Developing Buy-in: The missing piece to overcoming resistance to change

Developing Buy-in: The missing piece to overcoming resistance to change.
by Chief Ron Camacho

Headline: Ft Lauderdale (FL) police chief fired over minority-first practices in hiring and promotions, CNN, March 5, 2022

Headline: Aurora (CO) Police Chief Vanessa Wilson officially out: City manager 'seeks new leadership,’ Denver ABCChannel 7, April 7, 2022

Headline: -Richmond (VA) police chief resigns after over 2 years amid scrutiny, NBC Channel 12, October 25, 2022

There is a common theme connecting these local news headlines and others I could have included in this list: all of the chiefs were hired to be "change agents," but they either resigned or were fired because they lost the confidence of the rank and file officers within their departments; the very people who do the real job of policing and upon whom the department and the public depend. I am neither maligning nor diminishing these chiefs. I am confident they are good people with successful careers. Still, there is an issue when the push for reform in policing is enacted with little or no regard for the officers who are expected to implement the changes.

In the original post-Ferguson world of law enforcement, and now the post-Floyd world, the pressure placed on police chiefs to institute reforms is immense. That pressure starts as a steady stream with the public, but by the time it reaches the chiefs, it is a veritable torrent of public, media and city leadership pressure. That pressure is amplified exponentially because the mayors, city managers and politicians need to "do something." These excessive pressures lead to shortcuts in decision-making and planning. Again, the main issue is the inability to actually effectively and efficaciously manage the change that is suddenly being demanded from them.

Most police chiefs understand that many current aspects of policing have to evolve or change. That is not a new concept. Since its inception, the profession of policing has constantly evolved. However, effective, lasting change must be evaluated, planned and managed. As respected police trainer and author Lou Savelli once told me, "You don't change just to change; you change to get better, to improve." Changing to change, without any forethought, can and will bear unwanted, unintended and, at times, disastrous consequences. As law enforcement leaders, we should know better than to ever implement change without planning. However, many forget the essential aspect of effecting positive change: achieving buy-in. That means achieving buy-in from the rank and file, the very officers upon whom we and the public depend.

Peter Drucker, the father of the science of management, wrote, "Culture eats strategy for breakfast." In police organizations, the quote should read, "Cop culture eats change for breakfast. "Law enforcement agencies have notorious reputations for resisting change. In some agencies, resistance transformed into stagnation in response to the defunding the police narrative that spread across the country. The good news is that resistance and stagnation can be overcome; once again, the key is developing buy-in.

"Buy-in" is gaining understanding, commitment and action from your officers to support the organization's goals. Not your goals or the officers’, but the organization's goals. The first step in achieving buy-in is to involve your officers – from the start. Too often, police command staffs make grandiose plans regarding the direction the department should be taking without involving the troops. For example, I worked for a captain who took pleasure in designing the inner configuration of the department's patrol vehicles. The first issue was that he no longer drove a patrol vehicle and had not been in one for many years. Second, he felt it was beneath him to seek input from the "customer," i.e., the officers and sergeants who drove the patrol units daily. The professionals who virtually lived in their vehicles and depended upon them for their very lives. Gaining information from the officers and sergeants regarding the optimal configuration for patrol vehicles makes sense. It is also a small but powerful token demonstrating trust and care for their expertise and concern for their well-being.

Another vital element for gaining buy-in is to explain the problem to the troops. Share what you’ve been charged with doing, and be transparent with them. Too many times, law enforcement leaders implement programs, policies or procedures without explaining the "why." Explaining the reasons why the change is necessary (or is being required by those above you) and inviting questions, comments and suggestions is an excellent method to remove barriers and resistance.  During these sharing sessions, a humble leader will hear their officers' thoughts or ideas that influence or affect the proposed changes. It also might just end up providing you with a superior plan and approach to the one you had come up with by yourself.  If opposition from the troops continues, another technique is to describe the proposed change's positive consequences and what can happen if the changes do not occur. Finally, including your officers in developing the plan to execute the necessary changes is vital. When officers are included, the plan is not yours or theirs but "our" plan.

Inclusion in the planning will lead to ownership of the plan by the officers and command staff. When everyone within the agency owns the plan, any resistance to its implementation will be easily defeated. That is the true power of developing buy-in.  Way back in 1936, American writer and lecturer, and the developer of courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, and public speaking, Dale Carnegie, gave us a masterful book that only in recent years seems to have ceased being an essential resource and required reading for anyone and everyone in leadership positions: How To Win Friends And Influence People. This book brilliantly illustrates the tools I have offered here and many others to develop buy-in with the men and women under your command. The over-arching lesson from that book is that if you give people a chance to express their thoughts and you actually listen to them, you will earn respect and develop buy-in. In implementing unwelcome change as a top law enforcement executive, you may not win them all as “friends,” but you will undoubtedly be able to influence them and earn their respect. One of the essential benefits of buy-in is that, while you may not influence everyone in your department to advocate for your changes, there will only be a negligible amount of detractors. It is a book worth buying and reading.

Leaders cannot forget that we are in the “people business.” Only with our officers’ cooperation can meaningful change occur and take hold. Forcing change down the throats of our officers can result in resistance, low morale and a failed change-mission, just as happened to those chiefs I noted at the outset of this discussion. Instead, we need to engage our officers. Officers are the key to finding how best to implement change. Leaders using humility and inspiration will see positive change come to fruition when using buy-in. It is the most effective and efficient method of producing constructive changes in policing. Give buy-in a chance; transform your organization to the great benefit of your community – and quite possibly your jobs.

Want more detail? Works Cited:

Afshar, P., & Dominguez, C. (2022, March 5). Fort Lauderdale police chief fired over minority-first practices in hiring and promotions, report says. Retrieved from CNN: https://www.cnn.com/2022/03/05/us/fort-lauderdale-police-chief/index.html

Graff, H. (2022, October 25). Richmond police chief resigns after over 2 years amid scrutiny. Retrieved from nbc12: https://www.nbc12.com/2022/10/25/acting-richmond-police-chief-resigns-after-two-half-years-service/

Roznowski, B. (2022, April 7). Aurora police chief Vanessa Wilson officially out. Retrieved from Denver7: https://www.denver7.com/news/local-news/aurora-police-chief-vanessa-wilson-officially-out

Chief Ron Camacho is an accomplished law enforcement executive who spent time as an advisor in Afghanistan and Mexico. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, has a master’s in criminal justice from Liberty University, and is the chief of the Chambersburg Pennsylvania Police Department. He is the owner of Camacho Consulting LLC, a leadership and management training company. Camachoconsulting.net