Tips for CCA COs to Make the Most of Their Careers

Tactics for advancement and opportunity, from those who know

When employees find out that Damon Hininger, CCA’s CEO and president, started out as a correctional officer, belief in their own high potential seems not only possible, but practical.

More than half of all CCA employees are correctional and detention officers. In some cases, today’s CO becomes tomorrow’s vocational instructor, training manager or counselor. Many managers and administrators began their careers on the front lines at facilities.

For many people, career growth is edged out in importance only by job stability, compensation and benefits. Career-track employees aren’t just satisfied with having a job; they think about stepping up the career ladder.

But for some that can be easier said than done. Sometimes there are unexpected stops and new milestones to achieve along the way. Plus, there’s no foolproof formula for professional success.

So, how can CCA COs move up at their facility? What should they do to gain visibility within the company? What are decision-makers looking for when it comes to grooming a line-person for leadership on a bigger scale?

Here, some of CCA’s executive and senior facility leaders offer their personal toolbox of tactics. These no-nonsense strategies can help employees at all levels can make the most of a CCA career.

Be a Life-Long Learner.

Education shouldn’t stop just because you’ve graduated from college or participate in annual on-the-job training. Some CCA leaders say that getting your foot in the door is all the more reason to continually refine your skills and boost your knowledge base.

Sometimes that means finishing what you started. “If you started school, didn’t finish and have started working with us, if you can, make a point to complete school to have those additional qualifications on your resume for future opportunities,” Damon Hininger advises.

“You have to look at your education,” adds Olmo Rodriguez, assistant warden at Wheeler Correctional Facility, who joined CCA twice – first in 1991 and then in 1996. He began as a correctional officer at South Central Correctional Center and has served as sergeant, captain, SORT commander, unit manager and chief of security over his 14-year CCA career.

“After a year on the job, you should know if it’s for you or not,” Rodriguez says. “At that point, you have to ask yourself if you want to be a CO forever or rise up.”

Long-term learning also means getting new credentials along the way, even if they’re not required. “One way is to get involved in the ACA correctional officer certification programs,” says Rick Seiter, CCA chief corrections officer. “It’s about learning and self-development. It shows interest in this as a profession, which sends a strong signal to those who will make judgments about you and investing in you.”

Ax the Microwave Mentality.

Success doesn’t always happen on our clock. Some say that immediate gratification has no place in a long-range outlook. The reality is that professional success can take many years and a succession of small wins before a promotion occurs.

“Patience is important,” Hininger says. “I don’t think I ever applied for a single promotion. My thought process was to work as hard as I could, to exceed what was expected of me and, if opportunities resulted, to let my actions speak for myself, rather than my words.”

Brian Collins, CCA chief human resources officer, agrees. He understands the desire to be rewarded quickly for one’s contributions, but cautions that a slow and steady pace can be better in the long run than an overnight success.

“I was always somewhat apprehensive and overly eager about when my next promotion was coming,” Collins explains. “But the fact is, if you’re promoted too quickly, you can be promoted into a failed position because you’re not ready.”

If at First You Don’t Succeed, Try Again.

Not being selected for a promotional opportunity can put a dent in the spirit of even the most confident employee, says William Conner, chief of security at Wheeler Correctional Facility, but eventually future-focused professionals have to move forward.

“I had put in for chief a couple of times before, and someone with more experience and maybe more education beat me out for it,” Conner explains. “If you don’t make it the first, second or even third time, don’t give up. Stay encouraged.”

Staying optimistic is something Conner knows well. In his time at the Wheeler facility, he’s served as a correctional officer, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and unit manager. He was previously promoted to chief of security, but during a time of staffing cutbacks became a correctional officer again in order to maintain a position at the facility. Over time, he worked his way up the ranks once more and reclaimed his chief title.

“One thing about CCA is that there is a lot of room for promotion with this company,” Conner says. “If you take pride in your job, are consistent, and learn policy and procedure, you will make it. I don’t see the good ole boy system with CCA. I kept my nose to the grindstone. You have to use each step and each rank as a stepping stone.”

Be Willing to Pack It All In.

A look at the resumes and biographies of many CCA executives, managers and administrators often reflects a common theme: relocation and routinely establishing new roots.

“Be willing to be mobile,” Hininger says. “Be willing to move away and work in another state that has a different facility with a different mission.”

That’s something Rolanda Jolliff-Winfield, assistant warden at Dawson State Jail, knows all too well. She joined CCA in 1997 as a case manager at Wilkinson County Correctional Facility and was promoted to unit manager at Dawson State Jail. She also worked in various roles at Kit Carson Correctional Center and North Fork Correctional Facility before returning to Dawson as chief of security and, now, assistant warden, a position she’s held since December 2008.

