We want to recognize and thank all who serve and those who have served in the armed forces. Thank you Guardians for ensuring our freedoms.
-Archangel Professional Leadership
Independence Day July 4th
We wish you and your family a wonderful reflection and celebration of your freedoms.
Operation Coyote Overwatch
52422/21 Uvalde Strong
A horrendous crime carried out by an evil person occurred in Uvalde, TX in May 2022. The emotion of this incident has impacted not only a small Texas town but so many across our nation. As first responders, we know that any act of violence carried out toward our educators, our peers, and children has a great impact on us. There is a strong desire to help when our neighboring communities are hurting. I am honored to say that one of our Guardians and my childhood classmate, responded to a call to assist a community that was in tremendous pain. If you follow the “APL Leaders Legacy Video/Podcast Episode 6” you might have heard my interview of Dilley, TX. Chief of Police, Homer Delgado.
The Dilley, TX. Police Chief has led his small community through some very trying times over the past few years. A massive snowstorm in a town that hasn’t seen that type of weather in decades and a pandemic outbreak in his community definitely challenged his limited staffing but his resolve and leadership kept his community safe.
Chief Homer reached out to me to advise that he was taking lead with one of his team members to implement “Operation Coyote Overwatch” immediately after the mass casualty incident in Uvalde, TX. The operation is still in progress as of the date of this publication. Chief Homer reached out to the Texas Police Chief’s Association, area emergency management coordinators, various police departments, and I as the President of the Texas Police Association. Chief Homer knew that I was an AACOG Contractor, and member of the Alamo Area Chief’s Association who had access to resources and he advised that the City of Uvalde was putting out a call for assistance and he needed help. I was more than honored to assist with making some calls, sending out emails, and going to Uvalde to help.
Tens of thousands of people descended on the small town of just over 16,000. Some were there to offer support, some to provide international media coverage, and some to investigate the scene. The population more than doubled during the first few weeks after the incident making police response from area agencies very challenging. This is a very kind and giving community where decades of families live or were born and moved across the state and where so many know each other by name. Chief Homer knew that several city employees lost loved ones, many first responders were involved in the incident, and everyone needed time to mourn. Many first responders were still actively part of a very long investigation. Many of the residents needed time to attend or plan funerals and everyone needed to feel safe to go out into their community.
Chief Homer and many other public safety leaders answered the call and I was honored to help. His call to help a community resulted in hundreds of first responders from every corner of Texas responding without hesitation to descend upon Uvalde, TX to carry out this mission. City, county, private, state, federal, and non-profit agencies, and citizens from across Texas sent resources to assist in safeguarding a small community so they could begin to mourn and function again although never the same. Chief Homer’s leadership and guidance resulted in a response of over 500 police officers from 134 agencies that volunteered to bring their staff and resources to Uvalde, TX. for “Operation Coyote Overwatch.” The “Koyotes” is how the Robb Elementary School children pronounce their school mascot and it was fitting to name the operation in their honor.
Regardless of rank, title, or agency, the volunteer first responders carried out a range of duties including protective details, dispatch, administrative functions, funeral escorts, supplemental support for Uvalde law enforcement officers, and coordination of security for counseling services for those involved in the incident and their families.
These men and women, many of whom had never met before, took up any assignment asked of them. At the end of their shifts, mentally and physically drained, many of them shed tears. They did all they could to provide as much strength and support for a community that was visibly in pain. It is a true reflection of public service and “community policing” by those who walk the path least traveled as Guardians.
Many of the volunteers have started to return home as the operation begins to demobilize and all found it hard to leave. I know that when they return home, they will see their own families and communities in a different light. I spoke with an officer who told me that he was on the verge of quitting his job before participating in this operation and now he had a renewed personal mission to protect his community no matter what anyone thought of his profession. He told me that he would hold his family and his children a little tighter and tell them to pray for Uvalde. He told me would continue to serve as long as he could to ensure the safety of his community. I heard so many of these stories in my short time participating in this operation from so many humble public servants.
The officers and dispatchers will mostly remain unnamed and all of them don’t seek credit for what they did, they don’t want to take any focus away from the Uvalde community nor do I. I do think it is important to acknowledge that Chief Homer’s leadership in supporting a community is a true reflection of who he is as a person as well as the hundreds of first responders who pulled together as a blue family to support a community through this tragedy. I know that Chief Homer has given this operation literally his all. In knowing him, I will speak on his behalf because he is humble and won’t say it, but I know that his only wish would be for anyone reading this to continue to support the people of Uvalde, TX. Those who participated in this operation will go home knowing that those who live in Uvalde, TX have suffered a lifelong loss and it will take years to heal. They need to know that they are not alone, they will never be forgotten, and we all ask for your continued support, thoughts, and prayers for the Uvalde community. We hope to never have to do this again but we know that if we need each other and are called to action by good people, our Guardians will be there to serve. SERVIAM – “I Will Serve.”
