Decisions for Police Promotions: Past Performance Best Predicts Officers' Future Success

Well, it is time for promotions again. Everyone who has ever been around when this experience occurs knows the score. It is much akin to kids behaving after Thanksgiving to get on Santa’s good list. All the time, Santa recalls how you acted back last July. It is predictable that all are cleaning up their act, productivity increases, and everything gets squeaky clean. Sometimes this is sad to watch, but oftentimes it is a funny time to watch this evolve. 

A wise old commander once told me not to buy in on this new and improved behavior pattern of an officer vying for a promotion. The promotional announcement went out with the timeline of application deadlines, testing, and probably promotional dates, which seemed somewhat lengthy. The old wise one said about the officer in question — “He can’t hold his breath that long.” When I inquired about what he meant, it was clear. He had supervised the officer for most of his career and knew him well. He would behave for a little while, but there will be something to make him resort to his true colors. And the officer did in fact slide back into his old ways and did not make the cut. 

What I gleaned from this event is the statement that — past performance is a predictor for the future. When you are on a promotional board or the chief or sheriff about to make a promotion, you must consider the career and the career path of the person, not just their test score and recent behavior.

In smaller or medium-sized departments, the leadership gets to know their staff far better than in larger agencies. Nevertheless, you should evaluate the career and training files of the candidates. Has their career been one of personal and professional growth? Personal growth on the job is one of accepting new challenges or projects. Community engagement and public event attendance are examples. Any officer who commits to assignments out of their comfort zone of strictly police work and helping at other fronts exhibits personal growth beyond the basic street cop. They are growing as a service-minded professional in making the police experience with the citizens and business more amiable. Additionally, view their training files. There are some who will only go to training when mandated to keep their certifications, nothing more. However, those officers who request training to improve themselves are ones on the path to professional growth. The officer/deputy that has exhibited personal and professional growth traits are those we invest with the future of the department. I was once told to treat every day as a learning experience. Do you have one year’s experience twenty times or are you the twenty-year veteran who has amassed vast experience?

I was cross-examined on a failed lawsuit over a promotional process. The plaintiff was wanting to get promoted on his seniority only. He refused to take the promotional process and play by the rules of the agency. When asked my opinion on seniority only as a measurable qualifier for promotion my reply was — “if you sit in a garage for twenty years, you do not turn into a mechanic nor a Buick.” The federal judge stopped the questioning after that and told counsel that as far as he was concerned the question was answered in his mind. I do not know what possessed me in my off-the-wall remark, but it carried a deeper truth that the judge acknowledged, and the officer lost his case.

So, you have some discipline in your past. Is this a disqualifier?  Usually, no. First of all, have you spent a suitable time in penitence post-discipline? If you were just handed ‘a few days in the street’ (suspension) do not expect to get more stripes, for the time being; just be happy you kept some.

The famous stoic Epictetus wrote, “It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.” Your post-discipline  actions of how you handled adversity is remembered far more than what you actually did. Have you learned from your past errors or are you a repeat offender is the question. I know many chiefs, sheriffs, commanders who have all had discipline and took it as a career-defining moment, accepted it, and never looked back. They accepted the penalty for their misadventure, then they made the proper adjustments within themselves and went forth and had a good career. If someone was told about their missteps, most probably would not believe it. These minor growing pains or career defining experiences can make a believer out of you.

What happens when you are passed over? Things happen, but again, this is like post-discipline. How did you handle the adversity? Depending on your agency, you are probably still on the eligible for promotion list for some time. You never know what will happen next. With the current climate in today’s world, many who have said they were going to stay for a long career are now checking out as soon as they meet the retirement or vesting criteria. So, you have been passed over; be respectful on the outside. If you feel you want to say something that will make you feel better, do not say it. Smile and keep your mouth shut. Idle remarks will find their way back to hurt you. Of course, you are hurt, and if you are getting teased by some, let it go and drive on. 

Promotional times around a department are indeed perilous times at best. It has dissolved friendships, made classmates enemies, and created a lot of undue stress on you. Do not oversell yourself to others; ‘when I get promoted, I am going to do this and that’ rhetoric only will make your recovery harder. Remember the quote by Marcis Aurelius that "You have power over your mind — not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength." Sometimes I feel the promotional process is harder than it should be because we place undue stress on oneself. And if you do get promoted, congratulations. The time to start preparing for the next promotion is tomorrow.