Ask anybody in your company where the front lines are, and the answers will vary according to responsibility and experience.

Your Customer Service personnel will insist that dealing with demanding, often disgruntled, customers, is truly being on the front lines of the organizations.

Your Installation Department will think it is self-evident that they are on the front lines - installing the product under the scrutiny of anxious customers who are eager to see every promise from the salesperson come true.

No need to ask your Sales people if they believe they're on the front line - you already know the answer. All sales people see themselves - with some justification - as the true warriors of the company, embroiled in a daily struggle to overcome the customer's objections, to beat the competition, and to meet ever increasing performance quotas. All other departments, they believe, exist only to support the sales effort, because "Nothing happens until somebody sells something."

While these departments may disagree over where the front lines are, there is general agreement as to who are not on the front lines. Secretaries, auditors, clerks, bean counters, corporate attorneys, HR people, and receptionists are not considered to be involved in the "hand to hand" combat of the business. They are thought of as the civil servants of the organizations, keeping the infrastructure functioning so that the heroes in Sales, Service and Installation can go out and fight the company's battles.

If this describes the attitudes within our Sheriff's Department, then we've got a little work to do, because our organizations won't be at its best until everybody has a "front line" mentality.

As leaders, we must make every member feel like a vital part of the LASD mission. Everyone should know the critical nature of their individual contributions to the success of our Department. We must recognize, support and praise - not only the safety member - but also every general member who plays a role in establishing and maintaining the confidence of the public we serve. We must shine the spotlight upon each and every member of an expanded team, which includes everyone from the LET who first fielded the phone call, to the county counsel who worked on the contract, the clerk at I.R.C. who processed an inmate's jacket, the personnel technician who processed our employment records; in general, the myriad of good people who help make this Department great.

When every Sheriff's Department employee feels like an active member of a larger team, engaged in a shoulder-to-shoulder effort to promote the success of our mission, our organization will be formidable indeed. It is significant that in the world's premier fighting force, the United States Marines, there are no shoulder patches to indicate an individual's unit. The emphasis is on belonging to a larger team - the Corps itself. Every Marine believes that he or she is on the front line, regardless of duty assignment. Our people can feel the same way, as well, to the degree that each of us promotes the " front line" mentality.

(Reprinted with permission of Semper Fi Consulting, 14852 Ventura Blvd. Ste. 210, Sherman Oaks, CA. 91403, (818) 385-2999,
FAX (818) 385-2900, email: SemperFiConsulting@usa.net, Visit the Site - Click Here)