“Why should we save them?”

Those words stuck with me.

I was reading an article about naloxone and fentanyl. The comments section was alive. Beyond the normal trolls and general nonsense that we have come to expect from social media, what struck me were the number of people who lacked any compassion. Very few of the comments expressed empathy.

Many people view those that use drugs as outcasts. People that make bad decisions. I understand the stigma. I was like that before. When I was a young police officer and later a new DEA Special Agent, I felt the same way. I asked the same question: Why can’t they just… stop?

I used to feel the same way about domestic violence. When I was first dispatched to domestic violence calls as an inexperienced police officer, I did not understand what I was seeing. During 99% of the calls that I went on, the abused wife or girlfriend would put on Oscar-worthy performances questioning why the police were even at their house. I can vividly remember a wife that was practically fighting us as we arrested her husband and when his back was turned to her, she mouthed “thank you” as tears rolled down her face. I left asking myself why. Why can’t she just… leave?

What was happening? How could I help? I began learning about abuse. About the cycle of domestic violence. About power. About control. I learned as much as I could to better prepare myself and better respond. If I was going to help people, I needed to know how.

Now, I am not suggesting domestic violence and drug addiction are the same. But I realized that I had to also learn how to approach this. How to better understand addiction and dependency.

If I was going to help people, I needed to know how.

What I learned is that most people do not want to be addicted to drugs. That getting high and needing a drug are two different things.

I also learned that addiction is a disease. When you use drugs, your brain is fighting to find balance, to keep you safe, and ultimately you get to the point that you think you need drugs just to survive. I have met people that use fentanyl multiple times a day to, as they say, function.

Another young man, when talking about his addiction, acknowledged he made poor decisions but now he was suffering every day. He asked, “do you think I want this?”

I think for the most part, society does not care. We question why we would want to help people that choose to use drugs. I hear it all the time: They made their bed, now they can sleep in it.

Opioids, specifically fentanyl, have certainly made this more complicated. Casual and experimental drug use has changed. The entire drug landscape has. Stories of people dying from first time or experimental drug use, especially younger people using counterfeit drugs, have become daily news.

Did these people deserve it? No, I do not think so.

Now would be a good time to clarify something in case you are wondering. I had no problem arresting drug traffickers. In fact, I miss it. The mission of the Drug Enforcement Administration is noble, it matters, and I am proud of the work I did there to make our communities safer.

My empathy does not negate these feelings. And it also does not mean I approve of their behavior.

Empathy is an ability to understand another’s situation or feelings.

By learning more about addiction, I was more prepared to help people. Or at least, better understand them.

This opened doors. I learned these people are used to being judged, criticized, thrown aside. When I removed my judgement, it allowed me to communicate. To try to understand. The more I was able to communicate, the greater the trust. It is not perfect. I still struggle to understand. But I am trying.

Because yes, they are worth saving.

- Brian Townsend, Eagle 6 Training

I teach a course called, “Leading from the Front Line.” In it, I facilitate a discussion on things first line supervisors should do.

One of those things is to be a conduit of information.

Conduit. A means of transmitting or distributing information.

This goes beyond simple communication and transparency. I wrote about that recently.

This is more about how to be a conduit of information and how important it is to the success of your team. It is all about your delivery. Your buy in and your attitude.

It is everything. Depending on what kind of influence you have with your subordinates, you can make or break a message. Your attitude will influence how the information is received.

Case in point. Years ago, I worked for a toxic boss that was given an assignment from their superior, and we were told it came down from the very top of the division.

“This is stupid,” he said. “But we don’t have any choice, figure it out.”

I did not respect this person, so his delivery meant little to me. If he did have any influence, I know I would have been equally skeptical of the assignment.

Now it was my time to share this information with my group. The people that would do the actual work.

How would my group receive the information if I delivered it with the same disdain it was delivered to me?

You influence whether priorities and initiatives are accepted and implemented. Especially if you are liked and truly have personal power. Not positional power because you are the boss, but personal power because people like you. You should be a leader, not a boss.

There are two lessons here. One, be the type of person that yields influence. Influence because of who you are not because of the position you hold in the organization. And two, be deliberate with your delivery because how you give the message matters. If you have number one (influence), the people you are talking to will model your behavior and attitude.

It is your responsibility to translate the organizational vision, policies, and general information, and it is your responsibility to ensure everyone knows what they must do to achieve these goals.

Be that leader. No matter the assignment. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem.

- Brian Townsend, Eagle 6 Training

The goal of communication should be to gain trust with the person or people you are interacting with. A lot can be accomplished with trust and good communication.

A great way to build trust and better communication with your team or organization is to be honest and transparent.

Except for personal or personnel issues, information needs to be communicated throughout the organization.

Limited information results in rumors and frustration. In this environment, the entire organization will suffer from other problems.

People fill in the blanks when they do not have all the information.

Give it to them!

I once worked for a toxic boss who disagreed. I left a meeting and before I could get out the door, he asked if I was going to tell my team everything. I told him yes.

We had just had a two-hour meeting, one that could have lasted five minutes for that matter, and I had a few things I needed my team to know.

He told me that being in management made me different now, and I had to think about my career.

Sadly, people like this feel that by keeping all the cards close, they keep control.

I knew how much more effective my team had been because we shared information and encouraged transparency. Clear mission and goals. Better morale. Increased productivity.

It was not me vs. them like my toxic boss suggested, it was just us. One team.

Other people in the office not under my command would come to the people in my group and ask them questions. Simple questions about what was going on in the office. Things they should have been told.

It should not be like this. Do not invent friction where it is not necessary. End that immediately.

If you want to encourage a culture of trust, be transparent. Share knowledge.

Because knowledge is power, and everyone wants to be a part of that team.

- Brian Townsend, Eagle 6 Training

I acknowledge that I am not a great storyteller.

But I have also learned it is not how I tell a story; it is what I am saying.

My experiences.

Not long ago a friend told me about a time early in his career when I, more senior, helped him. I was telling a story and unbeknownst to me, it provided the spark he needed to get through something similar.

“You told me a story,” he said. “I was struggling with an investigation and the direction it was going, and you told me a story of a similar situation you were once in. It helped me a lot.”

I would later be intentional about storytelling. I better understood the significance.

It is powerful and can help people.

The guiding principles behind storytelling should be simple.

This is where I was.
This is what happened.
This is what I learned.

A person should walk away with a lesson.

Especially when talking to newer or inexperienced people you supervise or mentor.

Your experiences can help people. Therefore, your stories need to have a purpose.

The lesson is key.

Helping newer or inexperienced people should be about them making the decisions.

Sure, I could have told them what to do. As their supervisor though, it was my job to help develop these people into tomorrow’s leaders.

I needed to help them find the answers, but ultimately, I wanted it to be their decisions.

I am a big proponent of freedom to make decisions. This became part of my leadership philosophy.

I have found that this creates ownership. Accountability. Pride. And trust.

These things increase efficiency and overall job performance.

When it is purposeful or deliberate, your experiences can help people create their own future stories.

- Brian Townsend, Eagle 6 Training