I recently wrote for Policing Insight, on the subject of psychological safety. Have a read and let me know what you think on my Linkedin channel.

https://policinginsight.com/features/opinion/safe-house-is-there-an-obvious-reason-that-policing-isnt-moving-forward/

Safe House: Is there an obvious reason that policing isn’t moving forward?

OPEN 6th February 2023Derek Flint, Policing Lecturer, UCLan

With incidents of police misconduct ranging from inappropriate to criminal behaviour seemingly dominating the headlines, policing culture is increasingly under the microscope; former officer and Policing Lecturer Derek Flint looks at the issue of ‘psychological safety’, and the importance of leaders creating a ‘positive and productive version’ of safety that enables poor behaviour to be challenged effectively.

It is almost a daily occurrence now; another police officer under investigation for some level of misconduct, up to and including the most heinous offences on the statute book. In other news, reports of record levels of resignations – and a leadership whose primary role appears to be apologising for past and present misdemeanours – are adding to the mix, topped off by a service which plays the recruitment game akin to schoolboy football. Most people would doubtless agree that regrettably, once again, things have to change.

I’ve embarked on a Professional Doctorate in Elite Performance, determined to shine a light into some of the issues of leadership in the service. While not immune from bullying, misogyny and other issues, the comparison and contrast with the armed services is profound.

Sir Mark Rowley recently highlighted the difference between equivalent ranks and the development they receive, comparing a newly promoted superintendent with a lieutenant colonel The latter would have received about a year and a half’s pure leadership development up to that point. The former would be lucky if they had more than a few weeks, and depending on which force they had joined, even that is a bit of a lottery.

Psychological safety

The Army nails its colours to the mast. It’s Army Leadership Doctrine sets out plainly what it means to be a leader in that service. There is a wealth of other publications, written by respected authors which emanate from it.

Lt Col Langley Sharp’s excellent work The Habit of Excellence – Why British Army Leadership Works explains the doctrine ‘in action’, in a way which any leader in business or public service could understand and transpose into their own domain. There is a lot to learn and perhaps some quick-win shortcuts for those charged with developing the National Centre for Police Leadership.

As part of my research one particular area somewhat turned the big light on – psychological safety; what I found resonated so strongly with my own previous service that I believe it cannot be ignored.

However, as part of my research one particular area somewhat turned the big light on – psychological safety. It was my Doctorate Supervisor that nudged me to review a couple of papers, and what I found resonated so strongly with my own previous service that I believe it cannot be ignored. I found David Spencer’s recent article really powerful (There is nothing wrong with policing that cannot be cured by what is right with policing). He mentions the unavoidable truth that Couzens and Carrick were both members of the same Metropolitan Police Command, and also that even in his previous rank of chief inspector, David found it difficult to be able to speak up on occasions.

Both of these circumstances I would suggest have at their core the issue of psychological safety, which began to form as a theory in the 1990s with the work of Dr Amy Edmondson often being cited.

The idea behind it is that there is ‘a shared belief held by members of the team, that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking’. Tim Clarke, in his book The four stages of psychological safety sets out the pathway.

First, there is ‘Inclusion safety’, where members develop their feeling of safety within a team. Then, ‘Learner Safety’ allows them to develop through asking questions. This moves on to ‘Contributor Safety’, where the member feels safe to contribute their own ideas, finally leading to ‘Challenger Safety’, where members can question ideas or suggest significant changes.

Creating the ‘Safe House’

Anyone who has served in policing will recognise that such a utopia isn’t necessarily the norm. David Spencer mentioned MI5 chief Jonathan Evans, and his view that many of policing’s problems were down to a culture of “shut up, do what you’re told and salute”. Personally, I don’t think it is quite that bad, because it can’t be. It is often forgotten that the constable holds their own, independent office, and ultimately has much more latitude in how they discharge their duties than might be immediately apparent. And with that, comes its own problems, especially where the ‘really bad and naughty’ exist within the ranks. Was it just such a level of psychological safety within the Metropolitan Police Parliamentary and Diplomatic Protection Command that provided the perfect culture for unacceptable behaviours to develop into almost an accepted norm?

As landlords of the ‘Safe House’, leaders of the service need to ensure that there is only one positive and productive version of that safety, which permeates throughout the organisation, right down to each of the small teams which make up its whole.

Did officers feel safe due to the embedded level of trust and the ‘way things are done round here’ to share content on social media groups which was clearly inappropriate in normal society? Was it that safety which allowed the awarding of nicknames such as ‘the rapist’ or ‘Bastard Dave’ without the batting of an eyelid?

