Side Cop, Flow Cop: A leadership Principle

Are you a “Side Cop” or a “Flow Cop”?

Nothing manages to teach us about leadership more simply than the principles revealed in everyday life. Here’s a leadership lesson to be learned from a scenario that is indeed common to all of us.

Some cops monitor traffic by standing on the side of the freeway and pointing a speed radar gun. While I am not personally sure of the details on what the police force is after in these situations, I am well aware of how it influences traffic. We drive, speeding in many cases. We see the cop on the side of the road with their radar gun pointed. We slow down, and when we pass by, we speed up again. Sound familiar?

There are also some cops who drive in the flow of traffic. Again we find ourselves speeding until we are in close proximity to the cop, and then we slow down, aligning with the pace of the police officer. As long as we are in proximity of the cop, our speed is managed by their pace. Quite actually this pace also affects the cars, miles behind who are clearly not in direct proximity of the police car. We know this because some of us have found ourselves frustrated by the pace of traffic. Our response was to speed through, only to find that folks are driving the speed limit because there is a cop, influencing the flow of traffic. Surely this sounds familiar?

In the first scenario the cop has a momentary presence, and influence that has a short-term impact. Those who see the cop merely behave well, but only while passing by. They resume to unhealthy driving habits when outside of the cop’s presence. In the second scenario the cop also has presence. However their presence is not detached from the drivers in traffic. The cop who influences the pace of traffic must do so by being amongst the other drivers.

Which police presence best describes your leadership style? Do you stand on the sidelines as “the law”, pointing your radar gun, aiming to catch others in the wrong?

Or do you submit yourself to the flow of traffic? Do you move amongst your subordinates in a way that models your expectation/s for them?

I get it! It’s easier for us as leaders to simply stand by, watch and wait to catch people in the wrong. This approach usually leads to a momentary correction with no true depth of transformation. We have simply become the cop on the side with a speed radar gun.

However, much more is required of the leader who regularly engages the lives of those they have been assigned to lead. This approach produces a longer lasting impact that happens through modeling, or some would say leading by example. This modeling is a public display of submitting to the same principles we expect our followers to embrace. This level of influence actually reaches their hearts and cause positive changes that will last for miles or years beyond the immediate moment of impact.

My friends, at some level we have all been given leadership opportunities. Some of us lead companies, events, projects, organizations, and even our families, We just need to ensure we are approaching these leadership opportunities in ways that create lasting, positive impact.

We need to be the cop in the flow of traffic.

Be Inspired!