At a recent presentation I gave, the question came up, “How am I supposed to be a good leader when the examples I have to follow are bad?” It sparked an interesting conversation that brought me back to my childhood. Whether we are talking about developing our morals and values as a kid or growing as a leader in the midst of a crisis, this is an important lesson to learn. When we are young, or new at something, we learn how to do things from others. They give us their knowle

“Trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets” – Kevin Kelly I usually use this space to talk about an event from my past and the lesson to be learned, but today I want to share someone else’s story. I spoke at a conference this week, my topic was on how emotional intelligence builds trust and reduces conflict. For me, a key component of emotional intelligence is having an explicit understanding of your personal values and preparing yourself to apply them daily and in chall

First responders; police officers, EMTs and paramedics, firefighters, campus safety officers, emergency managers and security professionals, hold a unique place in society. Like emergency and inpatient nurses and doctors, military service members and select others, they are called to serve regardless of the day, the time of day, or the holiday. But first responders are not only on duty, but also walking the balance of peace and health, and violence and disaster in unstable an

Depending on the audience, the story has different themes and touch points. At one point when I told the story, I focused on waking up to...

It was one of those shifts where we ran from call to call for several hours. It’s part of why I loved evening shift, it was busy when you...

When I arrived on scene there was blood on the floor, walls and ceiling, a victim bleeding out, kids screaming and crying, and a suspect...

I was pissed. No two ways about it, I was flat out pissed. My shift supervisor called to tell me that a student had just tried driving...

Way back, at the very start of this little adventure called my entire adult life, I was told something that stuck with me. I was told...

To stay with the theme of my last blog, you can also be right and wrong at the same time. As with so many things in life, it’s a matter...

There is an unfortunate reality in the world. We all experience this situation, it’s part of living in any society, and it’s caused by...

I’m writing this blog from Florida, where I am supporting the disaster recovery efforts from Hurricanes Helene and Milton. I want to...

Every cop, EMT and convenience store clerk can write a book and the title would be the same. “You Can’t Make This Sh*t Up!” My buddy Guy...

Everyone knows police work is stressful and cops see terrible things in the line of duty. The same is true for firefighters, emergency...

When I became the Director of Public Safety at Saint Michael’s College, I was taking over the role from a well-respected leader who had...

Welcome to Counterparts Coaching and Consulting. We offer a different approach to leadership coaching and development because my...