BENTONVILLE — Benton County Sheriff Kelley Cradduck called on his staff Monday to take leadership roles at work and in the community.

“I truly believe you have no greater calling than the positive influence you have on others,” Cradduck told the group of officers, friends and families assembled for a promotion ceremony. “We are going to change the culture here. It’s not going to be ‘me,’ it will be ‘we.’”

Cradduck, who took office Jan. 1, named two majors, five captains, six lieutenants and a dozen sergeants to new posts Monday. The promotions are in line with his plans to switch to 12-hour shifts and set up a gang unit and other specialized units.

Cradduck asked Tim Keck, former Rogers police chief, to address the group specifically on the importance of leadership. Keck, who works with businesses in leadership training, said leadership in law enforcement is literally a matter of life and death. He said studies have shown poor leadership can be the most stressful aspect of a police officer’s life.

“‘It ain’t the bad guys with guns who stress me out,’” Keck said in paraphrasing a typical officer’s complaints. “‘It’s the idiots running this agency.’”

“It doesn’t have to be that way and, in the best police agencies and in the best companies, it isn’t,” Keck said.

Keck said leaders need to be aware of their own beliefs and attitudes and not allow their preconceptions to color their relationships with others. He cited a study done in Israel where researchers ranked prospective leadership candidates for their chances of success in a training course. The final results mirrored the preliminary ratings almost exactly, he said, but the pre-training rankings were fabricated, he said.

“It mattered when an authority figure believed something about an employee,” Keck said. “What you believe about your people is what they tend to become. If you believe they’re boobs with badges that’s what they’re going to become. If you believe they’re humble servants, they can do great things.”

Lt. Randy Lee Allsup, newly promoted from sergeant in the patrol division, has been with the sheriff’s office since 1998. Allsup said he sees new leadership being put into practice.

“I see a lot better openness in the office, in our leadership and command staff,” he said.