A New Role

From last October until January, I worked as an Acting Case Worker as often as possible.  Having been Custody Staff for over 11 years, I was absolutely ready for a change in my life.  As Cusdody Staff, my role with the Inmates was 70-80% enforcing the rules and only 20-30% on interacting, role-modeling, mentoring, etc.  As a very introverted and empathic person, this role was a difficult one.

To be honest, I originally started working with the Nebraska Department of Corrections in January of 2006 and quickly realized how challenging the role would be for me.  In fact, it was a job that I only applied for because my unemployment insurance from leaving Active Duty was running out.  Being someone who is a natural mentor and shepard, this role made me feel like a big, square peg being forced into a small, round hole.  More than a little awkward.

Now, don't misunderstand...  I was very good at my job.  By nature, I have always been a thorough and fair person.  The Inmates soon learned that they could always know what to expect from me.  Though many Inmates hated me for enforcing the rules, they respected me for being consistent and treating everyone equally.  Many coworkers and supervisors respected me for this, too.

Having been a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) for years, I always strove to utilize on-the-spot corrections whenever possible, be it staff or Inmates.  Some highly respected me for this, others didn't.   But, they typically did not try to force me to do differently.

Although I was very good at my job, it did not give me much personal satisfaction.  As an INFJ, such a role was extremely draining physically, emotionally, and spiritually.  Because of my growing dissatisfaction with work, I would often become bitter with God for the job He put me in.  Sometimes I was able to "grow where you are planted," but that was more the exception than the rule.

Although I am still not thrilled with where I am at, I am more accepting of my role as Unit Case Worker.  It has a much higher focus on problem solving, mentoring, etc., that I have a more positive view of my work and role.  Being that I work in a prison, I will always have a strong focus on security.  However, it is now closer to 20-40% of my work, not the main focus.

What is interesting is that many of the Inmates have quickly adjusted to this new role of mine.  In fact, some of the Inmates who were respectful in the past would not talk with me much at all.  Now, however, many are more willing to talk and receive my feedback.  I am still quick to correct unprofessional/inappropriate comments.  For example, one Inmate would always say, "Hi, buddy!"  After correcting home several times by saying, "I am not your buddy," I finally took him to the side and explained why his comment was inappropriate.  The 'light went on' and he has talked with me correctly ever since.  And this was over 2 weeks ago, and this person is a friendly person by nature.

Although working in Corrections is hard for me, being a Unit Case Worker seems to be a better fit.  I am not excited about work, though when I was acting Religious Coordinator,  I was.  But, that is a different story for another time.

In Chist,

RC

Extremely Busy Times

The other day I looked at when my last Blog Entry was and I was a bit shocked. I knew that I had not made an entry for a while, but I hadn't realized that it's been almost three whole months!

Things have been extremely hectic for me lately. The biggest thing is that the prison that I work at is so understaffed right now that we are getting hit for mandatory overtime at least once, if not twice, per week. That’s on top of working our 4x 12 hour shifts. That has been making things extremely difficult for all of us there.

On top of this job, I have a wife and two kids, I usually do a weekly Adult Bible Study, and I am the Adjutant (Secretary) for our local VFW. That’s a lot going on, huh? For some of you out there, that is the norm for you. For others, doing this much work might be a totally foreign concept. I tell you what, it is very difficult to balance all of this.

In fact, that’s the biggest thing. It has been an on-going challenge to get an appropriate balance between work, being there for my family, taking care of things around the house, look for a new job that better utilizes my skills and interests (and is a lot less stressful and dangerous), do my daily devotions, attend church, do a good preparation for my weekly Bible Study, etc. It seems like I have to ‘rob Peter to pay either Paul or Mary.’ And, that is not really including taking time just for myself.

Asides from daily devotions, I admit that I have often shortchanged myself with good, quality self-care time. Whether it’s reading a good book, doing some creative writing (for this blog, for example), watching a favorite TV show, etc., my self-care often goes onto the chopping blog first. Or, when I do take time to rest, relax, and recharge, I feel guilty because I am not addressing any of the other priorities in my life. I honestly feel like I have been burning the candles at both end, and in the middle. Getting very little sleep during my work days because of the insane hours that I have to work, doesn’t help either.

