to someone give a speech or presentation and something they say sparks my brain and yells, “that’s EXACTLYÂ what happens!”. It’s especially profound when the topic is a little remote to policing. This time it was a talk on innovation and improvement in government based on experiences in the business world. Given the fact that this blog is all about grabbing businesses practices and applying them to the business of policing, I am a happy camper.
I was attending an amazing conference last week, the Summit on Government Performance & Innovation 2015, in Louisville Kentucky, and picked up a nugget of knowledge and wisdom.
The keynote speaker at the conference, Aaron M. Renn, was speaking on innovation and the barriers to innovation.  Renn is well versed; evident in his speaking ability and the fact that he is a principle with Urbanophile LLC and Senior Fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and a Contributing Editor at its quarterly magazine City Journal.
Giving credit where credit is due, Renn delivered the phrase  ‘the tyranny of the org chart’. I simply inserted the word police because it can certainly be the case with us.
Renn’s explanation was that ideas in organizations are viewed by others in the organization based on the ‘box’ where the organizational chart confines them.
There are several ramifications to this; many of which can be seen in law enforcement. The lower the box in the food chain, the less likely the idea will be heard or considered.
The occupant of the lower box may feel it is out-of-place to offer an idea or suggestion up the chain-of-command. The upper echelon box holders may also feel it is out-of-place for the lower level to do this as well, and quiet sets in. Throw in an insecure upper-level member who is intimidated by the new kids on the block and chances of innovation and improvement drop dramatically. Positional authority, legitimate power, is abused.
Horizontal communication can be stifled as well. Silos and fiefdoms are legendary in policing. Crossing operational boundaries in a PD can be more hazardous than sashaying into the Chief’s Office, propping one’s feet on the desk and asking, “what’s up?”.
And of course in the end, if you tell someone to shut up enough times, they certainly will. Welcome to the toxicity of silence.
Could this be the result of someone’s perceptions? Absolutely. But in the end, the impact is the same.
So what’s the fix to this? How can we maintain the necessary structure in a police department, while facilitating the exchange of ideas and suggestions that set the framework for innovation?
Renn suggested that the fix is strong leadership. What would that look like in a PD?
© 2015 DAVID A. LYONS
I would agree that Mr. Renn’s suggestion that “that the fix is strong leadership” provided that the CEO, Chief, agency head is at the forefront of that list of leadership. These issues that you discuss are painfully accurate and all too real in policing and no chief executive can lay blame for their existence anywhere other than squarely in their own lap. A focused and critical look at the quality and effectiveness of “training leadership” programs for all levels must be conducted, but that would lead into a extensive corollary discussion and OJT just cannot work, nor can poor quality training just to say that it was done. These conditions persist when nothing is done to alleviate them. There cannot be a singular “silver bullet” cure, however any solutions need to start with recognition and action by the executive. Who created the “organizational box”?, the employees were allowed to create it. Sometimes due to lack of understanding but always with the agreement (albeit maybe tacit) by the executive. Ben Zander, conductor for the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, internationally known speaker and exemplary leader brilliantly points this simple fact out: that the conductor (replace “executive”, “leader”, etc.) does not make a sound in an orchestra (organization). They depend for their power on their ability to make their people powerful. Therefore, an incredibly skilled and powerful leader is neither without powerful people. The “insecure upper-level member” is mentioned in the blog, this is the person that has never been truly powerful, and maybe cannot or should not be, but is one who now fears the strengths and abilities of others around him or her, especially if subordinate. All that they know how to do is ensure self-preservation as you mention by abusing positional and legitimate power vested in them. I have always said that my own successes in my (policing) career are based on helping others to be better trained, more skillful, more creative or more capable than I am. Until that occurs, I do not feel that I have fulfilled the leadership expectations that I have accepted. The blog speaks of “perceptions” as well. Let’s not forget that perceptions almost always have a foundation in reality, they may be exaggerated or inaccurate, but nonetheless have a factual basis. It is also the responsibility of the leader to give accuracy and clarity to the perceptions by sharing and leading a vision to fulfillment. Negative perceptions about persons, behaviors, goals, objectives, etc. need to be set straight and corrected as these are often the fuel for unspoken ill-feelings and adverse beliefs. They are usually always discernible if a leader pays attention.
Thank you for taking the time to contribute so many valid observations. I agree with your thoughts on developing others; we should be giving some of ourselves to others. It’s how we look out for one another and keep our blue line family safe.
Joshua Ball, MPA 1st
Law enforcement, AVSEC, Aviation, Firefighting, Information Technology
Powerful article David Lyons, MBA
Morris Kisselbaugh 1st
Sergeant at Russellville Police Dept.
