Foundations

You heard it prior to September 9, 1999 when computers were supposed to crash because the programs (allegedly) could not process the four-digit year 2000…

The Y2K scare was shouted everywhere just a few months after that…

More recently, the end is interpreted to fall on December 21, 2012…

There are even two solid dates that a large asteroid will impact the earth…

The end is near.  That is what everyone says.  There are so many would-be Nostradamus students in the wings telling you to prepare for the end. 

I suggest that this phenomenon is common.  But we have another end in sight.  It is the end of a year.  Read more…

joebouchard Self Scrutiny, Staff relations

For an institution to run efficiently and effectively, the three ”C’s” of effective operations need to be in place.  These fundamentals are:  Chain of command, Communication, Clique control. An effective leader will best drive these lessons home and make them part of the institution’s values. 

All three of these foundation elements are challenged by the specter of bullying in the workplace.  Bullies of all varieties thrive on control.  They rule through coercion.  Their presence often makes achieving the mission statement of any agency more difficult.  And sometimes when we endeavor to control bullying (or take out the trash) we might consider some unorhtodox methods.

Read more…

joebouchard Assessing the organization, Self Scrutiny, Staff relations

What sort of trainer would use a children’s book to teach a lesson?  Is it possible to break the ice, establish trust, and impart a lesson while talking in rhymes?  It may sound strange, but I have facilitated excellent classroom discussions and shattered tons of ice by reading Dr. Seuss books to adults.  

Think back to your most eccentric, unusual teacher.  Chances are that you may have a few to select from.  You may remember that the individual had strange mannerisms, an interesting mode of speech, or other uncommon characteristics. 

Still, the instructor may have been unusual in delivery of material.  Read more…

joebouchard Staff relations, Training, What the...?!?

In corrections, there is often a complex posturing that is based on image and intimidation.    It is a matter of survival. Such is the world that we work in.  Therefore, it should come to no surprise that staff and offenders sometimes perceive the other as bullying. 

To most, intimidation is the tool of the bully.  But is it always bullying?  Is aggression sometimes really assertion?  Is there a difference between meeting issuing direction and coercion?  Is it fair to use bully tactics on a bully? Read more…

joebouchard Assessing the organization, Self Scrutiny, Staff relations

Only one of them saw the way out of danger and tried to escape. She scaled the wall of the metal cylinder before the hot liquid won the battle.  Yet, though she knew the way to safety, she could not go there.  Others pulled her down.  Perhaps they were panicking and did not know better.  Maybe it was a sort of sick realization that they were all going to die. No matter how hard she tried, the crab could not leave the boiling pot.  The other crabs pulled her down to an eventual collective death.

A colleague of mine once remarked that one does not have to place a lid on a boiling pot of live crabs.  He told me that the crabs will pull each other down.  While I do not know if this is true in all cases, I can acknowledge that it is an interesting concept. Read more…

joebouchard Self Scrutiny, Staff relations

joebouchard Staff relations, Training

(From Richard Lumb, Ph.D.)

My comments are a follow-up to Joe and Ron’s November 13, 2009 posting on the use and application of resilience tools to help moderate the impact of stress and the encounter with adversity or trauma that ranges from minor discomfort to mind and body wrenching crisis.  Daily pressure is inevitable and we often ride waves of discomfort with accompanying emotions usually returning to a place of balance where coping takes place naturally.   Read more…

joebouchard Guest Author, Self Scrutiny, Staff relations

There is a very dangerous road in all corrections settings.  This thoroughfare is known as Division Street. 

It is not difficult to see that any prison or jail is very much like a city.  The comparisons of services in either setting simply jump out at anyone who ponders this.  There is a restaurant, a library, a police force, a medical center and housing units in each.

Let us delve a bit deeper. Some of the same street names surely exist in your city as do in a corrections setting.  However, the street names in your city are actual while those in jails or prison don’t really exist.  They are really models of behavior that we label in order to understand in a fuller manner. Read more…

joebouchard Self Scrutiny, Staff relations

Recently, Institutional Training Officer Mike Plourde, developed a module called “Con Games”. “Con Games” addresses some of the ruses and manipulation that may be executed on corrections staff. He paired that with Joe Bouchard’s module “Wake up and Smell the Contraband”, encompassing the whys and hows of illicit activities inside the walls of corrections facilities. Part of that module which deals with trepidation because of manipulation is presented here. Read more…

joebouchard Guest Author, Self Scrutiny, Staff relations, Training

Prior to entering corrections, I was a steel worker.  Al (a.k.a. “The Dog”) was my supervisor. He taught me a lot about interpersonal relations and surviving in a sometimes difficult environment. He did not necessarily speak these lessons, as he was more action-oriented than a verbal sort. 

Ultimately, I was surprised about the applicability of those lessons when I moved to corrections.

Often, I apply them to the nebulous and confusing art of dealing with difficult personalities.  There is also applicability when I engage in the frequently arduous task of gaining a better understanding of myself.  Read more…

joebouchard Assessing the organization, Inside Out, Self Scrutiny, Staff relations