Travis Yates > Quotes

“If you avoid conflict to keep the peace,
you start a war inside yourself.”—Cheryl Richardson”
― Travis Yates, The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos, and Lies

“Morals and ethics aren’t popular topics these days. And depending upon which way the political winds are blowing, matters of morality can seem threatening, trivial, or taboo. But morality matters. And in the law enforcement profession, it’s always mattered.”
― Travis Yates, The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos, and Lies

“After all, being wrong is an important part of learning, and absolutely necessary for learning how to do things right.[27] When mistakes are openly acknowledged and reviewed in positive ways, they become sources of knowledge. And when mistakes are met with fair and predictable discipline when necessary, even serious mistakes can become sources of motivation—instead of reasons for cover-ups and misconduct.”
― Travis Yates, The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos, and Lies

“It’s very hard to live with yourself
if you don’t stick with your moral code.”—Jim Mattis”
― Travis Yates, The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos, and Lies

“Nonetheless, conflict is something that leaders must do. And truly courageous leaders often excel at predicting and preventing conflict long before there’s even a chance of it. In contrast, when cowardly leaders avoid conflict, they create all kinds of unnecessary problems, and even more conflicts. Their avoidance creates a void in leadership that allows the “Ferguson effect,”[34] or the “nobody’s got my back” phenomenon to creep in and take over—which has become an increasingly significant problem throughout the law enforcement profession.”
― Travis Yates, The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos, and Lies

“Cowardly leaders often show their true colors whenever they discipline their subordinates. All too often, cowardly leaders dole out discipline that may be too harsh, too light, or wildly inconsistent. They rarely get it right. And instead of being consistently fair, cowardly leaders typically discipline according to their own agenda, whatever that happens to be at any given moment. And speaking of agendas, the discipline they prescribe often has more to do with their emotional reactions and fears, than providing helpful correction and guidance for future behavior, which is what discipline should do.”
― Travis Yates, The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos, and Lies

“Of course, morality matters in law enforcement, no matter what popular opinion may be about the subject at any given moment. And it tends to matter even more as an officer rises through the ranks and assumes greater responsibility in police supervision and leadership. The public expects more from high-ranking leaders, and often expects nothing less than impeccable moral character and judgment.”
― Travis Yates, The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos, and Lies

“Cowardly police leaders play favorites... While some cowardly leaders are too quick and too harsh with discipline, others are exactly the opposite. They play favorites and let some people get away with just about anything, as if though they could do no wrong. And sometimes they go after others for the slightest infraction with a vengeance.”
― Travis Yates, The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos, and Lies

“Whether it’s a momentary lapse in ethical judgment or moral concern, cowardly leaders have caused tremendous damage to the law enforcement profession. And some of the more shocking and disturbingly immoral acts committed by cowards have drawn the character and the competency of the profession into question—and who could blame the public for doing so? And that’s perhaps the worst part about the immoral and unethical behavior of cowardly leaders. There are no answers that can morally justify or ethically support a police chief who engages in a cover-up to hide police corruption.[28] And there’s not much that can be said to uphold the character of a deputy chief that gets arrested for conspiracy to distribute heroin.[29”
― Travis Yates, The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos, and Lies

“When cowardly police leaders actually do something, it’s usually to serve themselves. Sure, “to protect and to serve” may be a popular motto in the law enforcement profession. Although “protect your ass and serve yourself” is perhaps more accurately describes the ways that cowardly leaders operate.”
― Travis Yates, The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos, and Lies

“If you’re looking for proof that cowardly police leaders are insane, look no further. Indeed, the law enforcement profession is marked by heroic deeds as much as horrendous failures. That’s why learning from mistakes is essential. Yet cowardly leaders rarely acknowledge mistakes. And they rarely try to learn from them or use mistakes in any positive way. So, when cowardly leaders fail to learn from mistakes, and fail to help others learn from them, they’re basically guaranteeing that the mistakes are going to be made over and over again...”
― Travis Yates, The Courageous Police Leader: A Survival Guide for Combating Cowards, Chaos, and Lies