A note from Lou Kelley, owner of The Honing Stone LLC, FailSafe-ERA Board Member and Courage to Change Facilitator:
Many of you know that one of the places I work and volunteer is at the local Jail. I am one of a handful of coaches and trainers from FAILSAFE-ERA who provide training for the inmates at the Rappahannock Regional Jail (RRJ) and those transitioning back into our communities from jail or prison. Our goal is to help these individuals change their thinking so that they can return to their families and communities, avoiding the decisions and behaviors that led to their incarceration.
At the end of a recent training session, we needed to remain in the classroom while the Corrections Officers were dealing with a situation. As the problem cleared up two COs entered our room, took a count of the people in the room. One of the inmates spoke to the senior CO (a First Sergeant) and thanked the 1st Sgt. The 1st Sgt. Responded with "Of course, I am here for you." I could tell immediately that it was a heartfelt statement coming from an authority figure who genuinely cared about what he was doing. I could tell by how they communicated with each other, that this corrections officer had professional and personal rapport with the inmates. This was a genuinely human exchange. Make no mistake about it, there was still a power differential between the COs and the inmates. At the same time, humanity transcended the roles.
I said to the 1st Sgt., "I can tell you mean that." The 1st Sgt. responded to me and said "I do". He added, “If someone is here and they only do their job, they are worthless. I need people who will mentor, guide, and council. That’s what I do.” He was going way beyond his job description and the respect between everyone in that setting was noticeable. How powerful is that?
As leaders, where are the opportunities you have to mentor, guide, and counsel others? Where are the opportunities in your role to establish a human connection as a leader? As a follower, are you willing to listen to feedback from a leader, even if it is uncomfortable? Doing these things takes effort to work outside your written job description. When you do them, you will create a better work environment and take care of the most precious element on Earth, the Human element [Hu].
I am blessed to get to experience this and I thank FAILSAFE-ERA and Juanita Shanks for the opportunity to make a difference.