If nurtured properly, psychological safety within the service could be a force multiplier in making good ground to the sunlit uplands. Staff should feel safe to challenge and report unethical or criminal behaviour. They should feel safe to ask questions, to challenge the orthodox and to be able to offer an orthogonal view without fear of consequence.

But equally, as landlords of the ‘Safe House’, leaders of the service need to ensure that there is only one positive and productive version of that safety, which permeates throughout the organisation, right down to each of the small teams which make up its whole. There needs to be constant and fearless surveillance to ensure that pockets of toxic safety are unable to survive in isolation. Without that, the service will continue to undermine its own mission with regular production of shocking headlines which will perpetually tarnish an already dull reputation.

I would conclude by suggesting that psychological safety has a large part to play in both recruitment and retention. Perhaps if what the Army called ‘a sense of belonging’ can be developed, we will see more diversity, neurodiversity and a willingness to stay the distance in what is an ever more challenging vocation.

I watched Deborah Haynes interview Gen. Sir Nick Carter this morning on Sky. He was asked about the future shape of the Armed Forces, from which he focused on the development of a system fit for the 2030’s, with the sensible caveat that we won’t get there overnight. He also used the phrase ‘disruptive edge’, which really caught my ear. As we live in the most disrupted times I can certainly recall, how we deal with disruption is important. But equally so, the way we cause disruption is such a critical factor for our future success and prosperity that it mustn’t remain an elephant in the room.

Disruption fascinates me. My twitter account profile carries the George Bernard Shaw quote; “Progress depends on the unreasonable man”. It is only perhaps in the last five years I’ve better understood how to harness the energy that disruption provides.. I’ve been a disruptor since birth. I’ve always been ‘different’, in my thinking and approach to problems. and their solutions, but my single-minded and sometimes unorthodox approach would regularly bring me into conflict with those further up the pecking order. I suppose I was what is commonly referred to as ‘disruptive talent’ - or perhaps even more commonly ‘a pain in the arse’. This is why today, as an executive coach I have a keen professional interest in helping companies get the best out of people like that. It is only when a disruptor has a mirror held up to themselves, and that mirror is ‘skillfully wielded’ that change can occur for the better. The individual feels better valued, and the organisation gets better value from them because they finally fully understand their impact

Of course, this doesn’t always work…

Yesterday, the biggest disruptor I can remember was toppled from power. Donald Trump was unseated by Joe Biden, and denied a second term as POTUS.

Lets just cast our minds back four and a bit years. This bold, narcissistic, large- than-life figure steamrollered into the presidential race, and convincingly won. He vowed to make America great again. The whole thing was almost impossible to comprehend. It reminded me of the words of Cassius from Shakespeare’s ‘Julius Caesar’; “Ye gods, it doth amaze me a man of such a feeble temper should so get the start of the majestic world.”

And arguably, he did what he said he would.

Before Cononavirus whipped the carpet from under his feet, the American economy was thriving. And then there was North Korea. He stepped foot in it, and opened a dialogue with Kim Jong Un! Lets also remember the historic peace deals he brokered with Israel and multiple Middle Eastern states. as they might say in cycling, “Chapeau, Monsieur Trompe!”

So what went wrong?

Well, without doubt, Covid disrupted his way. Donald didn’t have an answer to that, and with it creating a metaphorical hitting of the ‘pause’ button, people had more time to reflect on where they were, and their relationship with their President. I’d wager a lot reflected on that picture and didn’t like what they saw. It really underlines what disruptors often fail to see; you can only achieve so much if you don’t take the people with you. Add in a degree of control-freakery, and the removal of power from other people to help make a difference through their own creativity and innovation, and you will see a marked shift in attitudes towards that individual. Perhaps that is what has played out here?

What would another four years of Trump have brought to the world? We will now never know. Whatever your views of the person, I think in many ways that is a great pity he won’t serve for longer. He really did disrupt all he touched, rolling hard-ball through literally everything, including things that people thought might never be achieved. With Biden, I predict we will see a settling of the pendulum, and a return to the ‘proper’ way of doing things. That tends to slow things down, and sometimes for opportunities to be missed, but conversely, with proper decision models being applied, for less mistakes to be made.

Donald Trump created a moment in history that will be analysed by scholars for decades to come. He came in like a wrecking ball, and will doubtless leave like one too. But to quote again from Julius Caesar; “The evil that men do lives after them, the good is oft interred in their bones.” This is often the problem with uncontained disruptors; the negative is focused upon, rather than the positive.

That is why it is critically important for organisations to corral and develop such individuals. We are all stumbling into the great unknown together, heading towards a new world order which is neither clear nor comfortable. It will be the disruptors, and free-thinkers that will shorten the path, and nose out the truffles of solution, but only if we let them.

