It changes the way we behave.

And I firmly believe that when I am positive, it not only makes me better,

but it also makes those around me better.
-Harvey Mackay

A fundamental practice of Appreciative Inquiry (AI) is to focus on strengths rather than weaknesses. Doing so enables us open up our thinking to explore our successes and opportunities rather than obsess about our shortcomings or failures. This practice does NOT mean that we sugar-coat or overlook reality. It simply means that we build on our immediate and local assets rather than focusing on what is not there or not desirable.

We all tend to find evidence to support our assumptions and values, no matter what they are. As public servants, we can use this inclination to our advantage in our interactions with both citizens and colleagues. This practice, based on the principles of Appreciative Inquiry, is called finding “the flip.”

This is not the same thing as putting a more palatable spin on a negative topic. Instead, it enables our capacity to recognize any positive assets or attributes that are contained within the hard situation. That’s the positive nugget, the gold. We want more of that.

Consider one simple example. You are leading a staff meeting following a week in which your community experienced conflict or, perhaps, a natural disaster. People are depleted and disappointed, AND there is a lot of work to do. Assume our society and we as individuals share the responsibility in varying degrees for the bad things that happened. Ignoring the weight or reach of the negative experience is not appropriate, and ignoring the work that has to be done today is not an option, either.

Try opening the meeting by going around the table to allow responses to one of the following questions:

• Share one simple action you saw or experienced in the last week that gave you hope for our capacity to act with integrity and compassion, even in challenging situations.
• Our systems were overwhelmed dealing with difficult circumstances last week. Share one small example of a successful interaction with the public that gave you pride in our organization.
• The stressful events of the last week indicate we need to strengthen arenas of both prevention and response. As we begin work to do that, share one practice or asset we have that strengthens our public interactions and should be retained into the future.

By naming that good stuff together first,  we can unleash the potential of that positivity and design the way forward together — a future that includes more of what we desire.

To learn more about using AI in your work in the public sector, join us in Winston-Salem on November 4, 2016, for a one-day workshop on Positive Problem Solving.

The post Appreciative Inquiry 101: Finding “The Flip” to a More Positive Outcome appeared first on The Public Leadership Blog.

Policy on the use, storage, and access to the videos of various police encounters was completed in mid-January. All patrol officers are using BWCs.

For some legal aspects on the use of Video Surveillance Cameras (not specific to BWCs), see this School of Government blog post by Jeffrey B. Welty.  A more recent post discusses “Body Cameras and the Mosaic Theory of the Fourth Amendment.”

For leadership insights, John Stephens talked with Chief Medlock in mid-December, 2015. He summarizes the lessons in leadership gained on assessing technology, communication about change, and public and private meetings at the end of this post.

1. Chief Harold Medlock, how did you make the decision for the Fayetteville Police Department (FPD) to implement BWCs?

I am a huge believer in dash cam and digital video recorders. I think they reduce complaints against officers. Secondly, for my leadership team, they can also identify an officer’s approach which may benefit from feedback from his or her supervisor. My experience in helping write the policy in Charlotte-Mecklenburg, when I was a sergeant made me familiar with key choices on how cameras are used, when and how the videos are accessed, etc.

BWCs are another step in being able to protect officers and have a key record of interactions with the public. These cameras, unlike the dash cams, “sees or hears what the officer sees or hears.”  This technology can be another part of FPD’s steps to do more to instill public trust and confidence in our officers.

Finally, cost has been a limiting factor: costs for acquiring and maintaining the cameras, plus data storage costs. Luckily, costs have started to come down, and we benefited from a federal grant program available to local law enforcement for purchasing BWCs.

2. How did you assess community perceptions and other factors related to BWCs?

We began talking about them to the community, in 2013, at community watch meetings, business watch meetings, and at faith-based organization meetings.

In December 2015, I held four meetings. Three were open, public meetings, and one was with faith leaders in Fayetteville. I’ve met with the faith leaders group in the past. I wanted a separate meeting with faith leaders – all denominations and races – to hear their candid views. They are, in many respects, the informal leaders and have become very trusted advisors to me. I think I have built trust slowly with them. We have worked on the relationship.

We showed video clips from other jurisdictions demonstrating the use of BWCs – to show how they work and to be realistic about what is captured. I found the community meetings led to different views about how public the videos should be. For the faith leaders, I showed them an officer involved deadly use of force.  The video caught everything, especially the actions leading up to the suspect pulling a gun.

