Editor’s Note: This week’s PoliceOne First Person essay is from PoliceOne Member Timothy Albright, a 19-year veteran LEO and sworn police manager in Northern California. In PoliceOne “First Person” essays, our Members and Columnists candidly share their own unique view of the world. This is a platform from which individual officers can share their own personal insights on issues confronting cops today, as well as opinions, observations, and advice on living life behind the thin blue line. If you want to share your own perspective with other P1 Members, simply send us an e-mail with your story.
By Timothy Albright
Police1 Member
In the mid-90s I became involved in police canine training. I came into the process with very little experience although I was ready to tackle what seemed like an insurmountable task — learning dog behavior and manipulating that behavior to fit the needs of a police department. I knew the task would not be easy but I was positioned to learn as much as I could and contribute my best.
My foray into the police canine world was quickly followed by fatherhood, times three.
In the middle of the parenting journey — during which I lost the manual and missed the training seminars — I began a jump into the world of law enforcement supervision and leadership.
Nothing like turning a world upside down! I’d gone from being responsible for a police canine and his needs to being responsible for children and then responsible for leading people. I felt as though I was ill prepared for the responsibilities of the canine, let alone the children and other people.
At the risk of losing credibility by comparing dogs and kids to law enforcement professionals, I believe there are commonalities which are an important part of the recipe for mitigating negative behavior(s) or poor performance.
Foremost is that of consistency:
Dogs
We’ve all heard about Pavlov and his research — classical conditioning and learned response are a big part of understanding dog behavior. As a part of that, consistency plays a large part in training and maintenance of a canine.
For each desired outcome from the dog there is a signal, a pressure and a reward. The signal could be as simple as a command or a body gesture/movement, the pressure could be a verbal command in a louder voice, the gentle application of a leash correction or an animated body gesture/movement. The reward could be as simple as a verbal praise, a gentle stroke of the dog’s ear or in some cases food.
The common denominator in all of these applications is the consistent and timely application of the signal, the pressure, and the reward.
Dogs are master manipulators and are certainly opportunists. If consistency or timely applications are not a part of the training regimen, the dog will be confused, will look for loopholes, and/or will not perform at a level acceptable for police work — essentially a properly selected police canine candidate’s success lies largely in the hands of the handler.
Kids
As we all know, consistency in the world of parenting has long been touted as the key ingredient to gaining compliance and encouraging respectful and appropriate behavior with our children.
This conditioning begins shortly after birth and should persist. In the world of parenting, if one parent is a polar opposite of the other — or even slightly differs from the other — the child will quickly learn how to manipulate that situation and a continual conflict will exist.
We have all seen the parents who disagree on the level of discipline, the method and the appropriateness.
Quite obviously, having a high-level of consistency associated with parenting is key to success.
Sound familiar?
Leadership
Consistency must be an integral part — if not the pillar — of leadership.
While it is perfectly acceptable and encouraged to grow in your leadership walk, your leadership itself should be built upon consistency.
Give your employees a roadmap for success. Let them know what to expect and what is expected. Organizational consistency is not always attainable as the human influence is at play but do not let that derail your efforts toward maintaining consistency. Regardless, your obligation is to ensure you are consistent and you foster an environment of consistency.
Hopefully I have not insulted anybody (including dog-lovers and/or parents) with my references to how dog training, parenting, and leadership can all be governed by applying a level of consistency to your approach.
I am not implying this is the only tool needed for success in each of these areas. I do believe, however, there is a higher chance at success in each of these areas when you employ consistency.
So while consistency is the overarching theme associated with dogs, kids and leadership, having an appreciation for its influence on outcomes in your leadership walk will go a long way toward providing the best chances for success; success for your dogs, your kids and for those you lead. The byproduct will be personal, familial and organizational growth and success.
Similar to the success of a canine being in the hands of the handler; your success is within your control.
About the Author
Timothy Albright is a 20-year veteran LEO with a diverse professional and educational background. He is a sworn police manager in Northern California. Timothy has a criminal justice undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in negotiation and conflict management, with an emphasis on labor management. He is an adjunct university criminal justice supervision and management professor. Timothy also instructs a social media awareness course for public safety personnel wherein he examines the employee as well as the employer’s responsibilities in the intelligent use of social media. He is passionate about developing and mentoring the next generation of law enforcement leaders through pragmatic approaches to everyday leadership challenges. As an instructor, Timothy hopes to demystify the leadership walk within the dynamic law enforcement environment. Timothy can be reached at albrighttim@gmail.com.
