If you are aiming for promotion in the new year, this one’s for you! While the Hunger Games popular film series has recently made a resurgence at the box office again, promotion through the police leadership ranks can feel just as brutal to candidates!
While promotion isn’t quite the same fight to the death, the competition is strong and you’ll be pitted against many others in the promotion selection process. Skills and endurance are required to survive against the obstacles placed before you, and be the one who prevails in your district.
In the infamous words of President Snow, this blog explains how to keep the odds ‘ever in your favour’. I’ll be using lots of quotes along the way to emphasise the key points…
May the odds be ever in your favour…
“May the odds be ever in your favour.” – President Snow, The Hunger Games
If you aim to prevail in a promotion selection process you’ll definitely be facing stiff competition. The brutality is summed up in President Snow’s morbid “well wishes” to the tributes who compete in the dystopian films from his Ivory Towers at the Capitol: “May the odds be ever in your favour.”
Many officers may feel their Chief Officer announcement of the ‘Promotion Games’ competition from HQ sounds just as ominous! Similar to The Hunger Games, the scary part for most is the competition.
Drew Carey hits the bullseye on why competition matters:
“Some people don’t like competition because it makes them work harder, better.”
A quick reality check reveals an extra 5,000 constables qualified for promotion to Sergeant this year alone across England and Wales. That’s on top of Inspectors and all those who qualified previously and already in the eligible ‘pool’ of officers. That’s hundreds of officers for each force, and several thousand in the Met Police. They earned their ticket by passed the National Police Promotion Framework (NPPF) Stage 2 Legal Exam, so can now enter ‘the battle’ on behalf of their districts.
And get this, the College of Policing have also announced the exam dates for 2024, whereby more cohorts will qualify for promotion. There’s now two opportunities for each rank:
- SERGEANT: 12-14 March and 1-3 October
- INSPECTOR: 12-16 May and 5-7 November
That’s aside from those in forces trialling the new SIPP promotion process next year. If similar numbers are successful (and candidates now have two attempts each year at the exam), thousands more will take their seats in the room with a queue.
From this point on, it’s a case of Act or Accept. If you accept, you start shuffling slowly but surely towards the last chance saloon! Your five-year deadline to convert your exam pass is almost up, and you’re still sat there wondering how that ever happened. More importantly, the odds of promotion success are no longer in your favour. Ouch!
Take a moment, look around. Reflect. Thousands upon thousands of enthusiastic, determined, ambitious colleagues all keen to convert their leadership aspiration into substantive promotion. That’s an achievement in itself; getting to this point reflects discipline and focus… up to this point.
Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant offers a reminder for us from this point onwards:
“It’s not the will to win that matters, everyone has that. It’s the will to prepare to win that matters.”
After all your effort to get that exam under your belt, ask yourself “do I maintain traction and forward momentum?” Because you are not home and dry yet, not by a long shot. But this is exactly the point many officers choose to rest on their laurels, bask in the glory of their hard-won exam success, then sit tight and wait for their in-force games to be announced.
What you do from this point on affects the odds of your success in the next stage of a promotion selection process. Having the will to prepare to win matters more than ever from here on in. Following an intense period of study you may not be in a decision making or taking action mindset. So Amelia Earhart’s take on this might be helpful:
“The most difficult thing is the decision to act, the rest is merely tenacity.”
Odds are, you’ve arrived at a key decision point. Mark time, take the exam win and procrastinate? After all you have 5 years before the final countdown!
Or do you decide to act, dig in, maintain that momentum into the future you want?
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome
“Bet on yourself. Tune out the noise.” – Dr Julie Gurner
In coaching conversations, I’ve heard promotion boards described as feeling “like you are on trial for your life.” It’s powerful communication, alluding to uncertainty.
But it’s not actually the Hunger Games and no one dies in promotion selection processes. That said, there is real competition, which adds some stress. But once you realise the only competition is yourself, you can improvise, adapt and overcome issues or limitations that might otherwise hold you back.
Here’s that Drew Carey thought again, worth mentioning a second time:
“Some people don’t like competition because it makes them work harder, better.”
There are various iterations of promotion selection processes across forces at any one time. There’s also the perennial Promotion Whinge Fest in UK policing too. These are the chosen games of the unsuccessful, frustrated and sometimes angry cohorts. They’re willing to waste their precious time trumpeting why promotion is unfair and are willing to drag you down with them if you listen.
“Don’t wish it was easier, wish you were better.” – Jim Rohn
Wishing won’t help, but taking action improves the odds in your favour. It’s like carrying your own little mockingjay lucky charm with you into the ‘battlefield’…
Competition
“Competition exists to choose who gets the prize when the prize can’t be shared.” – Andrew Harvey
Promotion is a competition. There, I said it! It’s almost as if everyone in policing deliberately or unwittingly overlooks this fact. Andrew Harvey’s quote above alludes to another reality check…YOU must raise your game. While completing the legal exam, you must hit a reasonable score benchmark and that’s it. For the competitive process, you have to score well and be ahead of others who have scored well.
75% of candidates are unsuccessful, so it can be and often seems brutal. From paper sifts to presentations, briefings and interview panels, selection processes are all contrived. Whether Einstein ever said this or not, you get the message:
“You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.”
When promotion panels decide to promote some officers, not others, it’s not personal, it’s strictly business. Yet it can feel very personal indeed.
There is no Holy Grail of selection process, otherwise you’d know about it. So to enhance the odds of you succeeding, I encourage you to start TODAY on your own approach. Make 2024 productive from the outset. How will you improvise, adapt and overcome barriers to prevail and succeed in this career progression challenge?
