When you speak to trainers and discuss potential changes to enhance the way we design and deliver training, very often the first response is some version of the following statements, “That will never work. We could never do that. The brass would never buy in to that. Our officers would never go along with that.”
What if instead of shutting the idea down we asked the questions, “What if it could work? What would it look like and how would we implement it over time?”
What if instead of trying to jam 3 to 5 years of policing experience and knowledge into a 4-to-6-month academy we looked at training as a daily, career long endeavor?
What if we embraced micro dosed training and trained 10 minutes a day, every day that we worked?
What if in addition to the 10 minutes a day of training we also did a one-hour training session once a week?
What if in addition to 10 minutes a day, and one hour a week, we did one 8-hour training day every month?
What if we trained all our FTOs how to deliver 10 minute and one hour training sessions on their shift?
What if we trained all our frontline supervisors how to deliver 10 minute and one hour training session on their shift?
What if we trained leadership skills in the academy, reinforced them during the FTO phase and then made leadership training a regular part of training throughout people’s careers?
What if we grew the tribe of trainers beyond the formal training cadre, the FTOs and the frontline supervisors, and tapped into the skills and talents of people throughout the agency, included 9-1-1 Professionals and the professional non-sworn staff, to help build and deliver 10 minute, and one hour training sessions?
What if we were to look at training as a long game, the Infinite Game?
What if we started small and continued to build a true learning organization over time?
What if we could do it? What would it look like? Where could we do right now to start the process?
Just imagine what you could build if you asked different questions, then took action.
Take care.
Brian Willis
Winning Mind Training – Providing practical training to law enforcement professionals in the areas of instructor development, Performance Enhancement Imagery, leadership, and mindset.
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