Last week I wrote about three myths – The 10,000 Hour Rule, 3,000 to 5,000 Repetitions and Muscle Memory. This week I will address two additional myths I continue to read in articles and hear about in presentations and podcast interviews.  Perfect Practice Makes Perfect – If we want to make the most out of practice then there has to be some struggle, some friction, some mistakes from pushing to the outer edges of our skill level, followed by reflection and inherent (internal) and / or augmented (external) feedback. If you are trying to be perfect in practice then you are … [Read more...]

There are a number of myths regarding teaching, training and learning that have been around for years and just won’t seem to go away. In some cases it is simply a matter of, “you don’t know what you don’t know”. You have heard some of these terms and references for years and in some cases from some highly educated and credentialed individuals. You have even read them in books written by some smart people. You may even have been taught these in some of your instructor certification and instructor development courses. I will address three of the most common myths this week and an additional two … [Read more...]

If you are making your own videos to use in your training or making marketing videos for your training or product pay attention to the details in the video.  This is a lesson we learned years ago in my former agency. We had a great in-house video unit who continually won LEVA awards for the videos they produced. They made sure they got our input on scripts for training videos they were going to make, but we quickly learned we needed to have members of our unit there during filming and whenever possible ensured they were using instructors to play the police roles in the … [Read more...]

Last week I wrote about the reality that if you want a professional organization you have to invest in your training and your trainers. I want to expand on the topic of investing in the professional development of your trainers. Most agencies have new instructors attend some form of Instructor Development course. Instructor Development courses however, vary greatly in the quality of the material presented. Some have not updated the curriculum in years. Some provide a lot of theory with limited understanding of the real world application of that theory (Imagined work versus … [Read more...]

There are still too many agencies that think of training as a necessary evil, a tool to allow them to meet the mandated minimum standards. There are still too many agencies that see training as an expense, not an investment. There are still too many agencies that think minimum training standards are the goal instead of the starting point. There are still too many agencies that fail to understand the importance of training in shaping culture and developing and sustaining a professional law enforcement agency. There are still too many agencies that fail to realize the critical role … [Read more...]

Most agencies have stringent hiring practices to ensure they hire the best people. You look for specific character traits and qualities in the people applying for your agency. You seek out people with strong moral character whose values align with your agency’s. You hire people with diverse backgrounds, experiences, education and upbringings. You hire good people, understanding that not all the good people you hire will be a good fit for the profession or for your organization. If the entire recruiting and hiring practice is focused on hiring the right people, then why do some … [Read more...]

I recently had the please of interviewing Gabrielle Salfati PhD on the topic of Stress, Burnout and Resilience for the Excellence in Training Academy. Near the end of the interview Gabrielle shared that a law enforcement trainer had asked her, “If I could only find 30 minutes in the syllabus to teach this, what would you recommend I teach?” This is a common question, and one that I believe we need to rethink and reframe.  Instead of trying to “find time” to insert important training into an existing syllabus or training plan, think about where you can weave the training into existing … [Read more...]

Do you think of yourself as a Subject Matter Expert, or a Subject Matter Resource?  One definition of an Expert that, I believe may be problematic for trainers is: One with the special skill or knowledge representing mastery of a particular subject. The word that concerns me in that definition is “Mastery”. I believe mastery is a journey, and not an end state. When you start to think of yourself as a Master, it can be easy to stop doing the work that got you to that level and as a result stop learning and growing.  One definition of Resource is: a source of supply, … [Read more...]

I had a conversation with a law enforcement professional a couple of months ago who was looking for some insights on getting into a career as a speaker and trainer.  I expressed that personally I think the first key is content. You need to develop quality content that will help people overcome challenges and obstacles, reframe negative experiences, improve their wellness, grow and develop skills and talents or achieve their goals. Your content may address more than one of these areas. I shared two key questions from Seth Godin regarding content development: Who is it for?What is it … [Read more...]

Too many of the discussions in law enforcement circles today are still focused on frontloading training and education and then putting officers in a holding pattern for the rest of their careers.  Many of these discussions are hung up on the debate about whether or not to require applicants to have a university or college degree to get hired. Lets focus on hiring the best candidates, the ones who possess the character traits you are looking for, exemplify the values of your organization and are committed to serving their communities as a law enforcement professional. Some of them with … [Read more...]