Chopped: helping your police recruit make the cut

One of my favorite television shows is Chopped on The Food Network channel. Chopped is a cooking show where four chefs compete in three rounds of food preparation. At the completion of each round, one chef is “chopped” from the competition. In the final stage, two chefs go head-to-head for the $10,000 cash prize.   

But there’s a catch. At the beginning of each round, the chefs receive a basket of surprise ingredients, and they must use, combine, and transform them into a winning dish. If you haven't guessed by now, the ingredients usually don't mix all well.

 The chef who tastes victory (sorry!) is the one who:

·      connects dots

·      takes chances

·      displays creativity

·      overcomes mistakes

·      adapts to the unknown

The chefs who compete on Chopped don't fall back on firm, memorized, tried-and-true recipes. They rely on their culinary school education and past experiences. They possess a deep and broad understanding of how food, spices, and themes go together, or do not. When introduced to the basket contents, the chefs have to form quick strategies, act quickly, and make adjustments on-the-fly.  

Probationary Police Officers (PPOs) also need the above skills and traits, although in an entirely different context.

PPOs have the basics after completing the basic police academy, but have not mastered these skills or traits. Their initial training has been a recipe, beginning with “how to boil water” and ending with a seven-course prime rib dinner. 

There are few recipes, and many times, arriving on the scene of a 9-1-1 call is much like opening the Chopped basket of bizarre, undesirable ingredients.

 It is during field training that the PPOs “Chopped” experience begins. The Field Training Officer (FTO) is the master chef providing additional guidance to the sous chef. It's taking the basics of the police academy and applying them in the real world, non-linear environment of law enforcement. There are few recipes, and many times, arriving on the scene of a 9-1-1 call is much like opening the Chopped basket of bizarre, undesirable ingredients.

 Training the PPO for the Chopped basket of law enforcement includes:

 Connect Dots

 Dots are the important "stuff" (technical FTO term). Stuff is the knowledge PPOs are given in the academy. Turning it into learning is a different story. In order to connect the dots that the trainee acquired in the academy, s/he has to experience either actual real-life incidents or at least scenario based drills.

 Here's the catch: Everybody's dots connect in a different pattern. If you are an FTO who insists on everything being done exactly your way, you are part of the problem. Not only do you limit your trainees’ development (and frustrate them), you limit your own development.

Take Chances

 Early in training the PPO may “play it safe.” Some will naturally evolve, while others might need a push. When the FTO continually makes decisions or takes over when the PPO stalls, PPOs will stall on purpose and let the FTO dice the tomatoes. FTOs should force the PPO to make a decision and NOT let the PPO off the hook.

Display Creativity

 When given opportunity, does the PPO come up with a solution that you, the FTO, may not have considered? Do you allow the trainee's solution to be implemented, or do you dismiss it? Allowing and accepting creativity is a mindset the FTO must adopt. It feeds directly into overcoming mistakes and being adaptive. Here’s a hint: If it sounds remotely reasonable, go with the trainee’s solution.

Overcome Mistakes

 In an early blog post, I wrote about making mistakes and how mistakes are viewed as the worst thing that can happen in law enforcement. If you are a perfectionist, you are in the wrong line of work! Adults learn by doing and learn best from making mistakes. Mistakes are an opportunity to create new knowledge; don't waste the opportunity.

 Adapt to the Unknown

 Here, the four prior points intersect. Don’t tell your trainee what to think. Developing an adaptive mindset in the PPO teaches them how to think.  Many calls in the law enforcement environment are non-linear; they unfold in a variety of predictable and unpredictable ways. The historical, traditional recipe book used to solve these problems is policy or training…a mostly linear method. Sometimes the real-life solution lays outside the guidelines or recipe book. Let's put it another way: the PPO decides to use chili powder instead of the cayenne pepper that was called for in the recipe book. The flavor is still there, it's still a great dish, but more people can enjoy it because it doesn't hurt to eat it.

The complex world of policing is similar to opening the basket in the final round of Chopped. Police officers have to figure out how to use green onions, sardines, and tofu to make dessert. But by using what they know, providing them with what they need to know, and giving them opportunities to make mistakes, and learn from errors, success is attainable. That final round basket may prove difficult, but the trainee will be able to compete, make a winning dish. And not get chopped.

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Thom Dworak is an Instructor + Content Provider for The Virtus Group Inc. Thom’s signature course is The Adaptive FTO, a field training method that combines Emotional Intelligence, Lawful and Ethical Decision Making, Critical Thinking and a millennial-proof feedback model. For more information about or to host The Adaptive FTO, email [email protected] Follow Thom on twitter @dworakt.