The Number One Way to Deal with Pride : Employing Seeing Eye Dogs Accountability
Now that we have tried to answer the “ who ” of people to hold us accountable , I think another important issues is “ how many ?” You will notice that in the third question to be asked of the Chief ’ s candidates , I told them to ask for three names . Why three ? Three is by no means a magic number . The issue is plurality . One person cannot really hold us accountable as well as two or three or more . Why ? First and foremost , it is a huge responsibility for a single individual to go head to head with us and try to help us . I promise you that if you ask just one person to hold you accountable , they will not be as proactive or honest as they could be because they are naturally intimidated to be on equal numerical footing . Let us face it , no one likes the role of pointing out weaknesses in a proactive way . Secondly , from your perspective , you will be less likely to receive counsel from someone when it is only one person . Your pride will be much more prone to dismiss what they say as untrue , a misinterpretation of what you said or did , etc . The bottom line is that we do not listen to a rebuke or recommendation as much when it is just one person rather than two or three .
Moreover , with two or three people holding you accountable , the entire dynamic changes . From their perspective , there is “ safety in numbers ” as they point out questionable behavior or ask you to justify why you made ( or did not make ) a decision . I also believe that two or three people collectively help each other to define real problems you are having instead of you being singled out for a pet peeve by one individual . Recently I was going to confront someone for a pattern of behavior that I thought was detracting from his ability as well as the credibility of his supervisor . When I mentioned this to a friend , he told me that he believed I was being too hard on this person and was making the proverbial “ mountain out of a mole hill ”. When I listened to this friend ’ s advice , I saw his points and declined to confront the other party .
From your perspective , having two or three people hold you accountable is also much different than having just one person do it . When you are facing two or three people who have seen the same pattern and are standing in front of you , it is much harder to dismiss their comments as untrue . Their superiority of numbers will make you much less likely to be defensive or angry and more likely to listen to what they have to say .
To conclude , having three or more individuals holding you accountable makes you a better leader and serves as a means of minimizing pride and foolish decisions in your life . Without it , we will continue to be stuck in ruts of behavior that make us ineffective . Life was always meant to be lived in the context of relationships and community . We are “ our brothers ’ keepers ” if we are to make the most of our life . Most people fail at leadership and relationships because they try to do it on their own . Make sure you do not allow yourself to fall into delusion thinking .
Jack Enter began his law enforcement career in 1972 . Since that time , he has worked as a street police officer , detective , vice / narcotics investigator , and as the administrator of a law enforcement agency in the suburbs of Atlanta . Jack obtained his Ph . D . in 1984 and has served as a professor and administrator in the university setting and served as one of the planners of the security component of the 1996 Summer Olympic Games in Atlanta . He has lectured throughout the United States and abroad . He published his first book : Challenging the Law Enforcement Organization : Proactive Leadership Strategies in 2006 .
24 FALL 2021