As with most of my articles, I tend to write about things that I see taking place around me. As I write this I am sitting on my mother’s front porch in Tennessee watching the leaves fall from the trees and my daughter trying desperately to carve her first pumpkin on her own. It’s so beautiful this time of year. I can’t help but think that soon winter will come and cover everything up with its blanket of snow, getting ready for springtime. As usual, my mind drifts to work, wondering how things are going back in Florida, silently hoping they’re missing me. LOL!
My center is going through some major changes right now. Our director retired after 35 years of dedicated service to our department. As with most departments, changes this big don’t happen very often. Once a manager or director is in place, unless they make a major life change or major mistake, they are there until retirement. So you can imagine the anticipation and speculation that is going on right now. Unfortunately, this is also an election year and our Sheriff has decided to wait until afterward to make any promotions. So until then, everyone has their own opinions about what is going to happen.
It’s funny how change affects some people. Some fight it all the way. They are perfectly content to continue the way they have always done business. While others like me, while wishing the outgoing folks a wonderful retirement that they certainly deserve, look forward to change. It’s a time to look forward for new philosophies and fresh ideas. My husband and children think I’m nuts: I’m always changing things at home, too. My middle child dreads it when he sees me moving even the smallest of household furnishings, because he knows it will end up with me rearranging the entire living room. He also knows it won’t end there, because of course, if you change the living or family room you must rearrange the dining and kitchen counter tops as well! “Mom! I hate change! I just got used to way you had it.”
Haley in Tennessee
I guess they come by it naturally; their father is a one-lane kind of guy. He hates it when I tell him I have a hair appointment. “You aren’t going to change it again are you?” he sighs.
I think change can be good. Change can be exciting and new. I have worked with some people that let change get the best of them and ruin a perfectly good day, week or even a month sometimes. Usually, after we get a memo outlining a new policy or procedure is what usually starts it. I am willing to bet my last paycheck that administration has other things that they would rather be doing than thinking up ways to make changes to policy. There is usually always a reason behind their decisions. Maybe an incident that could have been handled better encouraged a policy change. Maybe something further up the chain of command has changed, causing a standard operating procedure to be rewritten. Perhaps a lawsuit–whether with your department or another’s–has initiated an adjustment in how we should do business on a daily basis. Or one step further, maybe a new law or legislation has been put in place that causes us to change the way we operate in order to comply with local, state or national mandates.
Whatever the reason, I would like to think that our administration or command staff has the best interests of the department or division in mind when changes take place. I encourage supervisors and administration to share these reasons if possible. You know us adults; we don’t like the “because I said so!” routine. We need to know that our requests are being considered or at least a time frame for an answer is always appreciated.
I know I have said it a thousand times, as much as people probably get tired of me repeating myself; our core responsibility is to the public. That’s why our field is called public safety. As much as we worry about our own problems and difficulties, we have to remember that our jobs are to serve the public. I know that some of you don’t have great benefits and/or salaries. I, for one, think that we can’t be paid enough for what we do every day. The stress alone would crush the normal citizen, not to mention our brothers and sisters in the field who have to worry about their personal safety every second that they are in their uniforms. But unfortunately, that comes with the profession we have chosen. But only a public safety professional can know what it’s like to save a life, be there for someone who needs you more than anyone else in the whole world, to put the bad guy away, or to find a lost child. The triumphs we experience far outweigh our everyday worries and really put things into perspective.
The world is changing so fast these days, and like the leaves changing colors and falling from the trees, getting ready for a new season, we have to always prepare for the next new adventure, the next new season. Whether it’s new technology, new policies or even new personnel, we have to learn to adapt to the changes around us. That’s what makes us remarkable. The ability to evolve and move forward in our careers is what we should be concentrating on. Look or volunteer for training opportunities, offer suggestions to make your working environment better. And don’t be discouraged if the answer is no the first time. There may be reasons that you are not aware of that are keeping administration from granting your requests. But there are things that you can do until the time is right. Keep a positive attitude even when times are tough for you. It won’t stay that way for long. Change is always just around the corner. I know that sounds too good to be true, but just remember life changes, people change, and work will change; try to look for the good in the changes around you. One day you will look back on your career and, like a co-worker once told me, “that tough time is just a blimp on your career timeline.”
You can do it, and do it well, with your chin up and with pride in your career, you and what you do are important!
Stay Safe My Family.
About the Author
Cindra Dunaway is a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Lee County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office. Contact her via e-mail at [email protected].
The view from my mom’s front porch.
