Experiment and Take Risks
C H A P T E R 7
186 T
H E
L E
A D
E R
S H
IP C
H A
L L
E N
G E The first thing was to reinvent and promote their primary vision—to
prevent crime, with the lofty goal of ending crime. He started with the principle that a partnership with the community to prevent crime was required to achieve the end goal.
One critical issue on which Ward took immediate action was false alarms. At the beginning of his tenure, his officers were re- sponding to over nine thousand false alarms a year. Burglar alarms have become very popular with the public, and police forces have promoted them. The problem is that 97 percent of alarms are false, diverting resources from other, more serious public safety issues. Ward challenged his team to solve this complex problem, and they came back with a comprehensive solution called “verified response to alarms” that reduced false alarms by 80 percent. “It was a huge morale boost,” Ward said, “and now my officers could begin being proactive. We were able to reinvest over $310,000 in manpower every year back into our primary mission—preventing crime.”
Another immediate change Ward made was to the daily morning briefings. In the past, the commander would sit at the front, and the officers would report in with their problems and wait for the com- mander’s decisions. Ward turned this command-and-control, low- trust environment completely around. “I would challenge my leaders to think out of the box,” Ward told us. “I would push the problems back to them. You know the old saying . . . no involvement, no ownership. Instead of me, the commander, making the decision, I would have them own the problem together as a team and ask them what they would do differently.”
To combat youth crime, Ward doubled his community policing unit and the number of police officers dedicated to working with youth. In partnership with the school district, every grade 5 student received ten hour-long sessions taught by an RCMP officer. Ward
187 E
X P
E R
IM E
N T
A N
D T
A K
E R
IS K
S
also had his police officers reach out to the youth of Richmond in a trust-building program. In an initiative called the Onside Program, more than five hundred youth every year were taken to a professional hockey game, football game, or special event by the Richmond RCMP officers.
To change the paradigm of the police always catching kids breaking the law, Ward introduced a program called Positive Tickets. Police officers proactively went out on patrol to catch kids doing things right and reward them with a voucher or coupon to some fun, free activity. More than forty thousand Positive Tickets were given out per year, a three-to-one ratio of Positive Tickets to the traditional negative police ticket.
To institutionalize the cultural change process as well as the notion of continuous learning, Ward introduced morning training to the Richmond Detachment. “Every morning I would train all my staff for forty-five minutes—both sworn officers and civilian support staff. I would take half the officers off the street at a time. When they complained about missing their coffee break, I brought coffee and treats into the training sessions to make it up to them.” Whenever possible, Ward would have his staff facilitate the training. It was not uncommon to have the constables teaching in an area of their expertise to senior police leaders.
These initiatives, and the many others Ward tried, paid off. During Ward’s tenure, the Richmond Detachment enjoyed the highest morale rate in the RCMP, and his team was promoted to higher ranks or prestigious positions faster than any others in the RCMP. Overall crime was reduced by 30 percent, and youth crime was reduced by almost 50 percent—saving millions of taxpayer dollars. And in testimony to the innovativeness of Ward’s efforts, fifty-three countries have studied the Richmond RCMP leadership approach.
188 T
H E
L E
A D
E R
S H
IP C
H A
L L
E N
G E To achieve the extraordinary, as Ward and his team demon-
strated, you have to be willing to do things that have never been done before. Every single personal-best story we have heard and read speaks to the need to take risks with bold ideas. Nothing new and nothing great is achieved by doing things the way you’ve always done them. You have to test unproven strategies. You have to break out of the norms that box you in. You have to do the things you think you cannot. You have to venture beyond the limitations you nor- mally place on yourself. Making extraordinary things happen in organizations demands a willingness to try new things and take chances with new ideas.
Leaders have to take this one step further. Not only do they have to be willing to test bold ideas and take calculated risks, but they also have to get others to join them on these adventures in uncer- tainty. It’s one thing to set off alone into the unknown; it’s entirely another to get others to follow you. The difference between an exemplary leader and an individual risk-taker is that leaders are able to create the conditions where people want to join with them in the struggle.
Leaders make risk safe, as paradoxical as that might sound. They turn experiments into learning opportunities. They don’t define boldness solely in terms of go-for-broke, giant-leap projects. More often than not, they see change as starting small, using pilot projects, and gaining momentum. The vision may be grand and distant, but the way to reach it is by putting one foot in front of the other. These small, visible steps are more likely to win early victories and gain early supporters. Of course, when you experiment, not everything works out as intended. There are mistakes and false starts. They are part of the process of innovation. What’s critical, therefore, is that leaders promote learning from these experiences.
189 E
X P
E R
IM E
N T
A N
D T
A K
E R
IS K
S
Exemplary leaders make the commitment to Experiment and Take Risks. They know that it’s essential for leaders to