My advice? Get them a coach. Let that coach help you nurse the very best out of those who right now you might actually see as your most difficult individuals in the organisation. Anything we can do right now to steal a march on the future has to be a good thing.

Derek Flint Cert.Ed., MCIPR

(Image credit: Kit Nelson)

When I started my website, it was my intention to blog weekly. It hasn’t always been done, because If I had nothing to write about I wasn’t going to do it for the sake of doing it! But I’ve had an unexpectedly long lay-off, and I thought I’d better explain why…

Most of you will know that I currently live on the Isle of Man. This jewel in the Irish Sea has been our home for 22 years, but since retiring from the police service, my wife and I have found ourselves looking further from these golden shores. Our children left several years ago, and getting on and off can be both expensive and challenging. The Island is also a bit ‘niche’ when it comes to work opportunities, and as I develop the coaching and training practice, being limited by a narrow market isn’t ideal.

So we have decided to relocate back to the UK. Not at the most ideal of times, I grant you, but what has become clear is that we can’t just continue to bounce around in this covid-free, isolated bubble for ever. With a sale progressing on our house here, the time has never been more right. What has been surprising is just how much capacity the whole process has sucked up. Leaving the Isle of Man is effectively an emigration, and of course, having to travel to the UK to view houses brought its own challenges. We spent a week over there in September, and viewed 27 houses. On our return, we had to quarantine for a full fortnight, which was a heads-down packing up and thinning down mission to make sure we were as de-cluttered as possible. Our furniture has all gone, and the rest of our lives awaits transport in 13 cubic metres of boxes.

Decision making has been tough. Our viewing schedule on houses was such that We had to be disciplined, and organised in order to put down an offer on a property with any degree of confidence. And as it transpired, matters arising later in the conveyancing process has resulted in having to withdraw and start again with another offer on a contingency property. We will now have a period of ‘no fixed abode’ between selling the Isle of Man house, and getting the keys for our UK one. That creates a period of uncertainty, and those of you who read these blogs will know that isn’t my favourite place to be!

So the reason why I’ve been uncharacteristically quiet is simple; you can’t do everything, and you can’t be everywhere. There was a time when I’d have tried to, but age and experience help you better understand your limitations.

I’ve had some other exciting projects on the go in amongst all this too, which I hope to update you on very soon.

Derek Flint Cert. ED., MCIPR

I listened to a cracking podcast this week. I’ve become a big fan of the Franklin Covey website, and this was just another little gem amongst gems. Diana Thomas talks to Trish Holliday about creating an environment that inspires greatness. I commend it to you, and guarantee it will be an hour well spent.

https://soundcloud.com/user-702838748/episode-36-creating-an-environment-that-inspires-greatness-with-trish-holliday

Just think about that podcast title for a moment; The very fact this conversation is even needed is very telling about where we are in the world today. How many millions of souls in the world of work have to exist in a place where their environment is soul-less, de-motivating and at worst, just able to suck the very life force from them? The very fact that this podcast exists says there is a whole lot wrong with where we are today.

There is nothing better than jumping out of bed in the morning, knowing you are on your way to a workplace where you are going to feel energised, inspired and valued. I grant that it is actually more difficult than ever to achieve though. If you have your people dispersed throughout the country, working remotely because of the pandemic, how is it even possible to create an ‘environment’?

Trish underlines the importance of having roles aligned to the mission of the organisation, and a feeling that people’s careers matter to their leaders. What we are seeing in the current climate is a rapid re-evaluation by companies of what they do, and do not need. Thousands of jobs are being shed weekly and right now, I’d imagine most people are in fear of their prospects. Maybe when this cull is complete, we will see a return to some stability. Within that, will be new mission statements, new strategies, and time needs to be put aside to make sure that those that are left know precisely how they feature in the new world order, and what contribution is expected of them.

One area that doesn’t seem to have been adversely affected has been the public sector. In the 2008 crash, brutal cuts were made; I recall one Northern council shedding 600 jobs overnight. Similarly, when looking to pay a North West police force for some services rendered, I struggled to find someone to raise the invoice, as vast numbers had been let go, seriously affecting operational support. Now at some point, the UK chancellor is going to catch his breath, and after seeing in glorious technicolor the parlous state of the country’s finances may have to include public sector redundancies in his measures to recover some ground in the battle to better balance the books. So that leaves public servants in no better a position in reality. We really do live in times of VUCA - volatility, uncertainty, conflict and ambiguity.

