Making a Difference

In his books Gower talks about ‘making a difference’ and refers to the concept as a four legged stool. The four legs are:

1. The effort to make a difference will not always be successful.
2. The effort to make a difference can be successful, but not apparent.
3. The effort to make a difference can be successful, but not at the point you intended or suspected.
4. The effort to make a difference is process, not event.

Being a trainer is about making a difference in the lives of the people you train. That powerful goal is, or at least should be, our reason for being a trainer. After 20 years of training law enforcement personnel across North America the four legs of Gower’s stool certainly resonated with me.

Although one of the theme’s of Excellence in Training is ‘You Have Not Taught Until they Have Learned’ there are a couple of realities:

• Sometimes we just run out of time to get people to where they need to be to meet the standards. We will not lower the standards to allow people to graduate. They can come back and go through the process again but, if they do not meet the standards then they do not graduate.
• Some people are truly not meant to be law enforcement professionsls.  That does not mean there is anything wrong with them, or that they are any less of a person. It simply means that this profession is not right for them.

As a trainer you will seldom know the impact you have had on people. Occasionally you will get a call from an officer who wants to thank you because something you taught them saved their life. Occasionally you will get someone who tells you that they became a trainer because of your inspiration. Those moments are very powerful, but they are often few and far between. Generally you will never know how many lives you have impacted, and how many lives you have saved.

There are also occasions where participants in a course will take a concept you taught and apply it in a very personal way that is different than how you may have intended it. I am continually amazed at the many ways in which people tell me that the W.I.N. philosophy has impacted their lives and the lives of those they love, often in ways I never imagined.

Making a difference is an on going process. There are times where we get frustrated as we may not seethe immediate impact of our efforts. The best advice I can give you is to be patient and stay the course. Change is often slow to occur but it does happen, even in big organizations. When it happens it is both powerful and satisfying.

To all of you I want to say this. Thank You for what you do. Thank you for the commitments you make. Thank you for your continued efforts often without thanks or recognition.

Thank you for making a difference.

I will leave you with this quote from Stephen Gower’s book lessons From The Nations Top Cops: Mastering the Privilege of Leadership:

“In law enforcement, a leader is often driven by the desire to make a difference in the lives of others, their community, and their profession. Law enforcement leaders must be servant leaders to be truly effective. They must have a desire to serve a greater cause than themselves. A servant leader not only leads from the front but is the rear guard as well. The fulfillment of making a difference comes from being a servant leader.”

Chief Gene Ellis

DeWitt, Iowa Police Dept.