“I think the most difficult thing was that my family didn’t initially move with me,” Jolliff-Winfield, a married mother of two, says. “I didn’t want to uproot my girls. That meant I had to travel back and forth.”

Moving also enriches employees’ exposure to different populations, various government partners and the subtleties of CCA culture.

“I’ve worked in four facilities in three different states,” Wheeler’s Rodriguez shares. “Culture is not the same at any of them.”

The decision to move, which must be carefully calculated and well planned, can also cultivate diverse company connections whose long-term benefits are many.

“Moving around was a great learning experience and also helped me network throughout the company,” adds Hininger, who started his career at Leavenworth Detention Center and moved to Central Arizona Detention Center as training manager. “The more you network, the more you get to know future leaders of this company.”

Realize that People Have Pet Peeves about You, Too.

People generally view leadership and promotion according to how others view them. But undertaking the challenges of increased responsibility also means taking an objective look within as well.

On more than one occasion, assistant warden Rodriguez realized he had to take himself down a peg or two.

“When I was moving up into management, at times I would butt heads with other department heads,” Rodriguez says. “I knew a lot about policy and procedure, so sometimes I was not willing to hear someone else’s opinion on it. My biggest stumbling block was not giving others a chance to voice their ideas.”

Jolliff-Winfield had to learn to let go of her assumptions and tightly held accomplishments in order to let others show her the ropes.

“When I first started in this business, I came in with a master’s degree and thought I should move up quicker because of that,” she admits. “The hardest thing to get over was listening to people who had more experience but might have had less education than I started with. In hindsight, it was best thing that could have ever happened to me. I gained humility and a rewarding career path.”

Don’t Let Your Current Job Title Limit You

Not having mgr. or sr. before your position title shouldn’t keep go-getters from aspiring to new heights. Too often, career-minded employees focus on where they want to be and stop appreciating where they are, according to Seiter.

“You have to do your job well,” he says. “You’ll never be promoted unless you prove yourself to be a very CO. You have to do the basics well.”

What’s worse is when workers get frustrated and start thinking short-sighted. When that happens, they may feel inclined to stick rigidly to roles spelled out in their job description. But leaders say that may be the worst reaction of all.

“Once you master the basics, the way you make yourself valuable is getting involved in other areas,” Collins suggests. “Gain knowledge in what you want to do. You will set yourself apart because you’re gaining wisdom about other things.”

Balance Your Work Life and Your Home Life

Having tunnel vision about moving up in your career may actually be one of the worse ways to work toward promotion. Even when employees’ eyes are on the professional prize, they must maintain work-life balance to be effective, focused and motivated on the job.

“You must have balance in life,” Conner says. “It’s a stressful job. You have to have a way to vent. You have to have a release and a home life. It can engulf you. Exercise. Get involved in a hobby. Spend time with your children.”

“It’s hard,” Jolliff-Winfield adds. “As much as possible, you have to kind of learn to shut down. When you walk out the door, it’s over. Try to leave it there and pick it up tomorrow.”

By K. Danielle Edwards
Correct Perspectives, March 2010

Sound Out

Daniel Ruttlen at Metro-Davidson Co.:

I found the article helpful, informative and at least for my own benefit, extremely well timed. As a newly hired CO I've spent some time my future in the company and the best way to progress. This article systematically addressed both my immediate concerns: furthering education and chasing down advancement before I'm prepared for it; as well as my long term concerns: how this new career field might effect my family over time. I feel that articles such as this, seemingly tailored towards connecting the front line employees with upper managment who have "walked in our shoes", is of great benefit both to new employees like myself and to those seasoned in corrections yet uneasy about advancement.

Linda Sevison at Idaho Correctional Center:

Good advice from people who have obviously been successful in their careers. The bottom line is that if you want to promote, never give up. "If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, try, try again." (Comment made after one of our staff members finally received the promotion they wanted after 5 tries!) CCA is a great company to work for with many wonderful opportunities to promote, especially on the security-side of the business.

Lt. Gary M. Smith at Dawson State Jail:

I have been in law enforcement / corrections a total of 17 years and counting and to me the primary pre-requisite to making a career is to know what you are getting into first. Too many people get into corrections because they need a job or ned benefits without ever really thinking about what corrections entails. If an officer understands what he or she is getting into and accepts all that comes with the job then he or she will be well on the way to a successful career.

Lamar at SCCF:

I think we should be allowed to wear goatees, there is no reason why we shouldnt be allowed that freedom.