Leading Up

General William T. Sherman once said "We have good corporals and good sergeants and some good lieutenants and captains, and those are far more important than good generals."

Sherman recognized the importance of leading up.

What is leading up? It’s providing leadership in an organization from a position of lower authority. It’s understanding the role played by various members of an organization and how to properly and effective work within that organization.

This is more commonly referred to as Followership.

Followership at its core is the individual’s willingness to go along with a leader. There willingness to follow. But it is much more than that.

We put tremendous emphasis on leadership. Hell, my entire season 5 is focusing on leadership, but we often forget the importance of the follower. Without followers there are no leaders.

It is said that all leaders are followers, but not all followers are leaders. And that is an interesting thought. The concept behind this is that to be a successful leader, you must know how to follow. Taking that a step further you must realize that every leader has a boss. For example, in the public safety realm, every sergeant must report to a lieutenant. Every lieutenant reports to a captain. Every Chief of Police Reports to a Mayor or City Council and every Sheriff reports to the electorate.

Everybody has a boss.

Being a good follower will provide you with the skills necessary to help you be a good leader.

Now let’s look at the second part of that saying…not all followers are leaders.

Another true statement. Some people are simply not cut out for leadership. They are not wired that way. They can be good followers, but refuse to accept some of the basic principles of leadership. Most people don’t start out as leaders, they start out as followers but as they learn to be good followers they start learning the skills necessary to be leaders and grow.

There are several essential qualities to an exemplary follower and we should always be looking to improve in these areas. Lets take a quick look at those essential qualities.

Sheriff, a word, and position that derive from the old English term Shire-Reeve. This person was responsible for managing a shire or county in England. The practice began sometime before 700 A.D. and when America was colonized by European settlers we brought the concept with us.

Today in the US, 48 out of the 50 states have sheriffs. Alaska doesn’t have counties and therefore has no sheriff’s and Connecticut replaced its sheriff system with State Marshalls in 2000. In 46 out of the 48 states with the sheriff’s system the sheriffs are elected officials and mostly serve 4-year terms.

The duties of sheriff vary from state to state and even from county to county. In the south and western states sheriffs are seen as the constitutional law enforcement officer and the position is held in high esteem. Also, the more rural the county the more likely the sheriff is the primary law enforcement agency. Sheriff’s are also typically responsible for the jail and court systems in their county making the position difficult and challenge on a number of levels.

For Sheriff’s, leadership is an important skill. Not only must they lead their officers and civilian employees, but they must also lead in the jails, the courts, and because of the political nature of the position, in the community

As for notable people that have held the position of sheriff in American history it’s an interesting list. From historical figures like Bat Masterson, Daniel Boone, and Grover Cleveland to controversial ones like Buford Pusser, Grady Judd, and Joe Arpaio.

I realized if I wanted to discuss leadership in law enforcement, I would be remiss if I didn’t talk to at least one Sheriff.

I had a perfect candidate in mind.

[Insert Intro]

Sheriff Chris Lane was elected on November 8, 2022 as the 59th Sheriff of Bartholomew County IN

Sheriff Lane has dedicated over 30 years to law enforcement. During this time, he has served in a variety of positions, including patrol, supervision, administration, and investigations. He was appointed as Chief Deputy of the Bartholomew County Sheriff’s Department from 2015 - 2022. Sheriff Lane is also a 2019 graduate of the FBI National Academy, joining an elite group that makes up less than 1% of America’s law enforcement community.

And the most important part of his background…we went to the police academy together.

Fear is the Mind Killer,

That statement is as relevant today as it was in 1965 when Frank Hubert published his novel Dune.

Paul Atraides, the main character in Dune, quotes from the Litany of Fear in the first chapter of the book. The entire quote is;

"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past, I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."

The quote is designed to help you focus through your fear. It recognizes that fear will happen, that you will be scared, but you must not let that fear define you, or rule you. You must concentrate through the fear and let your reason win. It also acknowledges that fear will pass and you will have to live with the actions and consequences of your decisions once it is gone.

The number one enemy to effective leadership is fear.

Fear is why we fail

Fear is why our people fail

Fear is why or organizations fails

We let fear guide our decisions, we let fear dictate our responses and we let fear paralyze us from taking action.