Good Morning,

 

CO/Employee appreciation week is always a wonderful time in this agency. Over the last two weeks, I enjoyed getting out and sharing in the wide variety of events aimed at showing appreciation for our Correctional Officers and staff. I am appreciative of the extraordinary efforts by the leadership of our prisons and divisions. All in all, it is a remarkable week to behold. Now, I must spend the next few weeks trying to run off the catfish, barbeque, French toast, homemade ice cream…

 

 

At our Cabinet Meeting last week, Charlie Farrell, author of The Courage to Lead, made a poignant observation about our duty as leaders.

 

He did so by directing the following question to the agency directors present:

 

            Is there some new person in your organization who has been on the job between five to seven months: someone who has faithfully shown up and       done a good job, yet not a single supervisor has commended them or thanked them for their efforts?

 

His answer: shame on us if that is true.

 

Whether the overlooked person is staff or inmate, Shame indeed. Please make sure that we are encouraging all of our employees. As leaders, we have a duty to offer encouragement where appropriate.