Happy New Year! As 2023 passes and 2024 emerges, I reflect on some more of the top free content Rank Success has published for aspiring officers this year.
With the best free police promotion content in the UK, I added no less than 26 in-depth podcasts this year to my extensive back catalogue. That’s hours of meaningful leadership development, wherever you are in your promotion journey and however you listen! These included interviews with Chief Officers, discussions around neurodiversity, exams, promotion processes, and much more.
I also published 29 meaningful blogs and 70 more videos to support your thinking during 2023, if you aspire to police leadership positions. If this free content has helped you, please pass the ladder down and share it with others. I’m usually up daily from 5am, powered by coffee and inspiration so you if you experience a lightbulb moment or aha moment whilst reading, listening or watching, you might also consider contributing to keep the coffee (and free content) flowing.
Of course, like many officers you can choose to hit the ground running and invest in yourself today by utilising my tried and tested Masterclass and premium downloadable toolkits. These give structured and detailed support, aligned to each element of the process. They are particularly helpful if you’re under time pressure and need bespoke resources to support effective preparation ahead of a deadline.
Before I summarise and link to the top 3 podcasts, I’d like to share some highlights from the show this year…
2023 Podcast Highlights…
“Wisdom is the reward you get for listening, when you’d have preferred to talk.” – Doug Larson
In 2023, my Police Promotion and Leadership podcast was listened to in 29 countries. Canada was one country with a flurry of new listeners, also with listeners in almost all states of the USA. This tried, tested, and transferable content has even supported officers to succeed down under! Naturally, well over 90% of the thousands of listeners were in the UK.
If you’ve got something interesting to say on policing and/or leadership, get in touch with me to arrange an interview. Likewise, if you’d like to hear more from your Chief Officers or any inspirational leaders you know, I’m always happy to share my platform to promote a diverse range of perspectives in policing!
To help fund costs of this free and valuable resource for officers, I’m open to appropriate advertisers looking to reach lots of police listeners. Again, please get in touch if you’re interested in this opportunity or know of anyone who is.
The most listened to podcast in 2023 was Episode 1.1, ‘Going for Promotion’! So while many officers newly discovered my podcast in 2023, the favoured approach was to start afresh. Certainly not a bad shout to start devouring all this free support, while on a commute to work or run in the park. I listen to lots of podcasts myself especially out on long walks early morning and once I find one that resonates, I often commit to listening from the start to see what I’ve missed!
Wherever you begin, and however you choose listen, here’s the top three most listened to episodes published during 2023…
“Steve, I bought your mega bundle in August & found out last Monday I’d passed the Inspectors process. 41 successful candidates out of 215! Your inputs are so helpful in getting your mindset ready for the process. I found all your material invaluable, from your podcasts to your blogs & your promotion masterclass video was just what I needed to get my interview structure spot on. Thank you!” – Neata
S3E2 Interview with Chief Constable Chris Noble
In February 2023, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chris Noble, Chief Constable of Staffordshire Police.
Chris kindly set a couple of hours aside from his busy schedule to share incredible insights about police promotion and leadership. You won’t regret listening to this quality content, especially if you’re aspiring to Sergeant, Inspector, or higher ranks in policing.
I asked him a range of questions on policing and leadership, to which his responses are insightful and fascinating. There’s tons of insight and lessons here for aspiring police leaders everywhere, whether seeking promotion or lateral career development.
He also shares his perspectives on controversial police topics including Performance Development Reviews (PDRs), his expectations of leaders, why Staffordshire decided to choose bespoke CVF values, the more strategic ranks of Inspector, Chief Inspector, and beyond, with advice for those officers seeking promotion, and much more!
S3E10 Sergeant to Inspector Promotion: Honest Insights
S3E10 was another popular podcast. Here, I looked at some comprehensive feedback from a successful Inspector candidate and debrief. This was his 5th attempt, demonstrating the sheer drive and ambition required to achieve promotions. Believe it or not, I’ve encountered officers failing a selection process even more times than this; one individual failed over 10 times, before eventually seeking support in this case from Rank Success!
In the initial part of the podcast, I disclose feedback where the individual shares many insights into their eventual success, what was different this time, and how Rank Success was at the heart of that. I then expand upon the wider learning for all aspiring officers. This included debriefing some aspects relating to the challenging process, reviewing the Inspector’s role, among several other insights that I believe aspiring Sergeants in particular will find useful.
If you’ve previously been unsuccessful on your promotion board or application, these insights will help ensure the odds of success are improved and 2024 is a better year for you!
S2E26 A Super-Briefing on Promotion
I actually published the last episode of Season 2 on 1 January 2023, to kickstart your new year with a super-briefing on promotion. As a heads up, I will continue with Season 4 of this popular podcast. Commencing in February, as usual I align them to the Chinese New Year. As such, 2024 will be the Year of the Dragon, with some fiery new content coming your way!
In this popular episode I covered gap assessments, smart goal-setting, preparation, and much more. Recorded in my little conservatory, you may just hear a hint of background noise and the rain!
I also discuss my refreshed Interview Success eGuide and Sergeant’s example evidence guide, both of which are available via my website. You can go further with your personal comprehensive super briefing, by downloading my complete suite of materials.
More Podcasts Coming in 2024…
I hope you have enjoyed this short look back at some of the top free police promotion content in 2023. For all my podcasts, you can find me on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and so on, or simply ask your Alexa or other smart device “Play the Rank Success Police podcast”.
It’s been nearly 3 years of podcasting, with over 70 episodes and dozens of hours of meaningful content for busy, aspiring cops. I look forward to providing more great content for you in 2024, with a new season coming next month. Can you guess the theme?
Until then, I wish you every success for this new year and feel free to get in touch for targeted support along the way. See also my top 5 blogs for a further recap on important content to support your promotion journey.
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.