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Where’s Your Statue?
By Brandon Brown, CFI
Regional Loss Prevention Manager
In-teg-ri-ty – adherence to moral and ethical
principles; soundness of moral character; honesty*.
Quite possibly the foundation of our existence as loss
prevention professionals. Regardless of your own
interpretation of its definition, integrity as a concept
is a cornerstone of our craft. Or is it?
If a statue symbolizing integrity could fit in our
laptop bags, we would carry one. I’m not sure about your
statue, but mine would be gold plated and in the shape
of a small puppy, because who doesn’t believe someone
that carries a gold statue of a puppy in their bag? (I
digress). We would carry this statue, because after all,
it would only be a matter of time before someone
questioned our competency in some form. We could then
produce the statue and bask in all its glory. Just the
sight of it, would instantly defend our actions, explain
our shortcomings and excuse our poor judgment at times.
Because whatever we do, we do in the name of
integrity!
In our industry we put significant value on the
principle of integrity. It defines much of who we are,
how we operate or even why we chose this career.
However, integrity apparently means different things to
different people. Over time, I have noticed a concerning
trend; in many instances (certainly not all), once a
loss prevention professional graduates to a leadership
position; more specifically, a position of managing
others, their definition of what integrity is, changes.
It seems that at times, some loss prevention leaders
tend to apply principles of integrity to their task
oriented job functions, but not when it comes to
leadership integrity when managing people. Allow me
to pose a few hypothetical questions and see how many
you can relate to.
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Have you ever had a boss that has
taken the fruits of your labor and presented them to
the organization as his / her own without
acknowledging your efforts? |
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Have you ever had a boss that
ever gave you an explanation for a poor management
directive by him/her that was simply a stretch of
the truth in order to silence criticism? |
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Have you ever had a boss that
lied to get out of an uncomfortable situation? To
defend their actions? To save face to a business
partner? To hide their lack of competence? |
Now, take these questions and apply them to yourself.
Have you ever been guilty of these things? Have
you done them to your direct reports? To your business
partners? Most of us at some point in our career, have
had the unfortunate experience of having to work for
someone that, in our opinion, did not belong in their
leadership role. Although this can be a frustrating
experience, there are things that can be learned during
the process. Learning to be a successful manager is a
skill in its own right. Just because we may be competent
in our job, does not necessarily translate to also being
competent as a manager. Take the time to learn the
craft. Study various management styles, theories and
strategies. Learn not only how to manage people
effectively, but how not to manage people effectively.
Don’t lose sight of the management styles that motivated
you, inspired you to operate at your best and supported
your efforts. Take those attributes and be sure to
incorporate them into your own management tool belt.
We have all had to work hard to shake the stigma of loss
prevention as a department that just “catches the bad
guys”. We have had to prove to our organizations that we
are a valuable asset. That we deserve a seat at the
table as respected business partners, strategists and
advisors. Let’s also show our organizations that we can
manage people as successfully as the next business
professional, for the advancement of our department and
employees. And that we can do so with Integrity.
Throughout our careers, most of us have heard, read or
witnessed examples of loss prevention leaders that
displayed their statues, shined em’ up and leaned
against them for the all important photo op in an
industry magazine, only to find out six months later
that those same individuals were falsifying expense
reports, conducting fraudulent refunds in their own
company stores, embezzling funds for new golf clubs, or
funding vacations through their vendors. Open your bag
and remind yourself of where your statue is. It’s there;
right next to the coffee stained certificate of
completion from whatever school of interviewing you
chose to attend. Be conscious of it and manage to the
best of your abilities. Just remember, if you ever find
yourself reaching in that bag to show your beautiful
display of integrity... you’ve already done something
wrong.
Manage accordingly.
* “integrity.”
Dictionary.com. 2013.
http://dictionary.reference.com (2 January 2013)
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