With a destabilised workforce which just can’t be sure of what is coming next, trust is a real issue. If we are to achieve the very best we can, trust is the key. We need to know that we’ve got each others backs, whatever our position within the organisation, and right now, that has got to be the hardest thing to achieve. Managers and will know, or at least have an inkling where things are going. What do you do? Poker face it out, and promise that everything in the garden is rosy? How is that going to end? If your people find themselves clutching a redundancy notice, how are they ever going to trust again? And what about your own reputation?

The more palatable alternative is to be up front and candid with people. But are they going to give 100% if they feel the organisation might ditch them at a moment’s notice? And what about being straight with people is what you want to do, but your own manager has told you that is not the company strategy? There are some real moral and ethical issues in play with that scenario, and piotentially a real effect on your own mental health.

In a nutshell, this isn’t easy for anyone, and leaders in organisations are really behind the eight ball. Coaching has never been more important. Being able to work through the issues, to understand how they will impact on individuals and work up effective tactics to move forward with is of fundamental importance. Team coaching of leadership teams can also help open up some of the hidden pathways which might just make this whole thing easier for everyone. Trying to develop a plan without some hard challenge runs the risk of creating something clumsy which will do more damage that is necessary. So whether internal or external, right now is the time to lean heavily on your coaching resources.

Derek Flint Cert.Ed., MCIPR.

There are few more nerve-wracking things in life that awaiting results. Whether it is for health reasons, a survey on the dream house you’ve seen or as with thousands of young people just this week waiting for exam grades, it is never a good time. But this year, those students may well be facing the ignominy of failing a test they have never actually taken.

The impact of Covid has been devastating, but we are only just beginning to see the extent of the collateral damage it has caused. Students caught in this most bizarre of years are just one example of how wide ranging the unforeseen effects are. When it first emerged that there was effectively no remainder of an academic year from March 2020, I wasn’t that fazed. But I wouldn’t be, would I? I had all that carry on 35 years ago, and had a reasonably successful first career under my belt. I also have the benefit of hindsight from my own experiences.

At sixteen, I gained a reasonably OK set of O levels. I was bullish, and ambitious, and had a plan to do my A levels in a year, and then get an early seat on a law degree - a whole twelve months ahead of my peers! As it panned out, it was a lot harder than I expected, and emergency surgery just before my finals resulted in me dipping the lot! Disaster, game over, endex. Rudderless, I entered the world of work.

What should I have done? Gone back to bloody college, of course! It meant that I’d lost the ‘advantage’ I thought I might have gained, and I was simply back on the same page as the peers I had left a year early. But with a lack of counsel, or coaching, I did what I thought was best. And lets be honest, at 17 we think we know it all, don’t we? It turns out this is incorrect!

I don’t regret how life turned out - I joined the police at 22 and had a good career. But it sort of just happened, caused by diminishing options rather than an absolute and definite destiny. And this is a really, really important lesson from my life which I’d wish to impart to those many, many lost souls that are wandering around in a daze right now, thinking their life is over and there is no hope because they have been screwed over by an algorithm.

I’ve got some great news - it isn’t!

You are 18 years old. There is absolutely no rush. Some years ago I read Duncan Bannatyne’s autobiography. He was selling ice cream out of a van on a Jersey beach when he was 30. Simon Cowell was back on his mum’s sofa at 32. And Jeremy Clarkson posts a tweet about this time every year pointing out he did miserably in his exams and yet was typing from the deck of a super yacht in Cap D’ Antibes. It is what inspired me to give my kids just one bit of advice; Do what inspires you until you are thirty, and then, if it hasn’t quite worked out, you might have to get a ‘real’ job. One teaches in Japan, and the other has founded her own marketing company. So far, so good.

2020 is a lost year for education. But that is no bad thing. It can now a time to steady the horizon, and work the alternatives. It looks like there will be an opportunity to sit exams in the Autumn, and there will certainly be chance to next year. What is going to count is what someone does with the time in the interim. If it is well spent, it might well be the differentiator between you and the others when it is your turn to enter the world of work. Maybe you’ve been thrown a real low ball like the young aspiring vet interviewed on TV. Predicted for an ABB, awarded DDD. Unsurprisingly, the University has declined to take her. She actually used the phrase ‘My life is over’. This is just not the case in any shape or form. Get some work experience in a veterinary practice, keep your studies topped up, take your exams at the earliest opportunity and prove your worth. Then apply to uni and continue on your chosen path. At eighteen, you’ve ‘lost’ a year but gained so much more in terms of experience, and demonstrating commitment, resilience and determination to any future employer.

Right now, we’ve all got a big part to play in coaching and mentoring our young people through a very uncertain, confusing and ambiguous time. If we get this right for those that have been disadvantaged by this fiasco, the class of 2020 might well turn out to be the greatest in many generations.

Derek Flint Cert.Ed. MCIPR.