Is Correctional Leadership Timeless?

Wasted Honor -

Carl R. ToersBijns is the author of the Wasted Honor Trilogy [Wasted Honor I,II and Gorilla Justice] and his newest book From the Womb to the Tomb, the Tony Lester Story, which is a reflection of his life and his experiences as a correctional officer and a correctional administrator retiring with the rank of deputy warden in the New Mexico and Arizona correctional systems.

Carl also wrote a book on his combat experience in the Kindle book titled - Combat Medic - Men with destiny - A red cross of Valor -

Carl is considered by many a rogue expert in the field of prison security systems since leaving the profession. Carl has been involved in the design of many pilot programs related to mental health treatment, security threat groups, suicide prevention, and maximum custody operational plans including double bunking max inmates and enhancing security for staff. He invites you to read his books so you can understand and grasp the cultural and political implications and influences of these prisons. He deals with the emotions, the stress and anxiety as well as the realities faced working inside a prison. He deals with the occupational risks while elaborating on the psychological impact of both prison worker and prisoner.

His most recent book, Gorilla Justice, is an un-edited raw fictional version of realistic prison experiences and events through the eyes of an anecdotal translation of the inmate’s plight and suffering while enduring the harsh and toxic prison environment including solitary confinement.

Carl has been interviewed by numerous news stations and newspapers in Phoenix regarding the escape from the Kingman prison and other high profile media cases related to wrongful deaths and suicides inside prisons. His insights have been solicited by the ACLU, Amnesty International, and various other legal firms representing solitary confinement cases in California and Arizona. He is currently working on the STG Step Down program at Pelican Bay and has offered his own experience insights with the Center of Constitutional Rights lawyers and interns to establish a core program at the SHU units. He has personally corresponded and written with SHU prisoners to assess the living conditions and how it impacts their long term placement inside these type of units that are similar to those in Arizona Florence Eyman special management unit where Carl was a unit deputy warden for almost two years before his promotion to Deputy Warden of Operations in Safford and Eyman.

He is a strong advocate for the mentally ill and is a board member of David's Hope Inc. a non-profit advocacy group in Phoenix and also serves as a senior advisor for Law Enforcement Officers Advocates Council in Chino, California As a subject matter expert and corrections consultant, Carl has provided interviews and spoken on national and international radio talk shows e.g. BBC CBC Lou Show & TV shows as well as the Associated Press.

I use sarcasm, satire, parodies and other means to make you think!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Friday, June 5, 2015

Is Correctional Leadership Timeless?

In most professions, leadership is timeless. The reason I say this is because leadership characteristics are linked to individuals and not businesses or organizational assets. This suggests that those persons demonstrating open-mindedness, great work skill sets, experience and other positive attributes in the workplace, may already in possession of those needed leadership qualities as they enter the work force.

It is true, however, that with time, they could learn to further improve their personality and character traits to make them better leaders. This leads me to believe that if you know yourself better, and if you have a strong self-awareness of your own skill set and leadership values and qualities, plus have the knowledge required or relevant to do the job, then leadership is timeless. It is perpetual in nature and goes with you no matter where you go.
It also leads me to believe that leadership is timeless under certain conditions such as working in a lead position in law enforcement or corrections. These jobs existed over a very long period of time, steady and sustained in necessities to be filled and performed and has also demonstrated an ability to keep up with the technology of today compared to the work habits of yesterday.
There may be some technical perspectives that need to be enhanced or re-trained but basically, if you have the knowledge to do the job, you can be trained, developed or mentored into an advanced role if you have the skill set and characteristics for such challenges in leadership roles. In other words, in every job, there is a constant need to learn new work related skill sets no matter where you work or what you do.
This is what keeps leadership fresh, challenging and non-repetitious in nature. Some say leadership is a balanced position. It has to serve with an effect that is like an equilibrium in the workplace. Leadership is a combination of psychology and business knowledge. Basic knowledge of the human behavioral spectrum is a desired leadership requirement as well as the specific context knowledge of the professional trade is essential.
This concept explains why different leaders are called for different purposes or agendas throughout the span of the organizational cycles. This requires an awareness agenda mindset and if this is boosted by an inner drive of their self-awareness and workplace structural understandings, leaders need to know themselves better in order to be effective at their roles to lead others.
This would then serve the organization, the agency or the profession as a core value for sound leadership over time and adjust accordingly making it timeless yet productive in nature and practical applications.
This role would be greatly enhanced by the ownership of self-motivational process of being inspirational, visionary and the ability to change with external forces that are applied in every industry throughout time and technology improvements.
Leadership characteristics would be constant in one core value but with the added drive and ability to keep up with the changes around them would be flexible and agile in nature to be competitive as a leader, participative in decision making roles and setting new agendas.
After all is said, leadership is about learning as well as it is in leading others into new ideas, improved productivity and performance as well as impacting or producing better organizational services or increased profits. This requires a keen awareness of what is going on around you and outside the organization you work for.
It is a perpetual process of learning, observing technological patterns, and visionary proposals to integrate changes into the organization in a timeless manner. It takes a particular skill to become aware of a change in the cycles outside the work place. It is best explained as a positive attribute possessed individually and someone who knows and recognizes any significant or instrumental change is necessary and is applicable and necessary for future growth at different times of this leadership cycle.
This requires different types of leader for different times of the organizational lifespan cycle. It requires knowing who is right for which circumstances at hand. Commonly, these people are often referred to as “the successor” for better or improved teamwork, and collaborative efforts in the company etc.
This goes back to what types of people the organization invests their time and money on as well as selecting skills, characteristics and knowledge. It takes money to hire such individuals and this cannot be created by some accident. It must be planned of the organization will fail in their ability to compete, sustain or change with the industry selected.
In order to make a successful business transition or transformation, leaders must possess character traits that are positive in nature and encompass humility, openness, effective listening skills and a strong willingness to challenge themselves when questions are posed or discussed to deliver that equilibrium required to balance the workplace and its stability.
Such a logical and rational approach could protect future investments in the industry and offer a more than reasonable level of invincibility, invulnerability and infallible performance and services as required by their own strategic plan or mission statements requiring compliance to specific standards.
Certainly, we agree that public safety has specific demands and requirements by statutory and moral obligations as a public service entity protecting the communities as well as individuals.
This kind of an approach also indicates the need for the organization to become fluid, more open to change and consider various or different kinds of leadership candidates that are willing and able to step up to environmental changes as the agenda changes on the outside and the adjustments are required on the inside of the business.