My Answer for Law Enforcement

After 20 years of law enforcement and a decade of looking for a solution to the ills of the profession I feel like I have finally found the closest thing there is to simple solution.? It makes sense as well when you consider the culture.? Leaders need to consider where we are and how we get out of this.

WHAT YOU WANT

You want to help officers with mental wellness issues that are obvious to everyone.? Not only do you want to help those dealing with deep issues like suicide and crippling addiction but also those who just are not thriving because of the things weighing on them day by day.? You want to provide them with balance in work and life where they can have happy relationships with spouses and family.? You want them to serve their community for a career and then leave the agency with plenty left to enjoy the fruits of their labor in retirement with their loved ones but…

WHAT YOU HAVE

It’s tough out there.? The mental fatigue is real and growing.? EAP has unfortunately been stigmatized to a point where the great resources are not used.? You have tried to change this mindset, but it seems so ingrained.? Officers are helpers and are not comfortable being the ones who receive help.? This can threaten their entire identity and they will fight it right up to the terrible results.? You work hard to bring in additional resources that can help:? Free gym membership for all officers.? A nutritionist will come in every other week to work on your diet and choices.? Days off for those who get regular medical checkups, regularly work out and don’t use tobacco. One click appointments with therapists that are completely confidential. You install early warning intervention systems and leverage technology to help the officers.? They continue having relationship problems leading to separation and divorce.? They continue to physically deteriorate and struggle to make it to retirement in good health.? They continue to “retire on duty” or leave the profession.

WHAT TO DO

What if there was a way that might prevent these bad outcomes?? What if there was a way to get “left of bang” on the timeline to prevent divorce, internal affair incident, loss of life, addiction, health incident, mental health crisis or many of the other unfortunate outcomes?? Would you be interested?? Of course, you would!

The only thing I have seen with this promise is COACHING.? If you have any doubts about that statement, let me make sure you know what coaching is and what it isn’t.? Let’s start with what it isn’t.? It is NOT therapy, training, mentoring, consulting, advising, educating, or consulting.? Leaders in the profession do a good job with training, mentoring, educating and many other things.? What we don’t do in law enforcement is provide real coaching.? Let me repeat this for clarity.? We have not been doing coaching in law enforcement.? When you say, “I coach my subordinates” what you mean is you mentor, advise and train them.? That is necessary but it is different.? Unless you set aside a period of time (an hour) weekly or biweekly to sit with your subordinate one on one with no distractions, without providing your stories or advice, and ask very pointed “what” questions that evokes awareness, reveals blind spots, causes your subordinate to consider things they have never considered before, and empowers her to accept things that must be done for forward progress and improvement, and then commits to the accountability partner (the coach) to do the hard things and then follows through on them… then you have not been coaching.? I don’t blame you.? You don’t have time, and this should be outsourced to experts.

The international Coaching Federations defines coaching as “Partnering with clients in a thought-provoking and creative process that inspires them to maximize their personal and professional potential.”? It is a support service given to executives in the private sector with regularity.? They know coaching works and give their leaders this support rather than waiting to weed out those who lose the company a ton of money or cause embarrassment.? Why allow a bad outcome if you can get left of bang and put the person on a different path where that never comes to be?

WHY IT IS THE SOLUTION

Cops do not want to be the ones needing help.? They don’t want to appear weak or broken.? They don’t want to let their guard down.? They want to be the strong one the community and colleagues can count on.? All the well-meaning resources have been stigmatized.? EAP is not working.? The great efforts of agency leaders to add resources is not working.?

Coaching is acceptable in the culture because coaching is NOT something for broken people. Coaching is for those who have more potential than they are demonstrating.? Coaching is for high potential leaders.? Coaching is for young unproven employees who can become the future.? Coaching is for Chiefs who want to make their agency the best around.? Coaching is for new leaders who want to grow their skills rapidly.? Coaching is for the diamond in the rough who needs to get out of a rut.? The offer of coaching doesn’t say, “you are broken and need help, “rather, the offer of coaching says “You are worth our investment because there is greatness in you.”? THAT is a message the culture will accept.?

COACHING RESULTS

The results are there.? You can look at Tom Brady’s NFL pre-draft shirtless photo and watch his 40-yard dash video (not sure it should be called a dash in this instance). He had untapped potential.? He was not that impressive.? He admits the difference is that he accepted the work done by his multiple coaches to include his mental performance coach.? People who evoked greatness in him and allowed him to see it and believe.? There are so many examples out there and Tom Brady is a great one.

There are also results in law enforcement.? Performance Protocol has been specializing in coaching for law enforcement for only a short time, but the results are what you would expect.? People get better.? People decide they can thrive where they are.? People decide to stay in the profession and to stay in their agency.? People repair and improve relationships with colleagues, leaders and family.? People improve their mental health, their physical health, and their overall mindset.?

MY JOURNEY

I joined Performance Protocol upon retiring from the second-best job in the FBI, running the FBI National Academy Program (first is being an instructor in the program).? I knew the profession needed coaching and got my International Coaching Federation certification during my last 18 months of service so I could coach in retirement.? I was fortunate to find this company that had the same mission and goal of changing the profession for the better.? I gladly came aboard as the Coach Training Director.? Now, I don’t just coach a few chiefs and make a small impact.? I help us bring on hundreds of great coaches so we can make a massive impact.? We have and we will continue to do so.?

You should consider bringing coaching into your agency.? It is the future of law enforcement.?

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