Mentorship Pays Dividends

June 15, 2021
Done properly, mentorship encourages the officer being trained to surpass the one providing the training.

There is an old maxim that “one teacher can make a difference in a life.” This is a truism of life, for there has always been that one person who offered advice or directed you at a crossroads in your life. The question is: Did you heed their advice then or wait for future applications? Now, are you that man or woman who makes a difference with others? There is the ‘pay it forward’ movement; are you paying it forward with tomorrow’s leaders? Just because you are a Field Training Officer (FTO) or a police instructor does not afford you an affirmative answer. We all know of ‘teachers’ who never taught and trainers who only drew a paycheck. What are you doing to be that pivotal person who has made a distinction in the life or career of someone?

Training Games

Who is coming to dinner? There are several variations of this classroom game or icebreaker. If you could select one person to have lunch with, who would it be? This person could be living or historical, no boundaries. If you could assemble a ‘think tank’ or a team from real-life to historical figures to work on and solve a problem, who would they be and why? I am sure I have missed some other variations of this classroom warm-up. There are various goals from this warm-up exercise. When I have used it, the goal is to see what are the groundworks in the lives of the students. If they select a military leader, maybe they are steeped in military training and history. They are immersed in rules and order. Several students select religious figures, some used it as a classroom testimony of sorts, but they are students of the divine inspiration and charismatic or faith leadership model. Some students may select past politicians or community/political leaders. Here, charismatic returns and past historical performances come to mind to.

However, the student who selects a teacher, parent, coach or real-life person (former supervisor) is the one that I focus on. What the impact was that this ‘life-coach’ made on them is the one that I want to hear. First, this life coach knew you and what made you tick inside. Maybe they knew how and when to speak to you for that impression. Perhaps they were there when you were at a crossroads in your life. Hopefully, they guided you along the correct pathway. Or did they plant a seed for the future? When that opportunity rose again, you made that seed blossom into success. Matters not; they set your compass and it worked. Most of those who made the impression may not have been a person with letters behind their name or a lofty resume. They were real people making a difference in your world. Notice I said your world, not theirs. You do not plant a tree today for shade tomorrow. You plant a tree to provide shade for your grandchildren. This is how we grow our profession. At this current state of affairs, we really need to invest in our profession. Nurturing its future leadership is an investment.

One question I enjoy asking, but never will in public: Who was the one person in your life that motivated you, but you hated them? This is where name calling can become personal and feathers become ruffled. Recommend you ask the students to keep this name in silence. Usually at break or hallway chat time, this is when I will ask this name of a student. You see, it is often during a decision time, you think what the preferred thing is to do. Here is where the mentor would come in. But there are times where you say, what is the last thing in the world that I should do? This is often where the antithesis of a leader surface. For me it was my 7th grade English teacher who told me before my friends “that you will never amount to anything,” yeah right.

Baking

An old FTO training tip that I successfully used was the making a cake or making a cop recipe. I would tell the recruit that we are going to make them into a real, functioning police officer. They are similar to a cake—most everyone likes cake. The recruit is the flour or basic foundation of the cake. There are some things you like on your cake. For me, it has to be red velvet. So, to make this cake, we will need the cream cheese and pecans. There are some cakes we do not like. For me, it’s coconut—therefore it is excluded. Coconut will represent another officer who is not a solid producer. So, now the recruit has to develop a skill set. Who is it you like? Add that ingredient that you want. In other words, who does this well, that is who I need to learn from. Who is the last person who I want to emulate? Then they become an ingredient that is excluded. In other words, we all learn from others. Whether it is positive or not and whether they know it or not. We are the product of many influences both good and bad. Some we may not be proud of but anyway, the proof is in our impacts on the world itself.

There is the Latin proverb “docendo discimus,” which translates “by teaching, we learn.” I feel that there is no truer statement. Often times, when we least expect it, we are teaching. You never know who may be observing or listening to you. When you are interacting as a trainer or supervisor, there is another maxim I want to offer you. You should treat every moment (in life) as a learning experience. For others and also for you, we should never stop learning. When you offer a career counseling to a man or woman, you build from past learning moments. These moments are cumulative and become easier when you have built this one upon prior learning experiences; the successful ones and even the less productive ones.

Do not force it

One thing I recommend in mentoring is do not hunt them down, let the opportunities manifest with you. I often use the term, I just “happened upon him/her.” You cannot chase down everyone and the providence of the moment will guide you. The most important thing I offer to you is be available! When these opportune moments happen, afford yourself to make it happen. This is not the time to tell them call you next week. The hot iron you are intending to shape is ready—do not let it cool off. Please remember to listen. One childhood mentor in my life was the least spoken man I have ever known. When he did speak, it was profound, timing was perfect and it was spot on. The least words said can be the most meaningful.

Finally, I love to listen to so-called great people talk about their lives. It appears that they were destined to be here to lead us; it was divine intervention. We are the results of cumulative efforts of many—admit it. You just did not get miracled into this place of time. If your mentors are still alive, pause and thank them. The greatest phone calls I have ever received are when I am thanked and told that I made a difference. I have planted that tree for the future of others and the shade is good. 

About the Author

William L. Harvey | Chief

William L. "Bill" Harvey is a U.S. Army Military Police Corps veteran. He has a BA in criminology from St. Leo University and is a graduate of the Southern Police Institute of the University of Louisville (103rd AOC).  Harvey served for over 23 years with the Savannah (GA) Police Department in field operations, investigations and completed his career as the director of training. Served as the chief of police of the Lebanon City Police Dept (PA) for over seven years and then ten years as Chief of Police for the Ephrata Police Dept (PA). In retirement he continues to publish for professional periodicals and train.        

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