From time-to-time, I have checked the stats for my blog and have often been surprised to see that people have visited it on occasion. This has been encouraging since that means people enjoy what I write and check back once-in-a-while. It is also sometimes a source of frustration. I see that people are coming back, hoping to see more, and are probably disappointed; and, I feel guilty for not adjusting my time more so that I could write more entries.

I am hoping that things will get better soon. Although we are getting new staff, things are still really difficult. However, I still have to deal with all that I have. Since my Bible Study won’t meet again until next year, that will help a little with time.

Each of us have to wrestle with priorities. My wife knows very well how frustrated I often feel with all my current obligations. The Bible Study and helping with VFW are a much needed source of self-expression that I need, something that I thoroughly love doing. So is this blog. It is my hope that things will improve such that I can do more blogging. Not just because it is a creative release for me, but because many of you out there really enjoy reading it. May God help each of us with our priorities.

Decisions in Life

Not that long ago, my wife pulled out a box of books that I had growing up. In the box was 20 plus books and numerous Ranger Rick magazines. My kids love being read to and my oldest is starting to read on his own. It is awesome to see.

The books that were in the box are the "Choose Your Own Adventure" series. In a nut shells, they are books with multiple endings and you had to make decisions throughout the book. It was a series that my 4th Grade teacher intodced me to. Although I had always loved to read, this book series helped me to read even more on my own. Having always been a high sensing introvert, this book fed my imagination and helped me to stop and think. And, yes,I would sometimes read through all of the endings, then try to figure out how to get to them.

Later this year, I will be celebrating 10 years with working for the State of Nebraska. And, all of those years have been with the Department of Corrections. At the end of this month, I will celebrate 16 years with the US Army (Active Duty and the Nebraska National Guard). It has not been an easy 16 years, but I have had a lot of good times. There has been pain and sorrow during those times, but also times of joy and celebration. Those jobs, my two marriages, my four deployments, helping my wife raise our two kids, etc., have all contributed to who I am today.

What I loved about those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books was that the stories would change, depending on what choices I made. If I didn't like how the story ended, I could start over. Or, I could find the endings that I liked and then try to figure out how to get there. But, those books were not like real life. If I did not like the consequences of my actions, I could not 'go back to the begining of the story' and start over. I had to choose to accept the consequences of my decisions.

This is something that I am trying to help my young kids learn. That each choice that we make will have consequences. Some will be more pleasant than others. Others will be more painful. Many of our choices will cause many regrets. But, that is life.

In my (almost) 10 years in Corrections, I have met many people, both staff and inmates, who made bad decisions, but did not want to accept the consequences. Even though their decisions brought temporary joy, pleasure, benefits, etc., the long term consequences were extremely painful. And, these people did not want to have to endure their consequences. It would sadden me, especially when it was staff who had made the bad decisions. But, it would aggravate me to no end to see adults wine about the painful consequences that they had made.

It is some that I really try to instill into my kids. That with what ever decision we make, we accept the consequences of that decision. Whether it is something minor, like staying up late to watch a good movie or have dessert with a meal. Or, something more significant like walking away from a fight, choosing to drive without using a seatbelt, choosing a college major, etc. Big or small, good or bad, each of these decisions will cause consequences. Many will be clear, many will not be clear. Sometimes we or others will experiece unexpected consequences of our choices. Sadder still, we many unfortunately experience the unforeseen consequences of the actions of others. Or yet, even the "un-actions" of others. That is, when people either choose to to act in a situation out of fear or embarrassment, or because they do not want to help because of anger towards someone or out of selfishness.

Probably the last set of situations, the unfortunate cpnsequences due to others' inaction, are the most difficult to accept. We want to have control over our lives and we want to have good experiences/consequences. It is difficult enough to endure the negative cpnsequences of our choices. It is even more difficult when spmeone else makes a bad choice and you experience severe consequences. But, it is something that he or she will have to accept.

