Supervisors

Ashcraft and I had a brief meeting with Warden Johnson to discuss what seems like low Supervisor morale. He stated that we have some good supervisors. I asked him what are some of the issues that he sees with our supervisors and his first response was a lack of communication among supervisors. Johnson expressed that it seems supervisors are not passing information on to the Supervisors who need information that is pertinent to their responsibilities. I think we can all admit that this seems to happen all the way down the chain of command. One of the things we discussed was the shift pass down or briefings. It seems like the briefings lack a lot of details, but just list incidents and basic information. i agree with him that the emails put out could be more detailed and contain explanations. As an example we pass on that their was grouping on the tier, we would certainly add any opinion or insight as this can be helpful to others who are monitoring the unit when we leave. Our insights are valuable and I agree that the supervisors insights would definitely be welcomed. Warden Johnson does not want to micro-manage supervisors. We discussed that for the last decade plus, HDSP has been managed this way. Meaning a supervisor cannot just make a decision without calling an Associate Warden. This is not the way he wants things done. He wants supervisors to manage their areas, make the correct decisions, and take ownership of their areas. Get out and train officers on duty, get to know your subordinates, and be a resource to those you are supervising. Johnson also stated that supervisors don’t seem to have a sense of responsibility for their officers. Just like most of us were trained, resolve the issues at the lowest level possible, before they escalate to a grievance scenario. Ashcraft voiced concerns in this area about the responses given to officers who bring up issues that need addressed. I realize that it can be difficult to treat every issue with the attention it deserves, but making the effort makes a big impact on officers. Overall, we are all on the same team. We need to work with each other, not against one another. Everyone be safe, and as we discussed at the Lodge meeting on Saturday, if you guys have ideas that are being ignored at any level, let’s start a discussion and bring solutions to the table that will benefit everyone at the institutions.