Congratulations! Vaya Con Dios!

I attended a promotion ceremony at the Columbia Police Department, Friday, November the 6th. A corporal from one of my subgrantees was promoted to sergeant. He will also leave the grant because of his new position. I’ll miss his work. He and his sergeant have submitted some great performance numbers. I asked his sergeant what are his plans to replace the corporal. Without a beat, he told me that he had submitted a nomination and was waiting word from his superiors. Good people are hard to find, harder to replace and even harder to retain. But, you want the best for them and you don’t want to hold them back for selfish reasons. A good leader will recognize the potential in his/her subordinates and will encourage them to reach their goals. They will challenge them to do so. A good leader is recognized by his/her personnel. So be fair and right to your people. Even the strugglers, if coaxed correctly, can find their potential, too. If not, they can’t hold the department back and must go. You can’t jeopardize the many for the few.

At the ceremony, I got a chance to see some old friends. Many of them were promoted to the executive staff. The funny thing is that I remembered when they were beat cops 10 to 30 years ago! It was a beautiful day and the ceremony was held outside. The rookies were introduced, young men & women accepting their duty over future risks to come. They are our future, God bless them!