Paradigm shifts can be tough and as you said, and unfortunately the toxicity of silence can set in. The new ideas should be considered from all levels. What was the norm 10 years ago or maybe 5 years ago, is it the most or the least effective today? Law enforcement is in a dynamic environment and we must be constantly changing. Good article..
Anthony MUNDAY 1st
Business Coach.(centering on Leadership) Young People’s Coach
Hi David, My own experience within the Police is that ‘the organisation chart’ mindset CAN be broken by Emotionally Intelligent Leadership. Trust and Empowerment do not have to be mere slogans on a Mission Statement. Performance delivery based on quality and ‘continuous improvement ‘ principles also freed up my time to LEAD at the appropriate level. Performance Targets for my Teams and Departments were based on these same principles . The benefit of personal and professional development for those I had responsibility for were significant, It is not easy to overcome weary cynicism , but it can be done . Mindset determines the outcome.
Tracy Richardson 1st
HR Leader at Humana
Interesting post David. I’m actually studying org theory and innovation this semester in my PhD program. Much of what you discuss is systemic in public organizations for a number of reasons. Some of the research I have seen on innovation is the need both individually and organizationally for a tolerance for risk–not likely an attribute to find in most PD’s. I agree leadership plays a strong role and I believe at the heart of it will be through building trust in the leader-follower relationship
Spot on article. We are undergoing a huge transformation in our organization. Unfortunately, the change in leadership has divided our agency to the point that all of our mid level managers have moved on, leaving only the new director to run the ship. Tough seas right now.
An interesting article and very helpful comments. What has become very important for my Department is fostering the idea that rank is not the sole indicator of intelligence. One does not increase IQ points simply by placing a different insignia on their collar. Good ideas come from every layer of the Department. Rank and position denote authority, responsibility, and oversight that need to be respected but the information and feedback must be fostered and nurtured with credit being given where it is due. This can be accomplished through any number of ways including seeking input on budgetary concerns and General Orders review. Very few things will empower and engage an Officer more than seeing something they proposed be included in the budget. The old adage of management by walking around also comes into play depending on the size of your organization. Some of the most productive and relationship building conversations I have had have been in the break area, parking lot, or gas pumps.
Police work has traditionally been a seniority driven, hierarchal environment, all too often headed by autocratic, top down leaders. These types of leaders can make the problem worse with traits like narcissism and a sincere lack of emotional intelligence and the ability to really :”take care of his/her people”. Our culture (Police) places a great deal of emphasis on “earning your bones’ ,and in a lot of cases, rightfully so. A true leader must be able to walk the walk and talk the talk to connect with those who presently are doing those things. That being said, our job as command staff personnel is to coach, mentor and continue learning from both those we serve and those whoa re subordinate to us.
All too often, however, the modicum of “IF I want your opinion I’ll give it to you” permeates our organizations like a disease. The difference between us baby boomers and adjacent generations is we tolerate it as part of the program. The millenniums are not going to put up with it and often we see them leave at a rate faster than we can replace them! It is time for a change….it is time for a shift in our thinking! If we do not change, we are going to continually find it difficult to recruit and retain truly excellent people.
Real power is shared. Period. If one has positional power that is legitimate they need not advertise it. Instead, how about a participative style of management that involves all of the stakeholders in the department in the decision making process? It works in the private sector, why not the public sector as well? A real leader has the emotional intelligence to pick the right person for the right job, and the common sense not to mess with them while they are accomplishing the task. Expect excellence and that is what you will get.
While the organizational chart and the chain of command are important, it should not be a tool to “box everyone up” and limit ideas and concepts to be shared both ways in the continuum.
I loved your article! Thanks for sharing it!
Thank you for this article. It furthers my appreciation for my own department. We have listened to and implemented so many positive changes that have originated from our newest staff (bottom boxers). The fresh eyes and minds see things so clearly. We also have a Chief and management staff who are not intimidated by new blood but embrace them. We are a better agency for this and have been able to model this for allied agencies!
Bob Leong
Retiree after 32 years of service in Law Enforcement
There are many administrators both in the upper and mid levels that believe that they are progressive in this area and are open to listening to everyone, but most just pay lip service to this notion. I’ve heard all to often about the “closed door discussions” that go on after comments/suggestions are forwarded up the chain from the various levels. As mentioned in the article, the other major obstacle is the insecure upper level manager, who is intimidated by the “new kid on the block.”. Believe me, this type of person not only resides in upper management, they are in all levels of an organization and it just takes one to bring any notion of openness and dialogue to a halt
James Davenport
32 year Advance Certified, decorated police/motorcycle officer, detective, cpl., sgt., lecturer, former U.S.M.C. sgt.
