Christmas now seems so long ago! But just before the break, I travelled to Nottinghamshire to meet Inspector Jerone Taylor for another inspiring police leadership interview. This is another fantastic and free interview; a gift for you available on my Rank Success Police Promotion and Leadership Podcast.
This conversation will be of particular interest for aspiring promotion candidates, but also to people outside of policing, including perhaps anyone who would like to join. Now a reasonably senior officer with leadership responsibility for police custody centres in Nottingham, Jerone kindly shares insights from his career experience in different forces and his promotion journey to date.
We discuss promotion processes, neurodiversity, relevant CPD, his personal approach to leadership development, Jerone’s role in the Black Police Association, challenges faced in promotion, and much more. This includes some serious focus by Jerone over the past few years applying himself to pass both legal exams and using Rank Success materials to pass two promotion selection processes to achieve Sergeant and then most recently, Inspector rank.
It’s a transparent, open conversation. Jerone shares some of the highs and lows in his policing career, yet ultimately triumphing. The success came as a result of his strong work ethic, self-belief and personal resilience to become a role model for others to follow. Listen below and hear my array of other podcast interviews here.
Defining Moments
“On the other side of a storm is the strength that comes from having navigated through it. Raise your sail and begin.” – Gregory S. Williams
Jerone says a “defining moment” was being diagnosed in police training with dyslexia. This was not all good news as he explains. Neurodiversity is better understood, accepted and increasingly accommodated in policing, for example reasonable adjustments include extra time for promotion exams and processes. Whilst these helped him recently, Jerone alludes to low points but also receiving encouragement by a senior officer to consider promotion.
I personally find Jerone’s story inspiring and I believe you will too. His personal resilience is impressive and his persistent quiet determination to succeed is apparent, together with a positive and upbeat attitude.
“In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer.” – Albert Camus
Stories of Success…
I offer my platform for anyone in policing to overtly share stories, experiences, leadership tips, advice and guidance. The podcast also encompasses free leadership interviews with serving chief officers and former senior police leaders.
I’ve also found some officers are happy to provide insights from their own policing careers, to inform and support others to progress through the ranks, develop laterally or simply to offer valuable perspectives. Examples include:
Liz – Sergeant to Inspector: A case study.
Neurodivergence and Police Promotion: Becky’s Story.
And Jerone is now a further example of support for colleagues through sharing his story. I first spoke to Jerone whilst he was starting to prepare for his force Inspector selection process. He had already used my Sergeant digital toolkit to support him in successfully securing his first promotion and was now looking to step up to Inspector.
In between shifts we spoke on the phone, as I like to make sure I’m contactable on my mobile for those wanting support. One thing I clearly recall were Jerone’s children energetically playing in the background and us communicating in any gaps!
That’s not an unusual occurrence; I often speak with busy cops trying to prepare for promotion opportunities around child care, shift work and life. I’ve been there myself when my own kids were ankle biters. Some officers are out walking the dog when they call or maybe on the commute to work. Either way I’m always happy to chat (07581 299532).
I started Rank Success precisely to help level the playing field when it comes to promotion success. Having helped countless candidates nail their promotion through the federated ranks and beyond, I know the catalyst for effective preparation is often a supportive conversation.
Of course, just as Jerone did with his approach ahead of his Sergeant board, the option also exists for you to simply hit the ground running, by downloading your own rank-specific promotion toolkit.
Challenges and Diversity
Jerone is Vice Chair of the Black Police Association (BPA) and over the last 18+ years he has been passionately involved in the work of the BPA. Part of this includes supporting other officers going through difficulties in their career, using his experience to offer support via phone conversations, personal meetings and representing colleagues in organisational forums. In this role, the main priorities are recruitment, retention and progression of black and minority ethnic (BME) officers.
The BPA also supports officers going through stressful challenges, such as professional standards investigations or who are subject to development plans. He says this is a challenging role which he doesn’t get additional time for, but he does receive strong support from the Chief Constable and via meetings with department heads to communicate and address issues raised by members.
I ask Jerone about specific challenges, problems and issues around the priorities of recruitment and retention. He offers valuable insights into how policing might be more welcoming to BME officers once recruited and to aid in retention. If you are seriously considering and aspiring to a formal leadership role in policing, I encourage you to listen as Jerone recounts memories and experiences a black police officer. He shares that in his force he is the only black Inspector.
He makes the observation that whilst things might be improving, there is much more to be done in order to be able to see ‘where the next Jerone Taylor’ is coming from. It is difficult to argue against that, along with the apparent glacial progress concerning some of the issues he and the BPA are seeking to improve.
I am grateful to Jerone for sharing his career insights and extend my thanks once again for making the time to record this podcast. These have been just some snippets to give you a flavour of the discussion; there’s far more over the 45 minutes to through his interesting story of recent promotion through the Federated ranks. I encourage you to take a listen and I hope you enjoy the episode.
Kind Regards, Steve
Seeking police promotion? Want a MASSIVE head start right now? Hit the ground running with your personal digital promotion toolkit, and/or my market-leading Police Promotion Masterclass. There’s nothing else like it to effectively prepare you for success in your leadership aspirations. You can also contact me to arrange more personal coaching support. Or try my podcast for your ongoing police leadership CPD covering a range of fascinating subjects.