Unlike the books or movies, or video games for that matter, we cannot go about and change things once thay have happened. That is not real life. Though they can be good in teaching us how to make good decisions in the future, we can delude ourselves into thinking that we can avoid the negative consequences of our own bad decisions, or the bad decisions of others. It is a trap that is very easy to fall into, and one we always need to be mindful of.

Your Reputation Precedes You

References:
• “Revenge of the Sith,” Anakin and Obi-Wan vs. Grievous
• Galatians 2:1-10 NAS
• Proverbs 3:1-8 NAS
• Importance of a Reputation article

I am sure that many of you out there have heard the phrase, “your reputation precedes you.” But, have you taken time to think about what it really means. And especially, have you thought about what it might mean for you?
A reputation is something you build with other people, and with society as a whole, throughout your life. It is something that is based on the decisions that you make, whether good or bad. As we all make choices in our lives, we develop habits. Over time, other people see our habits and come to expect certain things from us. Even though a person may change over the years, a reputation that someone has can hinder a person from seeing those changes.

Word of mouth can be a very powerful thing. For example, a restaurant or business can gain a good or bad reputation based solely on the opinions of a few people who are very vocal or influential. If a lot of people had a good experience someplace and talk excitedly about it with their friends and family, then other people will become interested and try it. But, if a number of people have a poor experience and freely share that, then many people may not even try the business.

As this ‘word of mouth’ spreads, a person or business’ reputation will ‘precede them.’ That is, people will hear more and more about the experiences that others have had. As they hear these differing opinions and experiences, they will develop their own opinion before ever meeting the person or visiting the business. It is here that the reputation of the person or place ‘precedes them.’

Let’s take a reputation of a public speaker as an example. Let’s say that ‘Author’ is an energetic, thoughtful, and funny public speaker on motivation. When this person speaks in public, other people report that they enjoyed the lectures, found them encouraging and thought provoking, and left with a different frame of references for how they do things. Let’s also say that this person also is very warm and friendly while talking with people during a one-on-one setting.

As the person prepares to do a lecture in a new place, many people will read about or talk with friends about their experiences. Because so many people had such a good experience in the past, people will be interested in hearing this person’s lecture for themselves. Even though they may have no person experience with this person themselves, they have already developed their own opinions and personal expectations based on the experiences of others.

This can also be a very negative thing. Let’s say that a has worked for years as county prosecutor for years. This person develops the reputation of cutting corners at times with how he/she does their work, is very difficult to work with, often comes across as very mean towards people that are being prosecuted, is extremely argumentative with everyone, etc. Over the years, he/she sets their eyes on working for a prestigious law firm in a major city. Though this prestigious law firm wants aggressive people working for them to protect their interests, thus law firm has developed a reputation for being stern but not rude or obnoxious. They want to win their court cases, but they want to maintain a positive image for themselves and their clients. Even if the small county prosecutor may have tempered how he/she did things over the years, his or her reputation will probably go before them and either hinder their application, or even prevent them from having a chance.

As those of you who have been following my blog for a while know, I work as Custody Staff for the Nebraska Department of Corrections. It is a job that I have had for over 8 years. During that time, I have developed quite a reputation with many of the Inmates and staff there. This reputation is that I take my job very seriously, will enforce the rules, seek to treat everyone the same, and genuinely care about others. This reputation has greatly helped me on many occasions. I want to share a few of those with you.

Since I am trained to work in the Special Management Unit (SMU) and do my job well, I work there a lot. One particular day, I was working the Upper E Gallery. Because the co-worker who worked on the Upper F Gallery was busy taking care of things someplace else for several hours, I was responsible for two galleries, each of which had at least 15 Inmates. This particular day had a lot going on, so I was very, very busy.

The Inmates on the Upper F Gallery were accepting of this, but many on my Gallery wanted their (felt needs) taken care of immediately. They could care less about the many responsibilities that I had. They wanted me to do what they wanted, when they wanted. Needless to say, this led to many of them being extremely angry.

After a few hours, not only were they yelling at me at the top of their lungs, kicking and hitting their metal doors, making threats to flood the Gallery, threatening physical harm to me, etc. And, with the concrete walls and confined space, the loud echoes intensified everything. During count, the Case Worker assigned to our side of SMU pulled me aside and let me know of his concern. I simply told him I was aware of their anger and threats, and that since I was the only Custody Staff up there taking care of two galleries, I was doing everything that I could.

