Building On Past Experiences:

Enhancing My RoleAs The Director

Association of State Correctional Administrators

September, 2011

Porpoise and Sea Lion TrainerMarine Corps - 5831 MOSCorrectional Officer - Texas

Sergeant Lieutenant

CaptainMajor

Assistant WardenWarden/ Adjunct Professor

Senior Warden/ Attorney-at-LawSuperintendent - OregonAssistant Superintendent

Director - Wyoming

Presentation Outline …

Take Stock

Be Prepared

Know Thyself

Remember The Little Things

Set Priorities

Do you know what you stand for?

Set Your Own Vision and Values Then Walk the Talk

Walk the Talk!

Know Thyself

• What are your strengths? How can you build on them?

• What are your weaknesses? How can you improve upon (or work around) them?

Know Thyself

• What was your first lesson in management?

• What was your worst business crisis? How did you resolve it?

• You have life and work experience – build on those!

• Is every decision you make always going to turn out to be the best one?

Presentation Outline …

Take Stock

Be Prepared

Know Thyself

Remember The Little Things

Set Priorities

Assessing Your Environment

“What I need is a list of specific unknown problems we will encounter.”

(Lykes Lines Shipping)

What Are The Issues? Staffing

• Recruitment, Pay and Retention – Fill Vacancies • Staff Development – Lack of Depth on Bench• Succession Planning – Create Future Leaders • Staff Involvement in Planning and Decisions • Increase Professionalism and Morale of Work Force

Improve Reentry & Reduce Recidivism/PV’s Improve Organizational Accountability/Basics Reduce Violence Overcrowding/Population Reduction

Efforts/Prison Closures/Sentence Reform Re-Vision Community Corrections Pressures on the Budget to Cut Costs

What Are The Issues?

How to Allocate Limited Programming and Treatment Resources Among Competing Sub-Populations (Mentally ill, Elderly, etc…)

How to Build Allegiances Within (and Outside) the Agency and Manage External Pressures

Operational Efficiency Privatization (Facilities, Services & Lobbyists) Housing for Released Sex Offenders Adoption of Evidence Based Practices Etc….

As you do your assessments - some things are obvious – others are not.

Presentation Outline …

Take Stock

Be Prepared

Know Thyself

Remember The Little Things

Set Priorities

Many times, no matter what you do, no matter the merits of your goals or your intentions, there always seems to be someone – or many – who are willing to tell you that you are going the wrong way …

“This project is so important, we

can't let things that are more

important interfere with it.”

(McKinsey & Company)

WHO/WHAT

INFLUENCES

YOUR

PRIOIRITIES?

Presentation Outline …

Take Stock

Be Prepared

Know Thyself

Remember The Little Things

Set Priorities

BE PREPARED

(For the Unexpected)

• What I brought with me to the job …

• What I was not prepared for…• Global thinking and impacts…

FRUSTRATIONS:• Change is slow and cumbersome …• Making quick decisions with only half the

information in an environment increasingly expecting data-driven decision making…

• Reactive reality getting in way of proactive desires…

Prepared and Not Prepared…

BE PREPARED

(To Make Mistakes)

Just Some of the Challenges …

Ability to get a handle on the small things in a suddenly bigger world…

Making decisions on little-to-no informationor data at a time when data-driven decisions are expected…

Balancing Evidence Based Practice with the reality of policy implications and costs…

Effecting change in a resistant culture…

Knowing what you don’t know …

BE PREPARED

(To Be Challenged)

‘My people are so loyal they will follow me

off a cliff.’

‘My people are so loyal they keep

me from jumping off a cliff!’

                                                                            

Presentation Outline …

Take Stock

Be Prepared

Know Thyself

Remember The Little Things

Set Priorities

Its The Little Things …• How do you interpret or assess your boss?

• How do you stay in touch with line staff?

• How do you manage the different stakeholders?

• What information are you accessing?

• How do you see the forest for the trees?

• What are some ways to stay sharp?

• How do you take care of you (and yours)?

Things I’ve Learned…

• Learn from mistakes, start anew

• Be willing to say “I don’t know”

• Trust those in leadership roles around you

• Provide vision – make decisions – and gain respect

• Effect change and make a difference

Building On Past Experiences:

Enhancing My RoleAs The Director

Questions or Comments?

Association of State Correctional Administrators

September, 2011