“Leaders are responsible for the agency, but leaders are not responsible for a person. I gave him a gun, I gave him a badge, I gave him the training but if he didn’t have the heart to go in, that’s not my responsibility.” Sheriff Scott Israel
I have held my tongue on speaking on anything with regards to the Parkland, Florida shooting. I didn’t want to waste my breath or get people angry and start up an unnecessary debate, but more news has arised in the past couple weeks that got me really frustrated. Now, I am not a military member nor am I a law enforcement officer (although I’ve always wanted to seek this type of career at one point), therefore I can only base this on opinion and what I’ve spoken with friends who have taken on that type of career. It came to my attention by different media outlets that there was at least ONE to FOUR officers who were at the high school while the shooting was taking place yet none of them entered the building immediately.
I don’t want to spend so many of my words in that aspect because I would rather address the quote at the beginning of my blog, but honestly, if I were an individual with a weapon who heard there was a mass shooting going on at the high school that I was assigned to work at, I would’ve done everything possible to take that person down to avoid more casualties. I would not be concerned for my safety at all, even though there may be that risk that I would be killed, I would much rather do everything humanly possible to end a mass shooting than to wait OUTSIDE while multiple young people are killed. It is a risk I would be willing to take and a risk that many officers have already taken.
Enough of that. What really bothers me is what Sheriff Scott Israel said in the quote above. You can simply Google the name Scott Israel and you can find any news outlet discussing Israel not taking any sort of responsibility for what occured.
So here we go: I have been under different leadership styles while I’ve been involved in ministry at church. I have learned extensively on what it means to be a leader yet I have a lot more growth to be achieved in that area. I have had Youth Pastors and Pastors that I’ve needed to report to and I’ve also had leaders who have been under my direction. One of the most important aspects you learn as a leader is that you are a reflection of YOUR leader. Given that we are each individuals and the leaders above us cannot control the things we do, we are still a reflection of what we have been taught.
A quick example, when people look at children & youth who act up, immediately a person thinks “their parents must have not disciplined them or their parents must be just as terrible.” It’s a natural thought, and same goes with ministry leadership, which would also apply to leadership in all aspects of the workforce.
What bothers me about what Sheriff Scott Israel said is that he is not taking responsibility for the actions of his men. I understand he could not control their actions but when a leader leads by example, everyone following him/her will know in their hearts and minds the things that need to be done. My former youth pastors and pastors expected quite a few things out of me, and by seeing each of them lead by example, I was able to take on the baton at different areas where I have led in order to be a reflection of what they have taught me.
As leaders, we have to understand that we are responsible for our team. This sounds cliche like a quote from a sports team but when one of us messes up, we all mess up, and when one of us thrives, we all thrive. As leaders, we lead by example and we also take responsibility for those that we lead. Just to finish off this essay, Sheriff Scott Israel wasn’t the one to stay outside of the building while everything occurred, but this was his “team” that did, therefore in my opinion, yes he had some sort of responsibility with this situation. One thing to keep in mind as a leader is this, admit your mistakes. You and me are not perfect, only God is, we are going to mess up in ministry and out of it, but the best thing that we can do is admit when we are wrong and move forward. Don’t forget the mistake, admit the mistake, address the mistake, fix it if possible, and make sure to not go down that same path again in the future. We as leaders need to take responsibility for our teams, let’s start by not blaming others and instead let’s lead by example.
I have held my tongue on speaking on anything with regards to the Parkland, Florida shooting. I didn’t want to waste my breath or get people angry and start up an unnecessary debate, but more news has arised in the past couple weeks that got me really frustrated. Now, I am not a military member nor am I a law enforcement officer (although I’ve always wanted to seek this type of career at one point), therefore I can only base this on opinion and what I’ve spoken with friends who have taken on that type of career. It came to my attention by different media outlets that there was at least ONE to FOUR officers who were at the high school while the shooting was taking place yet none of them entered the building immediately.
I don’t want to spend so many of my words in that aspect because I would rather address the quote at the beginning of my blog, but honestly, if I were an individual with a weapon who heard there was a mass shooting going on at the high school that I was assigned to work at, I would’ve done everything possible to take that person down to avoid more casualties. I would not be concerned for my safety at all, even though there may be that risk that I would be killed, I would much rather do everything humanly possible to end a mass shooting than to wait OUTSIDE while multiple young people are killed. It is a risk I would be willing to take and a risk that many officers have already taken.
Enough of that. What really bothers me is what Sheriff Scott Israel said in the quote above. You can simply Google the name Scott Israel and you can find any news outlet discussing Israel not taking any sort of responsibility for what occured.
So here we go: I have been under different leadership styles while I’ve been involved in ministry at church. I have learned extensively on what it means to be a leader yet I have a lot more growth to be achieved in that area. I have had Youth Pastors and Pastors that I’ve needed to report to and I’ve also had leaders who have been under my direction. One of the most important aspects you learn as a leader is that you are a reflection of YOUR leader. Given that we are each individuals and the leaders above us cannot control the things we do, we are still a reflection of what we have been taught.
A quick example, when people look at children & youth who act up, immediately a person thinks “their parents must have not disciplined them or their parents must be just as terrible.” It’s a natural thought, and same goes with ministry leadership, which would also apply to leadership in all aspects of the workforce.
What bothers me about what Sheriff Scott Israel said is that he is not taking responsibility for the actions of his men. I understand he could not control their actions but when a leader leads by example, everyone following him/her will know in their hearts and minds the things that need to be done. My former youth pastors and pastors expected quite a few things out of me, and by seeing each of them lead by example, I was able to take on the baton at different areas where I have led in order to be a reflection of what they have taught me.
As leaders, we have to understand that we are responsible for our team. This sounds cliche like a quote from a sports team but when one of us messes up, we all mess up, and when one of us thrives, we all thrive. As leaders, we lead by example and we also take responsibility for those that we lead. Just to finish off this essay, Sheriff Scott Israel wasn’t the one to stay outside of the building while everything occurred, but this was his “team” that did, therefore in my opinion, yes he had some sort of responsibility with this situation. One thing to keep in mind as a leader is this, admit your mistakes. You and me are not perfect, only God is, we are going to mess up in ministry and out of it, but the best thing that we can do is admit when we are wrong and move forward. Don’t forget the mistake, admit the mistake, address the mistake, fix it if possible, and make sure to not go down that same path again in the future. We as leaders need to take responsibility for our teams, let’s start by not blaming others and instead let’s lead by example.
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