Sadly, strong leadership is often lacking in the P.D. Puzzle Palace. When I work for an agency I have to believe that the leadership is worth following, that possibly, the leadership is worth dying for and a person my wife would be proud to accept the flag from. I retired from my last department because the chief is a narcissistic fool and I had no respect for him. In fact, the last 2 years have seen 60 officers of all ranks leave out of that 166 member agency. At street level, we are very protective of each other and when you see people put into positions that have no skill or training in positions that others have much training in, you have to wonder. But, just like a burglar, a pattern from the chief develops that they’re surrounding themselves in those positions with ass kissers that cater to the chief. Sad, but that’s the reality quite often.
Travis Sutton
Police Sergeant at the Viroqua Police Department
James, you hit the nail on the head and took the words right out of my non politically correct mouth. That is a huge problem with almost no cure and it is at the expense of not only subordinate officers but the citizens as well. That type of leadership destroys communities and greatly widens the “trust gap” of everybody. We often have discussions about this on shift, and I have come up with a theory: look at the biggest no mind ass kissing moron….they will be command staff…
Bradford (BT) Roberts
Law Enforcement Professional
Command Staff taking suggestions from underlings,…..hahahaha…….my unemployed depressed ass living on a pittance of a pension needed a good laugh. thanks for that.
But seriously came in at the bottom stayed at the bottom. worked with and trained most of those that rose to the top. They did not rise due to innovation, it was due to those “ism”s”.
James Davenport
32 year Advance Certified, decorated police/motorcycle officer, detective, cpl., sgt., lecturer, former U.S.M.C. sgt.
Travis and Dave, there’s much work to do, but I’ll never see that or the perfect solution to police use of force in my lifetime.
This article in a nut shell summed my almost 30 years of Police work. Being a ” Mid-level” manager in the sceme of things and on paper only I had minimal authority. Although, being held responsible just didn’t seem to work out. Never mind being heard on ideas or hearing, “think outside the box”. A phrase my equal calleagues grew very tired of hearing. We didn’t dare! A huge problem with leadership was you either had to be authoritarian or you had to be authoritarian!! I didn’t see the word “egotistical ” near the word Leader?! In Police organizations alot of crap follows down with little ability to force it back up! Leaders are born out of respect, and provide examples…just becsuse you were easily promoted and take a position in the organizational charge doesn’t make you a Leader…nor does it adorn you with respect! The promotional mechanism can be a problem as well!!!
John M Fleming
President, NYC Detective Investigators’ Association
Many people confuse the concept of authority and power. Authority is formally given by the organization and is reflected by your space on the organizational chart. But power is a great thing. It is the ability to influence or motivate without authority and police departments are a great place to see these two dynamics at work.
A lieutenant or Chief may tell someone to do something and they will do it, but that, by no means, shows they influence them. I have witnessed first hand detectives with tremendous practical knowledge and who exhibited real leadership traits. They were the most influential in my career, not someone who passed a civil service test or who knew the right person. As a matter of fact I have witnessed some bosses marginalized so much they had to use the true leaders of the group to get things done.
There police profession needs these people or the job doesn’t work. There is even a name for these people, “A cops cop.”
Erik Voss
Detective-Sergeant at Town of Delavan Police Department
“Renn suggested that the fix is strong leadership.”
That’s what’s pretty much needed everywhere. Unfortunately, you can have the best system in the world but it only takes one person surrounded by sycophantic twits to run it into the ground.
Wally Sparks
Chief of Police at Everest Metro Police Department
It starts with a “true” open door policy where everyone in the organization is encouraged and feels comfortable coming forward with ideas. As a police chief, I am a few steps removed from the day to day contacts our officers have with the citizens every day. I want feedback from our staff, from patrol officers to clerical staff on how policies and practices are working. Some of the best ideas come from those serving on the front lines and positioning on an org chart should never inhibit the exchange of ideas. For a police department, or any organization for that matter, to be effective, everyone must understand how decisions made at any level affect every other level. I am currently rotating all our first line supervisors through the detective bureau and have the bureau supervisor rotating through the patrol ranks so they all understand how cases and investigations flow from one stage to the next and appreciate the varying challenges from both sides. The ability to create a more global vision throughout the entire department is critical to our success. Too often leaders communicate “what” to do without effectively communicating “why” it is important to do something. That buy-in and understanding of why decisions are made and how those decisions best support the mission of the organization are vital to success.
