Rank Doesn't Lead

Short, real-world leadership lessons for police and public safety. 5-minute episodes Sun, Tue and Thu. Hosted by Keith Clicque, police chief and still learning.

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." - President John F. Kennedy

Rank doesn't mean you're done learning. As leaders, it's our responsibility to push others to learn while we keep learning ourselves.

https://t.co/9eY04ep2n2

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

"Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity." - Gen. George S. Patton

Give people the mission and the why, then get out of the way. The ones closest to the problem usually find a better way.

https://t.co/9eY04epAcA

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

The day before Challenger launched, engineer Bob Ebeling warned it was too cold. It was 36°F at launch. He blamed himself for 30 years.

When someone brings you bad news, do you investigate the problem, or make them defend it?

https://t.co/7b9yIEjFwE #Leadership @NPR

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

"You manage things, you lead people." - Rear Adm. Grace Hopper

Schedules, budgets and projects can be managed. The people doing the work need someone who knows their names and what they're carrying.

https://t.co/9eY04ep2n2
#Leadership

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

A sergeant tried to compliment me. It came out: "You don't HAVE a fat butt. You just ARE one."

Did you respond to what they said, or what they meant?

New episode: https://t.co/dAkhCXZt3R
#Leadership #Teamwork

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

"If you can't do the little things right, you will never do the big things right." - Adm. William H. McRaven

The email answered on time. The name remembered. The checklist followed. Nobody notices little things until the big thing goes wrong.

https://t.co/9eY04epAcA
#Leadership

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

A tech CEO reportedly answered an engineer's request to test new code for security holes with "loser thinking." He later apologized. New episode on what happens when you make it expensive to raise your hand.
https://t.co/pXDP2h7uC9 #Leadership #PublicSafety

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you." - Max De Pree

Tell your people the truth, even when it's ugly. Then serve them, and never let a shift end without a thank you.

https://t.co/9eY04ep2n2
#Leadership

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

A good decision can still end badly. In Game 4, Pat Murphy kept his ace in the bullpen and explained why. The next night, the @Brewers won their first World Series. New episode on judging the call, not just the ending.
https://t.co/TfEayjMvt9 #Leadership #PoliceLeadership

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

"Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point." - C.S. Lewis

Integrity is easy on a quiet shift. It counts when the truth or the unpopular call costs you something.

https://t.co/9eY04epAcA
#Leadership #PoliceLeadership

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

"Plans are worthless, but planning is everything." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

No emergency goes the way the plan says. But the team that drilled and knows each other's roles is the team that adapts when it goes sideways.

https://t.co/9eY04epAcA
#Leadership #PoliceLeadership

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

Sir Patrick Stewart died this week at 86. For me he will always be Captain Picard.

"It is possible to commit no mistakes and still lose. That is not a weakness. That is life."

A tribute, and four leadership lessons from that bridge.

https://t.co/khfMsYWBq1

@SirPatStew

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

He started as an oncology nurse. When he took over the Johns Hopkins Health System, he promised "10 years of everything I had." Now he's retiring right on schedule.

The promises nobody checks say the most about us.

https://t.co/QSLewkn84v

@HopkinsMedicine

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

"Be quick, but don't hurry." - Coach John Wooden @UCLAAthletics

Every critical call needs both. Move fast because time matters, but stay under control. Rushed decisions on scene are how good officers make mistakes they can't take back.

https://t.co/9eY04epAcA
#Leadership

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

A store clerk saw a school bus driver in medical distress, jumped aboard, and stopped the bus with 19 kids on it. No rank, no title. He led anyway.

Stories like this are why we're called Rank Doesn't Lead.

https://t.co/VQVMbJO7bb

@wcco @ABC @GMA @SPPS_News

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

"The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them." - Gen. Colin Powell

Same goes for officers. If they quit bringing you problems, they've decided you can't help or won't care.

https://t.co/9eY04epAcA
#Leadership #PoliceLeadership

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

One year ago today, I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. That year taught me more about leadership than any class. Presence beats policy, and sometimes the most caring thing a leader can do is send someone home.

Don't ignore symptoms. Get checked.

https://t.co/9eY04epAcA

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

Charleston's police chief is moving on, and how a department handles that handoff says a lot about its leadership. The best chiefs build their successors long before they leave. New 5-minute episode: https://t.co/vEUb2bAuuw
@charlestoncity #Leadership #PoliceLeadership

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

Teens at a night soccer game figured the cops were there to send them home. Two @SCPDHq officers hopped the fence and played instead. What gets recognized gets repeated.
https://t.co/6zTUAudJzb

[Rank Doesn't Lead @RankDoesntLead]

"The price of greatness is responsibility." - Winston Churchill

In policing, rank doesn't make anyone great. Owning the hard calls and taking care of your people does.

https://t.co/1StwpMWUJs
#Leadership #PoliceLeadership