As with most of my articles, I tend to write about things that I see taking place around me. As I write this I am sitting on my mother’s front porch in Tennessee watching the leaves fall from the trees and my daughter trying desperately to carve her first pumpkin on her own. It’s so beautiful this time of year. I can’t help but think that soon winter will come and cover everything up with its blanket of snow, getting ready for springtime. As usual, my mind drifts to work, wondering how things are going back in Florida, silently hoping they’re missing me. LOL!
My center is going through some major changes right now. Our director retired after 35 years of dedicated service to our department. As with most departments, changes this big don’t happen very often. Once a manager or director is in place, unless they make a major life change or major mistake, they are there until retirement. So you can imagine the anticipation and speculation that is going on right now. Unfortunately, this is also an election year and our Sheriff has decided to wait until afterward to make any promotions. So until then, everyone has their own opinions about what is going to happen.
It’s funny how change affects some people. Some fight it all the way. They are perfectly content to continue the way they have always done business. While others like me, while wishing the outgoing folks a wonderful retirement that they certainly deserve, look forward to change. It’s a time to look forward for new philosophies and fresh ideas. My husband and children think I’m nuts: I’m always changing things at home, too. My middle child dreads it when he sees me moving even the smallest of household furnishings, because he knows it will end up with me rearranging the entire living room. He also knows it won’t end there, because of course, if you change the living or family room you must rearrange the dining and kitchen counter tops as well! “Mom! I hate change! I just got used to way you had it.”
Haley in Tennessee
I guess they come by it naturally; their father is a one-lane kind of guy. He hates it when I tell him I have a hair appointment. “You aren’t going to change it again are you?” he sighs.
I think change can be good. Change can be exciting and new. I have worked with some people that let change get the best of them and ruin a perfectly good day, week or even a month sometimes. Usually, after we get a memo outlining a new policy or procedure is what usually starts it. I am willing to bet my last paycheck that administration has other things that they would rather be doing than thinking up ways to make changes to policy. There is usually always a reason behind their decisions. Maybe an incident that could have been handled better encouraged a policy change. Maybe something further up the chain of command has changed, causing a standard operating procedure to be rewritten. Perhaps a lawsuit–whether with your department or another’s–has initiated an adjustment in how we should do business on a daily basis. Or one step further, maybe a new law or legislation has been put in place that causes us to change the way we operate in order to comply with local, state or national mandates.
Whatever the reason, I would like to think that our administration or command staff has the best interests of the department or division in mind when changes take place. I encourage supervisors and administration to share these reasons if possible. You know us adults; we don’t like the “because I said so!” routine. We need to know that our requests are being considered or at least a time frame for an answer is always appreciated.
I know I have said it a thousand times, as much as people probably get tired of me repeating myself; our core responsibility is to the public. That’s why our field is called public safety. As much as we worry about our own problems and difficulties, we have to remember that our jobs are to serve the public. I know that some of you don’t have great benefits and/or salaries. I, for one, think that we can’t be paid enough for what we do every day. The stress alone would crush the normal citizen, not to mention our brothers and sisters in the field who have to worry about their personal safety every second that they are in their uniforms. But unfortunately, that comes with the profession we have chosen. But only a public safety professional can know what it’s like to save a life, be there for someone who needs you more than anyone else in the whole world, to put the bad guy away, or to find a lost child. The triumphs we experience far outweigh our everyday worries and really put things into perspective.
The world is changing so fast these days, and like the leaves changing colors and falling from the trees, getting ready for a new season, we have to always prepare for the next new adventure, the next new season. Whether it’s new technology, new policies or even new personnel, we have to learn to adapt to the changes around us. That’s what makes us remarkable. The ability to evolve and move forward in our careers is what we should be concentrating on. Look or volunteer for training opportunities, offer suggestions to make your working environment better. And don’t be discouraged if the answer is no the first time. There may be reasons that you are not aware of that are keeping administration from granting your requests. But there are things that you can do until the time is right. Keep a positive attitude even when times are tough for you. It won’t stay that way for long. Change is always just around the corner. I know that sounds too good to be true, but just remember life changes, people change, and work will change; try to look for the good in the changes around you. One day you will look back on your career and, like a co-worker once told me, “that tough time is just a blimp on your career timeline.”
You can do it, and do it well, with your chin up and with pride in your career, you and what you do are important!
Stay Safe My Family.
About the Author
Cindra Dunaway is a 9-1-1 dispatcher for the Lee County (Fla.) Sheriff’s Office. Contact her via e-mail at [email protected].