IT TAKES COURAGE
By Robert Vernon
Published in Law Officer Magazine © 2006
Two uniformed officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) helped a plainclothes detective unit stop four dangerous suspects. As the two officers approached the suspects? vehicle, one of the suspects reached out of the right rear window of the car and shot one of the officers. A vicious, prolonged gun battle resulted. The seriously wounded officer lay on the pavement just behind the criminal's vehicle, with bullets ricocheting around him. Through a hail of gunfire, one of the detectives ran forward, exposing himself to the deadly bullets, and pulled the wounded officer to safety. He was awarded the Medal of Valor.
Most police agencies have some way of recognizing courage in the
line of duty. The Los Angeles Police Department has several levels
of recognition with the Medal of Valor as the highest award for
courage. For many years, I sat as the chairman of the awards and
decorations board, which considered the many nominations submitted
for recognition. Some involved incredible acts of courage. Others
recognized meritorious service. For those nominations recognizing
courage, the board always asked, "Did the officer recognize the
danger of the situation and understandably face fear"? The board
noted true courage cannot exist outside the presence of fear.
Without fear, there is no courage. An officer may lack knowledge of
the gravity of the situation or awareness of imminent peril, but
true courage involves recognition of risk and a decision to overcome
fear and move forward with duty.
The word "courage" usually conjures visions of performing dangerous
acts of valor in the midst of hazards or threats. However, there is
another realm of fear that rarely involves physical risk, but does
require great moral courage. Those in leadership positions face
various kinds of real fear from this realm, including the fear of
failure, the fear of criticism and the fear of rejection. In fact,
these fears prevent many people from assuming leadership. Leaders
combat these fears with the courage of conviction.
Leadership requires making decisions. A decision always entails the
possibility of error or the risk of criticism when additional facts
come to light. The acute fear of failure can paralyze you into
inaction. Leaders learn to make decisions without the benefit of all
the facts. Doing so makes you a leader.
We all enjoy being liked, but leadership involves a willingness to
experience rejection. It's easy to feel alone and alienated when
making the ?right? decision proves unpopular. The fear of rejection
can run so strong it overpowers your good judgment and sense of
duty. Leaders are susceptible to surrendering their integrity,
choosing to take the expedient way of least resistance rather than
do what is right and risk rejection. American patriot William Penn
famously said, "Right is right even if everyone is against it, and
wrong is wrong even if everyone is for it." A true leader overcomes
the fear of rejection (at least temporarily) because not all right
decisions are popular or appreciated at the time.
Another hallmark of great leaders is their desire to seize the
initiative. A leader does not watch things happen; a leader makes
things happen. Seizing the initiative involves recognizing problems,
seeing a window of opportunity, perceiving a vacuum of leadership
and taking action without having to be told to do so. Everyone will
intersect with a great opportunity during their lifetime. More
likely, you will encounter several of them. The issue is not whether
you will have a rendezvous with a window of opportunity; it is
whether you will 1) recognize it as such, and then 2) seize the
initiative and jump through the window. This plunge requires
courage.
A young officer resigned from a police agency because of the
corruption top leadership seemed to tolerate. He joined the LAPD
hoping for a career in an environment that did not tolerate
corruption. His previous experience, coupled with an accent not
common in Southern California, landed him an undercover assignment
in a vice unit. To his dismay, he observed some of his colleagues
accepting bribes. He cautiously approached his sergeant and
discovered the sergeant and even the lieutenant in charge of the
unit were also involved. He contacted the commander of the Internal
Affairs Division (IAD) and received instructions to meet
investigators in a cafe‚ outside the city. Preparing for the
meeting, he donned two guns, fearing he was being set up for a hit.
The IAD officers proved legit, and he later learned the corruption
was confined to the vice unit. This whole scenario involved
perceived physical danger as well as the likelihood of rejection and
career failure. The officer overcame these fears. This demonstration
of courage and character paved the way for a very successful career
and earned the admiration of his colleagues.
Overcoming our common fears and choosing the path of courage
ultimately results in respect and personal fulfillment -- on point.
Bob Vernon retired from the Los Angeles Police Department after 37
years on the force. He earned an MBA at Pepperdine University and is
a graduate of the University of Southern California’s Managerial
Policy Institute and the FBI’s National Executive Institute. After
retirement, Vernon founded The Pointman Leadership Institute (visit
http://pointmanleadership.org), which provides principle-based
ethics seminars around the world for police agencies, parliament
members, military leaders and a variety of other groups.