Last week I presented two simple questions to the chiefs out there. First, do you think your department will get along just fine without you? And for those of us who think our department won’t survive without us, I posed the follow-up question: Why not?
This week I ask those of us who think our departments won’t survive without us: Wanna bet?
If you think your department won’t get along just fine without you, you’re dead wrong. Your department will be fine without you. I know chiefs who have taken the reins of departments after chiefs who were there for 5, 10 or even 20-plus years. A few years later, the departments are just fine—better if you want to know the truth. Undoubtedly, it was a bit tough up front; basically, department members had to sit down, put their heads together and figure out what knowledge of the department’s financial and political situation was left in the wake of the departure, and then fill in the gaps with new information.
I reiterate, if you think your department won’t be just fine without you, you’re wrong. When you’re gone, the personnel on the department will celebrate, but not for the reasons your ego wants you to believe. Trust me. They’ll toast you at the retirement party, or cry at your funeral, but once they’re back at the station, the tales of “that SOB” will start flying.
So while you’re chief, you have an opportunity. Start preparing your department for life without you. Start keeping a journal of important information, and let key personnel know where you keep it. At the least, keep your command staff informed of what’s going on, and just as importantly, why.
When the old chief left, I recall some department personnel saying “we’ll never be the same without him.” The chief was the only person who stood in the way of making an average department and excellent department.