Not long after that, I was on the Gallery. As earlier, that was a lot of yelling, banging, threats being made, etc. Out of nowhere, I heard one Inmate yell very loudly, “Hey, I know this guy from when I was on the Incentive Gallery! If you give him a chance, he will work with you! But, if you continuously piss him off, he will start ‘writing you up’ (write a Misconduct Report) for every little thing!!” I completed what I needed to do at that time and walked off the gallery. As I did, I remember thinking, “That was weird…”

A little while later, I walked back onto the Gallery and found it oddly quiet. No yelling and screaming, no banging, just quiet. As I walked by one cell door, the Inmate said, “Corporal Underwood, I know you are really busy, but could you….” and he named his request. I took some notes and continued on with my gallery check. It struck me as very odd that the particular Inmate had been extremely vocal in his displeasure with me not even 30 minutes earlier. Now, he was talking to me in a normal tone of voice. As I continued with my gallery check, two other Inmates very politely asked me for something. I took notes and then left the gallery.

Because of the dramatic turn of events, I went through my lists of requests, got what I needed, and then returned to the Gallery. Once again, it was extremely quiet (compared to how it had been). As I talked with each of the different Inmates, they thanked me for their time and addressing what they needed, and let me continue with my work. The rest of my shift, over five hours, was like that.

My shift started with me working two galleries because my co-worker had other responsibilities at the time. For the last hour or so of my shift, he was offered the chance to go home early (something we could do at the time due to good staffing). Because of how quiet and cooperative my Gallery was now, I told him to take the time off, I could handle both galleries without problem. And it was a very relaxing night for me. Because of the reputation I had with one Inmate, who chose to share his experience, things were defused and we all had a better night.

Not long ago, I was working in visiting. As per procedure, I had to strip search each of the Inmates before they went in. This particular night, there was at least 10 Inmates waiting to go into visiting and I was the only one there to do the strip searches. As I was getting ready to start, they were getting very vocal about this displeasure that I was the only one doing the searches, that they were not going to get ‘all of our time’ with their friends and family, etc. Then, one Inmate said, “Hey, I know Underwood. He’s cool… He has a job to do, we need to let him do it. He will get us through as fast as he can.” I could literately feel the tension of the room drop. I opened the door to the room where I did the strip search and this Inmate volunteered to go first. Again, my reputation preceded me, in a way, because of the rapport I had with one or two individuals.

On many other occasions, this has worked to my advantage. Because of the rapport that I had with one or two individuals, or because of my reputation in general, I am often able to get the cooperation of other Inmates. They may not want to obey, and they may even vocally refuse what I instruct them to do, but they still do it.

As a Body of Christ, we as a local church and as individual members create a reputation with other people and with the community that we live in. As Christians, we are Christ’s ambassadors to the world around us. How we choose to interact with others within the Christian community, and with those outside of the local church, can make or break our witness. Because of choices that we make and how we act, people will either be willing to listen to our testimony about our relationship with Christ, or disregard it.

Have you ever stopped to consider what your reputation is? Have you thought about how it is preceding you? Although I know I had thought about it from time-to-time, I never appreciated its importance until I started working with the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. In the 8+ years working at the same prison, I have seen how one’s reputation can escalate or deescalate a situation. I have seen situations where no force had to be used because of one or two individuals with good rapport were involved. But, I have seen situations quickly escalate from bad to worse because of a person’s reputation.

A reputation can be very helpful or very harmful. It can also be changed, though changing a bad reputation can take a lot of energy and a lot of time. It is very much easier to destroy a good reputation with one or a few bad decisions. But, what we say and what we do are important. People are listening and they are watching. And these people are forming their opinions. Not only that, but they are sharing their opinions, experiences, and observations with others. This word of mouth can travel very fast and very far. We can easily walk into a situation tomorrow, or even years from now, and things will either go well or poorly solely on the reputation the precedes us now. Something to think and pray about…