Mike Davis, Founder APL Guardian
APL Honors the healers who work in the Emergency Medical Services
National EMS Week 2022
National Police Week
We wish to express our support for our law enforcement Guardians. During National Police Week we honor the fallen, their brothers and sisters in blue, their agencies and communities, and their families. You will never be forgotten…
Hope to see you at the TPA Annual Conference May 31st – June 2, 2022, in Round Rock, TX
I am honored to be one of the leadership topics presenters again this year at the Texas Police Association 122nd Annual Conference in Round Rock, TX. Visit: www.texaspoliceassociation.com for registration and conference information.
Two Ladders – “That’s not my responsibility”
A multi-part series about leadership and organizational goal setting. Part. 2
When we look at accountability in organizations, ask ourselves if the organization that claims to have a “leaders at every level” model have everyone at the top or bottom half of the accountability ladder. Organizations that promote leadership at every level must establish expectations for each member related to accountability regardless of title. In part one of this series, I talked about the “A-frame ladder concept” related to goal setting, communication, efficiency, and process improvement. In this article, we will explore accountability at every level of an organization as a cultural expectation.
The book, “The Oz Principle” by Connors, Smith, and Hickman, shows how people, use a sense of victimization to make excuses for inaction and poor performance. The book goes on to suggest an “accountability ladder” as a model that takes people on an upward journey of self-awareness and organizational expectations. It reads much like the “Wizard of Oz” story that takes people away from ignorance to knowledge, fear to courage, paralysis to powerfulness, and victimization to accountability.
In the accountability ladder model, picture the image of a straight rung ladder with eight rungs. The top half of the ladder is labeled as “accountable behaviors” and the lower half is labeled as “victim behaviors” with each rung on the entire ladder labeled individually into one of the two categories. The higher you are on the ladder, the more accountable you are. The top four rungs are labeled individually, #8 “Make it happen”, #7 “Find Solutions”, #6 “Embrace it!”, #5 “Acknowledge Reality.” In the lower half of the ladder in the “Victim Behaviors” group, the rungs are also labeled individually, #4 “Wait and Hope”, #3 “I Can’t”, #2 “Personal Excuses”, and #1 “Blame Others.” The floor and base of where the ladder stands are labeled, “Unaware or unconscious.” At the lowest point, people are simply “Unaware” or “Unconscious.” They don’t even know there’s a situation that needs attention.
As you move from the ground up the next rung on the ladder is the “Blame Others” level. Here’s where we see a lot of finger-pointing. When something goes wrong or fails to go right, people at this level are quick to censure their colleagues. In the lower half of the ladder, you may hear comments from staff addressing problems that sound like, “that’s beyond my pay grade” or “we have always done it that way” or “why should I say anything about it, that’s not my responsibility.”
Our organizational or personal cultures tend to silence those who could speak up when they see a potential problem even if those identified problems are detrimental to the reputation of the organization. One could even go as far as saying that speaking up could be constituted as being rude by some in a workplace with generational gaps or historically divided hierarchy roles. When we hear conversations in which our peers make comments like, “I saw that problem a mile away but I didn’t say anything because that’s not my job and not my problem.” We have to take a look at those conversations from a higher altitude and recognize the red flags and the damage those words and lack of action have. These conversations in organizations that are otherwise doing well in training “leadership at every level” could be failing in the practice of those principles by not having accountability standards.
Setting clear expectations for everyone at every level should include an accountability ladder that standardizes respected communication for everyone. Think of it as a “see something, say something” motto that empowers problem-solving and a call to action at every level. Accountability creates efficiency, productivity, and builds respect and trust both internally and externally. The organizational hierarchy should acknowledge the right for everyone at any level to recognize, report, and take action, which allows everyone to “step up” on the ladder. There should be a clear expectation and understanding by all that “heads up communication” and “problem-solving” are rewarded behaviors and failure to act have negative consequences. The clearest way to establish what the expectation and actions are is to have them ask themselves where to act on the accountability ladder.
The top rungs are, “acknowledged reality”, “embrace it”, “find solutions”, and “make it happen.” Trust and accountability go hand in hand and empower problem-solving. By setting clear expectations, and by using the accountability ladder as a model, we can evaluate leadership and clearly see those that are on the top half of the ladder. I would go as far as saying that this model could be incorporated into employee evaluations under the “takes responsibility” and “leadership” sections.
I would go even further in stating that organizations should consider the establishment of a policy. Organizations should set clear language indicating that any person in the organization who sees, hears, identifies, or anticipates a problem that impacts the safety, trust, or anything that negatively impacts the goals or the reputation of the organization’s employees, customers, or anything that violates industry standards, laws, or organizational values, shall take proactive action to communicate and address the discovery. They must have an avenue to voice the identified problem and present potential solutions along with a willingness to play an active role in problem-solving. Those established avenues need to be respected and acted upon across the hierarchy from the ground up and vice versa as heads up communication that makes accountability everyone’s responsibility.
When everyone is empowered to have situational awareness, open communication, and mutual respect for their peers and mission goals, they give each other a heads up and they take a proactive team problem-solving approach. That is when the conversations change to, “My co-worker didn’t see that problem but I gave him a heads up along with some solutions and we made it happen.” Those are conversations that reflect a “leadership at every level” culture in practice.
Credit: “The Oz Principal” Connors, Smith, & Hickman; Photo by Douglas Barros from Pexels
Happy New Year 2022
We want to wish each of you a very happy new year.