The DCS Leaders who can not see it, probably will not find it.

The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant.

Max de Pree

Leaders who lack vision cannot inspire teams, motivate performance, or create sustainable value. Poor vision, tunnel vision, vision that is fickle, or a non-existent vision will cause leaders to fail. A leader’s job is to align the organization around a clear and achievable vision. This cannot occur when the blind lead the blind. 

I was an employee of the DCS Central Records Coordination Unit for three years. I have watched the leadership go from outstanding in the beginning to presently mediocre at best. As it stands now the CRCU and DCS finds itself in a constant barrage of trouble. The reason behind it is a fairly simple one...leadership. The right leadership can steer a team to success no matter the obstacles. Whereas the wrong leadership will steer even the best teams inevitably into failure. Working in the records unit I was able to witness a small microcosm of a much bigger problem when it came to the way the department chose it's leadership. In the CRCU leaders weren't chosen on the basis of hard work and merit as it is done in the most successful companies like Apple and Google. You're chosen on who you are related to pure and simple. This means that you have a better opportunity of not only getting hired but even getting promoted in the CRCU if your mother is your department manager. I find this odd because the Arizona Revised Statutes (38-481) states that for anyone hiring a relative is guilty of a class 2 misdemeanor. The reasoning for this is simple, the relative would (and often does) get preferential and unfair treatment because of their relation to management regardless of their education or qualifications. This means that a paralegal who possesses a two or four year degree could be (and has been) passed over for someone with nothing more than a high school diploma and relatively little to no experience. I have personally witnessed experienced employees apply for promotions and leadership assignments only to get passed over for relatives time and again. One would think that because of the highly sensitive information that the CRCU deals with on a daily basis that the leadership would take more care about who they not only hire but who they promote into leadership positions. Instead they promote their family and friends with reckless disregard for the rules and then wonder why there is very little respect for the leadership of the department. Often those that speak up about the injustice at the CRCU are terminated. Going to Employee Relations or Human Resources is a moot point because all they do sweep everything under the rug and hope things get better. I am sorry to say it won't, for things to get better the leadership of DES and the CRCU has to change. Treatment of employees has to get better and morale has to get higher. Passion in the job means perfection in the work. Those who enjoy their job tend to do a better job. At the CRCU things are different because the management in the department doesn't value their employees. Instead the management tends to treat people like disposable paper towels to be used at their leisure and then discarded like so much trash. Those employees who complain are often labeled as trouble makers and let go over the slightest provocation. Sometimes stories are even fabricated to justify an employees termination. In one point, an employee inquired about a particular promotion of a manager's family member.  She questioned the qualifications that this family member has for the job she was given. After which this employee was let go the very next day. Another employee was told she could not be promoted because she was pregnant. This was a blatant violation of her civil rights and it was executed with a such bravado that it seemed like CRCU management didn't even care that they could be sued. Instead she was yet another in a long list of names of qualified employees who were tossed aside for a lesser qualified substitute. As a result, the quality of the work suffers and the training of new employees suffers because the trainers aren't well trained themselves. Information leaks are common place in the CRCU because of not only improper training but management covering up mistakes for family members mistakes in order to see to it that they keep their jobs. Sensitive information has made it into the hands of the public on several occasions because of the ineptness of the leadership of the CRCU. Instead of fixing the problems, they proceed to cover them up and hope that no one notices.  It is a growing problem that will not change unless the CRCU recognizes it has a problem. However, judging by the way they continue to conduct their business by putting their family first it doesn't appear appear that anything will change anytime soon.