For my latest premium podcast episode, I discuss the value of gratitude. Gratitude is all about recognising and appreciating the positive aspects of life. It is essentially a function of how we choose to live life.
“I still can’t stop smiling as I write this but today I have just been informed I was successful in the inspector process.” – Mark
You can experience gratitude for someone or something at a certain moment in time, or experience it over the longer term as a positive character trait. It’s a similar emotion to appreciation. Not only does it improve your wellbeing, but it can also be a valuable aspect of how you approach promotion and wider career ambitions.
Count Your Blessings
“People who are thanked are presumably more apt to extend help to others in the future.” – PositivePsychology.com
This new episode is number 12 in this Year of the Snake (Season 5), of my popular Police Promotion and Leadership podcast. I provide a free sample and embed the full podcast itself below.
S5E12 is a more philosophical and introspective podcast, but relates intrinsically to the CVF; especially the competency ‘We Are Emotionally Aware’. It also links to the wider promotion framework, expected leadership behaviours, and I also discuss how you can use it effectively to transform your mindset and approach when aspiring to promotion.
Indeed, the quote at the start of this blog is from a recent email sent by a customer. On discovering he was being promoted from Sergeant to Inspector, Mark was kind enough to take a moment to share his great news. I appreciated him doing that. It felt good. It lifted my whole day, a good day for both of us. I smiled too, with gratitude and appreciation, as I do when I learn of all my customers’ successes.
It also made me reflect, recalling my own joy and elation on receiving ‘the call’, notifying me of success in my own Sergeant and Inspector promotion processes many moons ago. I recall ringing my wife first to let her know, followed immediately by informing two Detective Sergeants.
I was intensely grateful to these two DSs. Both mentored and supported me with my promotion aspirations, shaping my own leadership approach. No nonsense types, old fashioned, sticklers for standards, hard shells on the outside, but kind natured and generous with their time.
I remain immensely thankful for their accessibility and mentorship. My promotions were a reflection on their tips, guidance and bespoke support. Although both are now deceased, I consider it a blessing to have known them. Their legacy lives on, for which I am deeply grateful.
On achieving promotion, certainly to Sergeant, I ‘stood on their shoulders’ and those of others, as I learned and developed as a new supervisor, manager and aspiring leader. During those early days as I learned the ropes, they remained accessible for my questions. They also took a genuine interest from a distance, offering words of encouragement. Occasionally encompassing some ‘unvarnished’ feedback over a cuppa (I didn’t get everything right!). My heart fills with gratitude as I reflect on this, and as I count my blessings.
An Attitude of Gratitude
“Gratitude helps us see what is there instead of what isn’t.” – Anette Bridges
An attitude of gratitude is a choice. Well, it’s mostly choice, but context also matters. Gratitude can be harder to access in some circumstances, such as when experiencing poor mental health or trauma. But otherwise, it’s part of a wider mindset shaped by intentional focus on what’s good in life, rather than what’s lacking. And anyone can do that.
It takes practice. Indeed ‘practicing’ gratitude is worth the effort. Choosing to notice kind gestures such as above can rewire your perspective over time. Regardless of whether you are sceptical of such a ‘positive mindset’ approach to life, the bottom line is it works. It also helps build resilience for when you will inevitably face tougher times in future.
I recall joining the Royal Marines as a teenager, before my policing career. I feel immense gratitude for the physical and mental resilience that initial training introduced me to. It connected me to what I was capable of when pushing those limits, and the wider ethos of the Corps of “cheerfulness in the face of adversity”. It served me well through my subsequent policing career and in life generally.
Since retiring as a Detective Inspector, I now support aspiring police officers as a promotion coach and mentor. This keeps my perspective and personal outlook on life connected to appreciation and gratitude. I’m privileged and grateful to work with individuals who want to maximise their potential, often despite the presence of dementors. People prepared to work hard to prepare and develop themselves for promotion opportunities, whatever they look like!
And when they succeed in competitive selection processes, many are kind enough to offer feedback and comments as a means of expressing their gratitude. This means I’m never far away from experiencing or feeling gratitude.
It’s also hugely infectious. Others feel gratitude when you give them meaningful feedback as a leader. Rank Success too is essentially fuelled on and by gratitude. A regular flow of feedback and positive results translates into feelings of thankfulness and well-being. Here’s a quick snapshot of what gratitude can look, sound and feel like. This is why I love what I do…
“I’m so happy to say I was successful! I bought your Inspector Masterclass bundle to help me with the Inspector selection process, it really helped move my thinking & evidence up a notch from last time I tried. Money well spent. Thank you for putting it together & the free blogs/videos too.” – Lucy
“I’m currently on top of the world. Out of 124 PC’s to get to the interview stage I’m 1 of only 23 that got promoted! I spent plenty of time studying, revising and preparing for my SGT interview board… this showed me how to focus my answers to prevent a scatter gun effect but also introduced me to many areas I hadn’t considered such as revision tips, key reading, how to present myself and speak to be heard with enthusiasm and passion. I smashed my 1st promotion process 1st time.” – Nick
“I’m grateful for the support and guidance I received throughout my promotion journey. The one-to-one coaching sessions were incredibly helpful, giving me clear direction, helping me focus on what really mattered at each stage of the process. The digital toolkit and reading materials were also a huge help – well-structured, easy to follow, and packed with practical advice. I found myself going back to them regularly to stay on track. What I appreciated most was Steve’s straightforward and encouraging approach. He has a way of explaining things that makes them click (illustrative speaking) and his feedback was always clear, constructive, and tailored to my specific needs. In terms of value for money, it’s hard to fault. The level of insight, the quality of the resources, and the focused one-to-one sessions made a real difference. I’d absolutely recommend Rank Success to anyone preparing for promotion. Steve’s support not only helped me navigate the process confidently, I walked into my board prepared and confident, I also improved my overall approach and mindset as a police leader.” – Mark
How you live, and where you direct your own attention shapes how much gratitude you feel.
This episode takes a deeper dive into the value of gratitude generally, but also in the context of progressing your career along the promotion pathway. I allude to ways to practice and cultivate gratitude, including simply writing down each day things in your life, for which you are thankful or grateful. Try it and see how it makes you feel.
I also go deeper, sharing aspects of my own life in this podcast, for which I feel lucky, grateful and privileged, even including aspects of the wider circle of life and death. I include historic perspectives on what was known millennia ago about gratitude, its link to feelings of well-being, how it can reduce stress and more.
Gratitude is not negating genuine hardships or circumstances in life that exist, rather it is deciding to ‘weigh the good’ more heavily. There’s food for thought and reflection in this episode on how developing an attitude of gratitude can support your life, but more immediately your effective preparation for a promotion opportunity. I hope you find it useful.
For more free information on the subject of gratitude generally, check out this helpful article and suite of resources: Why is Gratitude So Important? I’ll leave you with the following take-home message from the article…
“Someone could have everything and still feel like they have nothing. Someone could have nothing but still be happy with what they have.”
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 and CVF explainers. 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.