The worst is yet to come…(2012)

This has to be insanity. Chaos. But I am so very happy… he got what he deserved. Got what he earned.


I told a member of our governing body that if this happened the implications on our organization would be catastrophic. I hope I’m wrong.


He joined us nearly a year ago. We knew him from a neighboring department, so his leadership abilities where no mystery or secret. We all knew he would raise the bar and expect more from each of us. We knew he was exactly what we needed. We knew with him with us, all the other stuff wouldn’t matter.


It was all true. For the past year, I have lived in bliss, enjoying every single moment I was able spend working with him. I was challenged to be better, and I am. I was given opportunities to excel and I did. We all gained so much in so little time.


But now it’s over.


He got what he earned and so highly deserved. He returned to his previous employer. He is now the new “Big Cheese” with them. Bravo Zulu!


The next three months for us will speak volumes. Where will we go? We are leaderless and the future is not so bright. Our upper management is still intact, but leaders they never were nor will be. Old dogs don’t learn new tricks. Empire builders don’t give away the keys to the castles they build.


Empires are defeated in battle, often with heavy losses. Empires and the kings that rule them are not interested in the  betterment of the individual nor the whole. And they certainly don’t want to share control. Because of this, our organization will regress. Go backwards. Retard. Our forward growth will be impeded. Changes we do make will be incomplete and meaningless. Buy-in will continue to be non-existent and appreciation will be dealt in favoritism.


The future changes envisioned by our governing body are those that require a type of leadership that we now lack; transitional. Administrators that have never led but rather managed, will not and can not succeed in the arena of change. History has shown us and is now doomed to repeat.


What of the masses you ask? As a whole, they are weak and unwilling. Asking others to fall on the spear, but unwilling to risk a splinter from the spears handle themselves. Asking for leadership, but unwilling to be led. Each as a single part seeks out a position that will somehow seemingly benefit them in the future. Looking to better themselves rather than the organization and searching for safe-havens of refuge, they take turns feeding the king and strengthening his castle walls.


I believe my time here is coming near the end. I have to look for new opportunities and further old ones. I have invested nearly a decade here; helping, teaching, coaching, mentoring and even failing at times. I cannot push any harder for the one change we all know needs to happen. I am willing to fall on the spear to help the organization reach the next step, yet I cannot find enough willing hands to hold the spear for me…


Perhaps another time.


Or, I can man-up; do my job as a servant to the great men and women of the department that I have the privileged to work with.


After meeting with a mentor of mine and then receiving a less-than-happy email from an associate, it struck me. There can be only one answer. It won’t be easy. It will be painful to accept and continue at times, yet it is simple. The realization came as the reply to a great man’s email…



We cannot allow the organization’s image to be tarnished, but rather we must continue to serve the public as they so deserve. I realize that as of last night, the resolve to do this is weak in many of us, myself included. If we quit, if we lash out, if we do anything other than to continue in a professional manner, then we lose. This I am sure of.
What will happen going forward is speculative at best. I ask that we move forward and continue to give the district our very best. I am truly committed to the ideal that the only chance for success of the department is our collective, undying desire to serve the communities in which we live. We must move forward and we must support our command structure. Together, we will continue to grow and improve. But only if we are together. We cannot afford to lose more good people…