People at the community meetings raised some of the key questions about BWCs, or any video of police actions or investigations.

The main question is this: What is and what is not appropriate to video?
One speaker said: “You need to keep the camera going for all exchanges and make it all public.” Another resident said, “But what if someone has been raped? Do you want the police interview videotaped and public?” The first speaker could see this as a reasonable exception. This is one example of the power of the BWC, and the concern by people when they may be on camera.

I found the community forums good for educating the public about some choices and tensions about transparency and sensitive situations.    [Editor’s note: State law does not define police videos as public records, which was noted in newspaper coverage of one of the meetings  ]

3. Do you have advice for leaders making a decision that not everyone in the organization may want?

I do not see any great resistance (direct or indirect) from officers. I think a lot of that comes from FPD officers coming through a rough time 2010-12. They felt pretty beat up.

As the different models of BWCs were shown and assessed (2013-2015), officers realized that there is a trend for this technology. Even more so, there is a trend for more openness about police work. Greensboro and Charlotte-Mecklenburg have adopted BWCs.

One communication tool I use is quarterly Chief’s briefings for all employees. It is a meeting with all sworn officers and other FPD staff. They can ask me anything. I have woven in BWC information and concerns across those briefings. This was one important way to talk about and show the value of dash cams and BWCs. The recordings often show that there is no basis for a complaint about officer conduct.

Reflections by John Stephens on Chief Medlock’s thinking and actions:
1. Assessing technology –Each jurisdiction will have to address the opportunities and risks of computer and communication technologies. Chief Medlock’s successful strategies include introducing the BWC well in advance of making the decision whether or how to adapt the technology, involving many people in assessing different models, and making himself regularly available to his officers to share information and address technical concerns.

2. Community Dialogue – The Chief used community meetings for mutual education and building trust. He encouraged the exchange of differing community viewpoints – both with him and with each other – which surfaced key questions to address about transparency and privacy.

3. Public and private meetings – Chief Medlock used both to build trust with the community. He noted that faith leaders are key partners for many aspects of community safety, respect, and trust. Sometimes private meetings are appropriate. The meetings, however, were not secret.  The Chief shared information about holding the meetings and who participated.

The post Leadership Lessons on Police Transparency: Body-Worn Cameras in Fayetteville appeared first on The Public Leadership Blog.

There is the “What” of public work, and then there is also the “How” of it.  Success as any kind of public leader – as staff or as appointed or elected officials – requires mastery of both the art and science involved in the topics and processes of local government.

The Science of Managing Public Work:

• Legal boundaries and responsibilities clarify the expectations and scope of the work.
• Success requires that the necessary work be defined, planned, implemented, evaluated, then adjusted for improvement.

The Art of Managing Public Work:

• Collectively, each board or work group has its own culture, which will change as members come and go.
• Individually, each member of every board or work group has a unique personality, learning style, communication preferences, skill set, and interests.

Blurring Both Art and Science:

• Daily practices demonstrate how or whether espoused principles, such as “transparency” or “financial stewardship,” are being used in meaningful ways.
• Every decision is networked, touching other issues, plans, values, or processes.

Given that effective public leaders successfully manage both the art and the science of their work, they tend to stay on the look-out for legal, practical, and social resources to use. One comprehensive resource is County and Municipal Government in North Carolina.

To be user-friendly, the recently released second edition offers the option of purchasing any of the individual chapters or the whole publication. The content ranges from conceptual to legal to practical and covers forty-six topics.

On the “science” side of content, there are chapters that address particular areas of expertise ranging from open meetings law to the duties of particular departments.

• Do you want legal boundaries clarified for your next construction project? Check out page 415 for the “Dollar Thresholds in NC Public Contracting Statutes.”
• Contemplating exercising your county’s right of eminent domain to expand the airport? Chapter 24 explains how that process would work.
• Trying to understand the personnel implications for consolidated human service agencies? Chapters 13 and 38 provide key pieces to that complex puzzle.

Similarly, the “art” side of content addresses processes such as citizen involvement (Chapter 10) and functional relationships that cross organizations to address a wide range of shared interests (Chapter 11, 12, and 27.)

Whether you are seeking the details in one particular situation or an overview of how local governments work, County and Municipal Government in North Carolina is a resource worth checking out.

The post The Art and Science of County and Municipal Government in NC (and the book that discusses it all) appeared first on The Public Leadership Blog.