Stripes and Bars AMAURY MURGADO
HAVING SKIN IN THE GAME It's funny how making someone accountable for something causes a person to care about the end result. ALDI IS A LOW-PRICE GROCER that operates more than 1,400 extension or offering an excuse. I made my point by taking his assigned vehicle away for two weeks and making him stores in 32 states. One of the unusual things the company use a pool car instead. It worked. does is use a shopping cart rental system. In order for you Two things happened as a result. Over the next four years, to get your cart, you have to put a quarter in a chain locking the sergeant never turned an evaluation in late, and he took system that attaches each cart together. To get your quarter the time to learn how to write outstanding evaluations. Beback, you have to replace the cart, hook it back up to the locking system, and retrieve your quarter. It's just a quarter, cause he was the first one to test me, my other sergeants got the message early and I never had a problem with them. It's who cares? You do, because it's your quarter. The end result funny how having skin in the game changes a person. Your is Aldi never has a problem with people taking their carts. actions will always count more than your words. This is an example of having skin in the game. That's what having skin in the game really means; it makes When you are in a leadership position, you automatically have skin in the game because you are responsible for the people accountable. Being a cop is not a spectator sport. Let it actions of your subordinates. Have you ever been in a situa- be known what your standards are and what the consequenction where you were trying to find out why something hap- es are for not meeting them. If employees come to you with a pened and you got nowhere? Nobody cared because no one problem and they can't meet your deadline that's a different was holding them accountable. Let me give you an example. story. Help them with the problem and give them an extension. As long as they are working to reI know of an agency that uses a yearly I MADE HIM USE A solve the issue, they are still in the game. evaluation system for its employees. The problem is, the evaluation system isn't SHARED CAR FOR TWO I was always clear in my role as lieutied to anything. There are no points WEEKS AND HE NEVER tenant. My sergeants and I were in this together, good or bad. If one of my ofawarded toward promotion or pay inTURNED IN A LATE got into trouble, there would be centives. Bad evaluations are only used EVALUATION AGAIN. ficers three of us in the captain's office; me, the when it's politically convenient. The officer's sergeant, and the officer. Nothevaluations are only relevant under two ing happens in a vacuum and we all have circumstances: when considering discito cowboy up when the time comes. This is not to imply that pline and when time for re-accreditation rolls around. I have known employees there that have gone three years every failure is malicious or intentional. However, regardwithout an evaluation. In another instance, a sergeant es- less of intent, mission failure is never acceptable. As a leader, sentially gave a subordinate the same evaluation three years you have to accept responsibility not only for your actions in a row by merely cutting and pasting the text and changing but for the actions of those under your command. Accepting the date. When the chain of command was advised of this, rank is not for everyone because the first person you have to they laughed it off. Unfortunately, these types of incidents hold accountable is yourself. You'd be surprised to see what kind of turnaround hapcreate a culture in which no one cares about writing a proper evaluation. The few supervisors who did a good job were pens when you hold people accountable. Making sure evoften mocked by their peers or given a hard time by their eryone has skin in the game is your responsibility. Use the subordinates. "You are the only one who pays attention to Aldi quarter analogy to your advantage. Make sure everyone has skin in the game and you will see a big difference in this," was often heard as the war cry for mediocrity. Now let's flip this very situation around. What if people employees' performance. who were never held accountable suddenly were? I mentored my sergeants about the importance of evaluations and Amaury Murgado retired a senior lieutenant from the Osceola how it was more a reflection of them than the employee be- County (FL) Sheriff's Office with over 29 years of experience. ing evaluated. They were not accustomed to the standards He also retired from the Army Reserve as a master sergeant. I set. In fact, one of my sergeants thought I was kidding. He He holds a master of political science degree from the Univerturned in an evaluation two weeks late without asking for an sity of Central Florida.
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POLICE MAY 2016