The confident professional who stumbles clumsily up the stairs…
The narcissist with the smug smile, oblivious to the spinach in his teeth…
Leaving a rest room with a foot long flag of toilet paper on our shoe or at our beltline…
Let’s face it, we are only human. And when we are trying to operate smoothly, or even normally, we wear egg on our faces from time to time. These are unintentional incidents that may be forgotten after a while. But, there are many more things that we do to ourselves that seem to be remembered in perpetuity.
In fact, we may not realize just how ridiculous we can appear to other people. But the problem is not solely about embarrassment. That is a lesser concern when we consider the haunting specter of self imposed security breaches. Read more…
joebouchard Self Scrutiny, Staff relations, Uncategorized
Most of us find it easier to complain than to solve. In other words, identifying problems are often easier than finding solutions. This is not some scathing admonishment of humanity. Rather, it is an observation of how we tend to think.
On Sunday, August 9, 2009, while at ACA in Nashville, I presented a module on division between staff in our vocation. “You Animal! An anthropomorphic look at staff relations in corrections” is the full title. Read more…
joebouchard Staff relations, Training, Uncategorized
zabranskya on 08/13/2009:
I really liked this article. Good job Joe~
Thanks so much. I am pleased that you liked it. And the very first paragraph was is based on true events. It is funny how a tiny gnat in the perfect cup o’ joe can point to life and vocational lessons. You may also enjoy “lurking beneath the surface II – The Cure
joebouchard Uncategorized
She had been called to duty. She sat in the front row of the jury box. Never before had she faced such weighty decisions.
There was more on her mind, though, than the verdict. It seemed to her that the prosecution, defense, and the judge were gauging her expression through the trial. Every time she looked up, at least one of those three were reading their effectiveness by looking at her eyes. She was the barometer, and she did not like it.
Like it or not, there are those among us who reveal our innermost thoughts through expressions. Non-verbal communication, as conventional wisdom has it, accounts for over 90% of all communications. Read more…
joebouchard Self Scrutiny, Uncategorized
You can take the person out of the corrections. But can you keep corrections out of the person? Can professionals clock out and leave all deeply ingrained corrections habits behind the walls? Or are we doomed to perpetually monitor and observe even when we are in our relatively safe place away from the institution? Read more…
joebouchard Inside Out, Self Scrutiny, Uncategorized
