I continue to see people proudly post pictures on LinkedIn (the only social media platform I am on) showing recruits in a police academy all standing at attention, the male recruits all with shaved heads, while “Drill Instructors” are screaming and yelling at these new officers. The photos are often accompanied by a comment on what a great job these “Drill Instructors” are doing.  Why do we think that having police recruits shave their heads and stand at attention on Day 1 of a police academy while police trainers dressed like military drill instructors scream and yell at them and … [Read more...]

"...what matters is not the final destination, but all the interesting things that occur along the way. For wherever you are, there is somewhere further you can go." Tim Ingold Wherever you are in your journey as a trainer, there is somewhere further you can go. There is more to learn, more to do, more to experience. Regardless of how good your current training is, there is somewhere further you can take it.  The first step is to keep your ego in check and be cautious about “5” ratings on the end of course evaluations, and about comments such as, “This is the best training course … [Read more...]

While the benefits of controlled breathing have been talked about for over two decades in law enforcement training, we rarely go beyond talking about it and maybe practicing it a few times in a classroom. The most common breathing pattern taught has been box breathing where you inhale for the count of 4, hold the breath for 4, exhale for 4, hold for 4 and repeat. The research now shows that the cyclic sigh (also known as a physiological sigh) is a more effective breathing pattern than box breathing.  Melis Yilmaz Balban PhD is a Harvard trained neuroscientist with expertise in the … [Read more...]

One of the three guiding principles in the Excellence in Training philosophy is, “It is not about you.” This is also part of the Dare to Be Great Leadership workshops. The message is that as a leader, coach, trainer, or mentor it cannot be about you. It must be about the people you have the privilege and honor of teaching, coaching, mentoring and leading. Some trainers get this right away and for others it takes time to learn this important lesson.  In an episode of The Unfair Advantage podcast host Alex Auerbach asked his guest Dan Abrahams this question at the end of the interview, “If … [Read more...]

I have posted on several occasions about the issue of requiring post-secondary education to get hired in law enforcement the last one being, “Some thoughts on the calls for better educated cops.”. I have made it very clear that I am against this arbitrary standard, which is not supported by research, for a variety of reasons. I am now seeing agencies who are dropping this requirement being accused of “lowering standards”, and agencies who had added it claiming they are “raising standards”.  If agencies strongly believe that post-secondary education helps to develop better critical thinkers, … [Read more...]