ASSOCIATE Magazine FBINAA Q3-2023

A MESSAGE FROM OUR CHAPLAIN

FBINAA.ORG | Q3 2023

Mike Hardee

T here is an enormous amount of research and resources available on how to be an effective law enforcement leader. But after reading countless articles through the years, I’ve come to appreciate the unusual leadership style of one of my former supervisors as the most effective. One article 1 that outlines eight principles of effective law enforcement leadership reminded me of the conversations I had with Sgt. Bill Edwards more than 30 years ago. Character Is Everything! “So you see, it’s not enough to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless. I say, I can’t see your faith if you don’t have good deeds, but I will show you my faith through my good deeds.” James 2:14-16

would tear us apart from each other. “God’s plan is that we honor and respect each other, forgive and ask for forgiveness,” he would say. Sgt. Edwards would often say that “your character is mea sured by your actions -- an act of kindness or compassion, or simply doing something good for someone.” Because of that, it was important to him that we learned how to communicate with each other as a way of understanding our differences. His method of conflict resolution was to face each other “toe to toe, knee to knee, mouth to ear.” Sgt. Edwards did not tolerate gossip or bad behavior from those who worked for him. His method of reminding us to be mindful of our behavior was to tell us to remain quiet, without comment. He wanted us to come around to respecting the other person and to understand them without judgment. This isn’t to say we were stellar students. It seems instinc tive to hit back in retaliation rather than turn the other cheek, or to not want to let your guard down and be perceived as soft—es pecially in our profession. Certainly, there have been times when I have offended someone either by intention or by mistake. But it’s important to keep the idea that we build good character as our guidepost. And when we fail, it’s important to ask God for forgiveness for our actions and pray that God will give us the compassion to understand those who have offended us. For we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man. (2 Corinthians 8:21) Learning to trust ourselves to trust others teaches us to have faith and to have a partnership with God. Our faith, our character, and our trust in each other could be the foundation of a healing relationship. Like our reflection in the still waters on a calm fall day, we need to take moments where can we sit quietly and assess whether our image and our character projects good intentions. I am grateful for the times that Sgt. Edwards and I spent to gether, and I can only hope his story will remind us to thank those special people in our lives who have made us better people. For

1. Service 2. Honesty 3. Integrity 4. Humility 5. Purpose 6. Mentoring 7. Positive/Constructive Attitude 8. Trust

What Sgt. Edwards taught us was not outlined in any of our operations manuals or agency policy directives. Our conversa tions were more personal and philosophical; he seemed to be evaluating each of us through his questions. And though he didn’t judge or push his own beliefs on us, we could not help but wonder what his motive was. Sgt. Edwards talked in parables, not necessary examples of what he had accomplished, but I think perhaps they were. Many of these conversations seemed to connect to each other as continuing chapters in his book of mentorship. Over time I came to understand that what he was evaluating was our character . He wanted to better understand who we were as people, what our beliefs were, how we perceived ourselves, what others thought about us and how that mattered. Slowly, he helped us see that it was our character that would determine whether we would be a good law enforcement officer, and ultimately, a good leader someday. “Character is destiny,” the Greek Philosopher Heraclitus observed, and virtues are the building blocks of character. Character is the moral and ethical excellence, it is built one virtue upon another, and the progress of human race depends on it. 2 Sgt. Edwards pushed us to choose doing what’s right over doing what’s easy. To be tough but not abusive. To be strong yet compassionate. To be disciplined yet flexible. To have conviction and commitment yet be open to change. And in the workplace, he wanted us to know where the lines must be drawn while also forgiving those who had wronged us. He believed that if we couldn’t recognize that we all make mistakes it

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