Two of the hardest things to handle in life are success and failure. Both feature in police promotion processes, especially for highly competitive sergeant vacancies and also the more strategic inspecting ranks. Yet each year, vast cohorts of police officers launch their career progression bid only when promotions are advertised.
With 43+ different forces and frequent changes to assessment processes, it can seem like a postcode lottery. It’s also quite an emotional issue for many individuals. Not for the organisation, that’s strictly business!
In this blog, I want to share with you my latest podcast on the magic of coaching, giving you some free key highlights. Listen below and if you’re interested, become a premium subscriber for just £4.99 a month and you might be able to coach yourself to success…
“Few travel far enough along the path of personal or professional development to realise their fuller potential.” – Sir John Whitmore
The Aftermath of Promotion Processes
In the aftermath of a force selection process, there’s often a lot of angry hares around! In many years of supporting cops to achieve promotions, I’ve spoken to quite a lot of angry hares, including recently! They only learn the effective way to prepare once it’s too late.
Compare and contrast those feelings including frustration, anger and disappointment with those expressed by newly promoted Sergeants, Inspectors and Chief Inspectors who were successful in the same process. These are snippets from some of my customers:
- “I’m delighted!”
- “I am over the moon!”
- “I am overjoyed!”
- “I’m on top of the world!”
Is the difference between success and setbacks some kind of magic? What did some do that other candidates didn’t? I believe a significant issue is awareness and inclusion of coaching as part of meaningful support. It’s clear many have not even heard of coaching and it’s availability in the context of effective preparation for promotion opportunities.
It’s a Kind of Magic
“Magic is believing in yourself. If you can do that, you can make anything happen.” – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Few realise it is entirely possible to coach yourself to success. In fact many of my customers do exactly that, using my bespoke digital promotion toolkits to focus in on what matters, raising your awareness while supporting, challenging and provoking wider thinking.
Consider for example the following relevant questions on your promotion board:
- What kind of board experience do I want?
- What impression do I want to leave the panel with?
- What needs to happen for that to be the case?
Tailored personal support is another option some customers also choose as part of promotion. Such preparation builds far more confidence in readiness for the supervisory, leadership or management role you face. Or maybe as part of a considered approach to your ongoing CPD.
But what is coaching exactly? Sir John Whitmore says: “Coaching is unlocking people’s potential to maximise their own performance. It is helping them to learn rather than teaching them.”
What are your thoughts about that? I like the description of a coach as being a ‘thinking partner.’ Listen in for more descriptions and to see if there is one which resonates with you.
Coaching Yourself to Success…
How can coaching help? Here’s an example in the words of an aspiring officer with a growth mindset who decided to incorporate 121 support to gain new insights into the process and himself:
“I will admit I was a bit sceptical about coaching/mentoring and I was not sure what to expect. The positive mindset you kept me in was very good for me. I cannot measure it, but compared to a previous unsuccessful interview, I felt completely different and more relaxed. Let’s just say the ‘lightbulb’ came on when you started giving examples. You should not underestimate how important that was to me. Talking/discussing as we did, made me feel I was not alone in the process. Though I had attempted the Inspector board twice before, you still come into the process on your own and scratching your head. To have someone wanting me to succeed and to discuss issues/topics was a huge benefit and actually made me feel you were keeping me on track, a few people have approached me wanting to know the golden secret to my success on this occasion.”
Is coaching really a golden secret? It sounds magical but Sir John Whitmore conjures a more tangible interpretation of the ‘spell’ affecting aspiring promotion candidates…
“The single universal internal block is unfailingly the same, variously described as fear of failure, lack of confidence, self-doubt and lack of self-belief.”
Like a spell, a coach’s insightful questions can shift mindsets to ‘unblock’ barriers holding you back to create new realities.
“Steve helped me understand the promotion process. I felt lost having failed at my first attempt but with positive, inspiring, coaching I was able to deeply reflect on what really made me a good leader and manager. This gave me the belief and confidence to present my skills and experience effectively (and successfully) during the board. In my previous interview I was tense, unsure and lacking confidence. Having worked with Steve I felt calm and confident, more importantly I felt prepared. One of the things which was most value to me was helping me really sit back and think about the role of the Sergeant and discussion. Secondly to have someone where you can totally open up about your fears, concerns and perceived weaknesses and then come away feeling enthused positive and confident. The 121s gave me the clarity and focus I needed to be successful in a process, which can often leave you feeling uncertain, stressed and struggling to decide how best to prepare and present yourself…helping me to be the best I can be in such a competitive process”
Listen in for more insights and answers to questions including: What does a coach do? How does coaching work? Why does coaching work?
Coaching like magic, involves belief, transformation and the art of making what seems impossible, possible. Coaching is ultimately about you taking action. You can start coaching yourself to promotion success today, right now, by downloading your personal promotion toolkit. Who knows you may even leave the board enchanted!
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.