By Robert Marland, Acting IPSA Executive Director

During my 45 ½ years with Richmond Police Department, 81% of my career was in a supervisory position, starting as an Acting/Sergeant, Sergeant, Acting Lieutenant, Lieutenant and an Acting/Captain. So today, I will be focusing on Leadership.

With each promotion, I saw how successful I could be. But these successes required a lot of hard work. Early in life, I realized I wanted to be a lifelong learner. This required that I recognize and acknowledge when I didn’t know something or, better yet, just hadn’t learned it yet. To learn what I didn’t know required that I take my own time and money and invest in expanding my knowledge. I just couldn’t sit idly by, waiting for opportunities to present themselves. I also saw how disastrous some supervisors were who thought they knew everything about our profession. I strongly encouraged my officers to be proactive and take the necessary steps to seek out the unknown and expand their knowledge, skills, and abilities. I didn’t just speak about it I showed them where they could obtain these opportunities.

I encouraged my officers to focus on achieving further success for themselves, their families, in our society, and within the Police Department.

There are several stages of human life and social development. The key is that most humans reach a point in their life where they deem themselves successful because they have what “they” want and, instead, pivot and focus on wanting to be significant. Many authors in leadership write about when you are successful, you have added value to yourself, but when you become significant, you have added value to others. This is so true. I have found it in my life.

It can be easy to confuse significance with success and vice versa. I know it happened to me for many years of my career. I had come from what I would describe as humble beginnings but had the focus and determination to succeed. One day, it dawned on me that success wasn’t all that life was about. As a father, husband, and the RPD Lieutenant “extraordinaire”, it was more about the legacy I was leaving for my family. What value was I adding to their lives?

Trust me, when you consider your role as a leader in those terms, it takes on a completely different meaning.

You see, each of us is leaving a legacy every day with every encounter we have. Realizing this at any age will give you a much more thoughtful approach to how to deal with others.

Both success and significance take time, effort, and commitment. When you begin by focusing on the value you are adding both to yourself and to others, you will be significant, which in turn will make it much easier to become successful. When you commit to pursuing significance, it will push you out of your comfort zone; you will have to do things differently. You will see the world differently and you will find yourself seeking to pursue objectives that are bigger than yourself. That’s a tough thing to do in a world of instant gratification. When you pursue significance, you plant seeds for the people with whom you encounter that may not grow until long past the time you are in their world.

To help you fully understand the difference between success and significance, I want to talk about some key areas where you will see your mindset shift when you focus on being significant:

First, Discipline: Significant people are disciplined people. They no longer need the “feeling” that motivation requires to accomplish their goals. They set routines and stick with them. They understand that putting in the time (and the pain) means they will achieve their goals.

Second, Intentionality: You may be familiar with author and lecturer John Maxwell. Mr. Maxwell said, “Success can last a lifetime; significance can last several.” That nails it. When you focus on being significant, you value your time because your time is the most precious commodity you have. Significant leaders invest their time wisely knowing that by valuing their time and being intentional with it, they can accomplish anything.

Third, Focus: Successful people ask, “How can I add value to myself and my team?” But significant people ask, “How can I add value to others?” You will need to focus on sharing your knowledge, talent, and time to help others become the best they can be.

Fourth, Serving Others: When you pursue significance, you commit to serving others. Your focus and responsibility is on growing future leaders, both at home and within your workplace. THAT IS WHAT MATTERS. It takes time, energy, and dedication to create a connection with your Sergeants and officers so that you learn about their values and motivations which will allow you to develop and enable future significant leaders to have a lasting and positive impact.

Fifth, Rewards: The rewards of being significant are many. When you commit to turning your talents to the benefit of others, you will find that the influence you have is tremendous. Your opinion matters to those who find you significant. It also grows you. Perhaps the greatest reward is the self-realization that you have created value for another person. Success can be short-lived, but its significance will last for decades.

I will close with a couple of final thoughts. First, in all my years studying leadership, I found the following 10 keys to leadership success:

1)   How you think is everything. Always be positive. Think success, not failure. Beware of negative environments.

2)   Decide upon your true dreams and goals. Write down your specific goals and develop a plan to reach them.

3)  Take action. Goals are nothing without action. Don't be afraid to get started. Just do it.

4)   Never stop learning. Go back to school or read books. Get training and acquire skills.

5)   Be persistent and work hard. Success is a marathon, not a sprint. Never give up.

6)   Learn to analyze details. Get all the facts, all the input. Learn from your mistakes.

7)   Focus your time and money. Don't let other people or things distract you.

8)   Don't be afraid to innovate, be different. Following the herd is a sure way to mediocrity.

9)   Deal and communicate with people effectively. No person is an island. Learn to understand and motivate others.

10)   Be honest and dependable; take responsibility. Otherwise, numbers 1-9 won't matter.

I now charge each of you with the following:

First and foremost, pursue being the most significant leader you can be. Make a commitment here and now to help others learn from your mistakes and successes. Share your hard-won knowledge by providing a foundation of knowledge to others, which will enable them to grow beyond your wildest expectations. Being significant isn’t easy; it requires a complete mindset

shift focused on what you possess that could help another.

Think about your past and current bosses. What are some things you wish you saw from them and what are some things you would like to see? One thing people really want is for their boss to be clear, concise, and consistent.

Leaders - you need to mentor your employees. Remember that they have the most direct influence and make up the largest percentage of any agency.