Well, it’s something Rank Success can help you with. I’ve been where you are. I’ve also supported thousands of aspiring officers in setting themselves apart, to succeed and overcome ‘despite the odds’, and importantly, adopt an optimistic outlook as they do so. Why?
“Pessimists calculate the odds. Optimists believe they can overcome them”– Ted Koppel
One great question to ask yourself right now is “How can I enhance my chances of success?” Another is “What works?” Both are worth reflecting on and thinking through properly as part of effective preparation.
Many newly promoted Sergeants, Inspectors and Chief Inspectors were once exactly where you are. The odds of success can be daunting, especially when the volume of candidates far exceeds positions available. Ergo, competition… especially in larger forces.
I encourage you as an aspiring officers to completely ignore this. It’s an irrelevance because there’s nothing you can do about it! But there’s lots you can do to improve your odds. Aim to come first place for a start– that’s a whole mindset.
Odds On for Success…
With that in mind, here’s a small snapshot of newly promoted customers who intentionally improved the odds in their favour and were then kind enough to share their great news in their own words. You may pick up insights and/or reassurance from their experience to support your thinking, approach and decision making.
“I was successful in getting through my Inspector board 1st attempt. In fact, I scored maximum marks of 20/20 in my presentation/board, so it couldn’t have gone any better! A lot of very talented colleagues didn’t get through!” – Jamie
“News at last… 400 successful applicants through to assessment centre stage for 70 Sergeant vacancies & I was successful! I’m delighted & relieved!”- Ash
“I passed the College of Policing fast track process. Just 6 from my force passed… from 165 original applicants!”
“I passed the Ch Insp process joint highest score! Your content was invaluable”- Phil
“After an online assessment, an interview, presentation and a briefing exercise, I’ve made the grade for promotion, waiting for my posting!”- James, new Sergeant
“I bought your mega bundle and found out I’d passed the Inspectors process. 41 successful candidates out of 215. I found your material invaluable, your Masterclass was just what I needed to get my interview structure spot on.” – Neata
“Out of 124 PC’s to get to the interview stage, I’m 1 of only 23 that got promoted!” – Nick
“I applied for a temporary Detective Inspector post along with 20 highly qualified and experienced colleagues. This was a very competitive process but the preparation work I did resulted in me coming top!” – Mike
“It’s not really sunk in yet! Your digital guides were so helpful in understanding the process. I honestly couldn’t have done it without them. I was successful in my first board for promotion to Sergeant. This is no mean feat, competition was tough.” – Ian
This year the Chief Inspector boards were announced, I got the digital tool kits & prepped, the way you simplify things really helped me focus. I even re listened to your interview with Lee Freeman on the way to my board yesterday. I went in with my ENAMEL approach & I have been told today I passed! Only 3 passed from 31, thank you sincerely” – Hope
“Just wanted to let you know I’ve been successful in passing my Inspectors board. 54 applicants for 8 posts. Passed 1st time thanks to your Masterclass.” – Ben
“Today I passed my Chief Inspector board (1st time)! I found most benefit in the masterclass video, I’m grateful to you for giving clarity to a process, which is incredibly competitive & brutal…even when you pass!” – Zoe
“Over 120 people applied for 12 Inspector jobs. I passed with flying colours! Thanks Steve.” – Mike
Suffice to say, all of the above had one thing in common: They all decided to invest in themselves and turbocharge their preparation with tried, tested and structured materials. These close knowledge gaps, build confidence and support thinking for effective preparation.
Not only that, their investment is returned within their first new pay packet. The investment in their own leadership CPD in this way is further reinforced, because the bespoke materials also help them understand, transition effectively into, and perform well in the new role when successful having committed to meaningful development.
What are the odds of that?
In possession of a well-earned exam pass, your next step is your ‘in force’ selection process, or local Hunger Games if you like. Whatever tests this NPPF Step 3 puts you through, Allan Dare Pearce offers a thinking perspective:
“Tests ain’t fair. Those that study have an unfair advantage. It’s always been that way.”
Conan O’Brien offers another:
“I like being tested. I get as scared as anyone. But the feeling of putting yourself on the line, betting on your talent and having it work; that’s the most exhilarating feeling in the world.”
The future of promotion is apparently due to change, with the College of Policing trialling a new Sergeant and Inspector Promotion and Progression process (SIPP) from 2024. However, this is a proposal only and relates to a small number of pilot forces. Any changes if agreed, will not be implemented more widely for another few years. Either way, now is the time to prepare.
A Winning Mindset for 2024?
So, given the odds, will you bet on yourself? Let’s call that a mindset. It’s one way to take control of your life and create the future you want. It does require confidence, risk-taking, and overcoming any fear of failure. But it’s worth it, because this leads to personal growth, empowerment, and of course there’s the salary increase and pay progression to help in this cost-of-living crisis.
You may have to fight to prevail in your local force Hunger Games, or indeed the Fast Track games, but Sun Tzu offers wisdom on this in The Art of War:
“Every battle is won or lost before it’s ever fought”.
This implies information is never 100% certain and decisions can never be made on precise calculations; which all sounds a bit like going for promotion!
Sun Tzu also said that “Intelligence or the lack of it, determines the probability of success.”
There’s no lack of intelligence briefings or detailed information resources at Rank Success. It’s like having your very own ‘sponsors’ in your corner and giving you an unfair advantage to help defeat the competition.
On that note, I’ll bid you farewell and now you know how, leave you with the thought to “MAKE the odds be ever in your favour” for 2024!
Kind Regards, Steve
Want to go further right now? Hit the ground running with your promotion preparation. Get your personal digital promotion toolkit, and/or my Police Promotion Masterclass. You can also contact me to arrange personal coaching support. If you first want to explore completely free content, I have a collection of videos, eGuides, a podcast.
