Editor’s Note: The standard for excellence in public safety is changing. Lexipol is your partner in understanding how your agency measures up and setting a course to achieve performance excellence. Schedule a consultation with our team today to learn about our holistic approach built on Gordon Graham’s 5 Pillars of Organizational Success.
Gordon Graham here with Today’s Tip from Lexipol. Today’s Tip is for all my friends in the emergency services.
Imagine this: There you are, collecting your pension after spending most of your adult life in public safety. You might ask yourself, was it all worth it? Did I make a difference?
Public safety is a tough, demanding career. But it’s also a career many personnel find difficult to leave. Because it’s not so much a job as a way of life. And yet, we will all leave the profession at some point. So it’s important that we conduct ourselves in a way that leaves us with no regrets.
When you’re working, it’s easy to get caught up in the drama of agency politics. Staffing issues, poor leadership, and a disaffected public can cause you to feel burnt out. Worse, you might take out your frustrations on your family, the public, your coworkers, or yourself.
When you feel yourself getting caught up in the fray, picture yourself looking back after you retire. How will you judge your career? Did you do your best on every call? Did you train diligently, or did you sleepwalk through drills? Did you keep your cool when dealing with the “frequent fliers” who have no other resource but to call 911?
Allow me to close with a familiar quote attributed to Dr. Seuss: “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” Whether you are saving someone from injury or death or providing comfort to someone on the worst day of their life, what you do in this line of work matters. Keep your focus on that, and you’ll be able to smile when it’s all over.
And that’s Today’s Tip from Lexipol. Until next time, Gordon Graham signing off.