Danny Johnson
Deputy Director, Planning & Accreditation at Charles County Sheriff’s Office
Good article. The stifling of information flow can be a huge problem that can be mitigated through leadership. If leadership presents opportunities and encourages suggestions and information sharing often and repeatedly, then it becomes institutionalized.
Jonathan Henson
GRADIOSH, MSc, HSSE Manager, Well Engineering, BG Group
The answer to org charts is “strong leadership”? Of course strong leadership is expected and required in any organization. Maybe its leadership that got us into the silo building-org chart mentality. I agree with the symptoms or a tyranny of org charts but it is, as I say, a symptom. Strong leaders need [their] strong managers to break down barriers too.
Jim Judge
Quality Assurance Consulting
Took me back for a moment wondering why we were addressing a police issue. Good post. Lived with org charts most of my life. At one point, another supervisor was going to start reporting to me on an org chart. That person argued that since they made more money than me it was inappropriate. (even though it made sense). Management acquiesced and that person ended up reporting to my boss. Strange the way things work sometimes.
Danny Schick
Staff at NJ State FOP Labor Council
A good leader will always seek input from those around him/her. They will listen to what they have to say and then use the best advice, no matter who it is from. But they do have the final say. To do anything else shows they are not a good leader and they will so lose the respect of the officers. For anyone to thnk they know or have all the answers is a major sign of weakness.
Jim Parks
Treasurer at N C Homicide Investiators Association
In my First Line Supervision classes I try hard to get them to realize their job is to guide their Officers to the result, Not tell them the how. I use Tao’s 600BC quote to remind them to allow their people to rise to their best. “A Leader is best when people barely knows he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled. They will all say “We did it ourselves.” By allowing your people to do their best to reach a defined goal without overly stifling Supervision is what we need to strive for in our Agencies. During my time as Chief, I told my people that I expected their best for our Citizens and that they would receive my best efforts for them. I went out and checked on them during Traffic Stops and backed them up. They knew I was there for them, not to tell them what to do. Being a small Agency I could take a call or two sometimes. I set the example of what I expected and they followed the example without my being over-bearing. I found this resulted in some great Officers that took the initiative and excelled in their service to the Citizens. This was a big difference from what I was exposed to on the Road in the 70’s and 80’s when dealing with Supervisors and Management.
Jim
In short you trusted your staff.
The reason that the performance target culture and tyranny of the org chart are so prevalent is the fear that senior officers have of being held to account by their management or third party agency, and prefer to spend half their budgets on checking up on staff rather than trusting them to do a good job. The Government foster this process (just so they can say that things have improved under their watch – targets and parameters will be arranged to ensure this is so), and the media play on the fears to make good copy. In short the system has evolved into a permanent state of failure, where innovation is stifled and empires are protected. And it all comes from arbitrary targets and org charts which are used by politicos and management as a comfort blanket to sooth them as they are frightened.
How more efficient would we be if we could relearn how to trust our staff?
Or am I just naive?
Greg Kiefer
Independent Fishery Professional
You Guys have tons of experience between all of your years. Nothing but respect from me to all of you.
Wayne Walker
Retired LEO/ Fire Fighter/ EMT/ Diver
Top Contributor
Can’t add to what’s already been stated, good job.
Jeff Young
Assistant Chief of Police at UCLA Police Department
David, I enjoyed reading the article and comments, both here and on your website. The problems highlighted are still alive and well in police management (and most other public agencies). People who are successful in one system/structure are often uncomfortable making changes. But being open and willing to try new ideas is essential to good leadership. The new millenniums in the police workforce are always looking for new ideas, tools (toys?) and change. They will readily change agencies if they are unhappy.
An approach that works for me involves making the idea generator part of the process and responsible for more than just the idea. I never take an idea and run with it or assign it to some other leader. I introduce the concept of “completed staff work” to the person(s) with the idea. I distributed this information throughout the department years ago. We all have plenty to do and don’t need new projects ourselves. As a side note, this gets rid of most of the superfluous stuff fairly quickly. But the serious ones get researched pretty thoroughly. Even so, most new ideas don’t get implemented. However, the ideas are discussed in an open and frank manner. Pilot projects and trial runs are a good way to test the concepts, but don’t guarantee implementation. If they don’t work or don’t get implemented, people know why and usually accept the outcome with little resentment. Some pretty good information is gathered, regardless. Also, I have seen old projects get resurrected when the related issue comes up again. This makes the new consideration easier and quicker. The department is more responsive to the issue at hand and the people see that the past work was not a waste or a “make work” drill that had no hope of going anywhere. Thanks for opening this discussion.
Ron Zimmerman
Detective,Police Officer
Lot of truth on there.