Instructions:
- Post a new discussion related to the topics covered in this module. Your post needs to provide specific lessons learned with examples from this module helping you enhance your leadership capacity at work.
- After posting your discussion, review posts provided by other students in the class and reply to at least one of them.
All twelve steps serve as a great reminder that we should live a well-balanced life. Balancing our work, education, and leisure time equally and appropriately so that not one specifically takes over. The third skill, Beliefs Clarification, resonated with me the most. Not letting our career in law enforcement define who we are but letting who we are define how we serve in this career is the best way I can explain a strong belief I have in balancing my work life and personal life. I have never allowed my passion for this career to control or consume my life. Instead, I have allowed my morals, values, and belief system that I have within control how I serve in this career. I have also had to understand that the citizens in which I serve, as well as those who serve alongside me, have their own belief systems that deserve to be respected as well. I do not mean that I respect a lack of integrity or a lack of a moral compass, but I respect their spiritual beliefs and possible different world views. I am strong in my belief that having integrity, morals, values, and a moral compass pointing in the right direction must be possessed by one to serve appropriately and righteously. Never wavering from being impartial in our enforcement actions.
Self-management is something that is very important in law enforcement, but something that I rarely think of. I can see where learning these skills would be beneficial for me, especially the grounding and centering skills. Anderson referred to centering as the foundation for all other skills. It can also reduce your heart rate and blood pressure. Very important for your health especially in the high-stress career of law enforcement.
In this career field, we are accustomed to moving fast. The lifestyle suggested in this module requires a slower pace. We have to deliberately make an effort to do it because, by nature, we are trying to fill the empty space. Ironically, we call that time management because we are getting more items checked off of our ever-growing list. I do, however, understand and appreciate the importance of these suggestions.
I agree, we are accustomed to moving fast. I can definitely relate; in my position, I rarely feel like I have a day off. I could do a better job at managing my time as suggested in this module. I for sure need to be better at balancing my work time and my family time. According to Anderson, "when we manage our time what we are really managing is our lives."
I enjoyed this module and thought these twelve steps served as good reminders for maintaining well balanced personal and professional lives. We find ourselves all too often letting our profession take priority in many aspects of our lives, but this module helped me see some areas in which I can improve and demonstrated some basic methods and suggestions on how those improvements can be made.
These twelve steps were good reminders for maintaining well-balanced personal and professional lives. I have often explained to people that have worked with me, for me, and trained under me that we should not let our career in law enforcement define who we are but let who we are define how we serve in this career.
My platoon Sgt always told me to make sure I balanced my work life with my home life. He was a very smart individual and I valued what he said. While I was in the military, I was very much an overachiever. Once I entered law enforcement, some negative influences and toxic leaders, caused me to regress from my overachiever status and fall into the background. For a couple of years, I was not centered and was only collecting a paycheck. Fast forward to joining the swat team and a new set of officers at my PD, that gave a damn about the job and the community. I had re-centered myself and began moving forward. I was now setting goals and had a plan. I know what it’s like to not be centered and in a negative environment. A new set of leadership and being grounded in a good set of values was detrimental to saving my future in this career.
During the lecture, I wrote a draft purpose statement. I imagine I will refine it as time passes, but writing it out does lend a sense of focus. There were a lot of pearls of wisdom throughout this module that I will try incorporating into my daily life. I feel like I manage my stress all right; however, I must improve skill eleven vastly. I do not exercise enough, I could eat better, and though I fall asleep quickly, I do not sleep well.
Richard, I agree we could all work on some of these skills. I know I fall very short in the time management area. I plan on working on this in detail. This entire class has been great in putting a finger on things we could all work on, as well as pointing out things we are already pretty good at.
Over the course of my career, I have developed and maintained a healthy lifestyle using energy management techniques. I have clarified the present moment by using grounding and centering skills. Additionally, I was able to make life decisions based on my values rather than other external pressures as a result of beliefs, clarification and resolution. While I did not formally know the names I was utilizing, this module is valuable in creating a foundation of knowledge to share with coworkers.
I found the resources in this module interesting. It seems in my own personal experiences coming up with a balance was the hard part. It seems like we can focus on career, then at a certain point we transition into working on health, then on personal life enjoyment. Being able to do all equally or keeping eyes on the whole prize is what I am hoping to learn from some of the resources.
It seems that where I need to do my most focus is to apply strategies to plan and coordinate all that I want to achieve in a timely manner. Working to support each other and trying to as an organization to provide wellness is important and part of the 21 century policing ideals that we are modeling ourselves after.
My biggest takeaway from this module I was the following, "If lives are balanced with learning, working, and leisure time each day to stay abreast of changing knowledge and skills, engage in meaningful work, and enjoy life- there is greater happiness and productivity overall."
Too many times I overload myself with work, side jobs, overtime, etc., that I fail to include leisure balance. This improper load has grown with the addition of this program. It is rewarding, but at some point I need to get everything back in balance.
Well said Sir. It is easy for me to get drawn into work to the point that it feels like life revolves around it, but this module served as a good reminder and provided some valuable skills to help achieve a better balance.
This learning module discussing the twelve (12) self management skills made me aware (by doing an honest self check) of the many areas I was lacking in and requiring me to seek improvements. It revealed to me my skills management area that I failed in but reinforced me in the management skills that I excelled at. I know if I but aside my own personal feeling and open up to change, if I applied and seek the advise of improving myself using the 12 management skills. It will guide me to do, accomplish and seek to better myself to be the best person that I know I can be. I look forward in implementing these skills into my life plan.
Patrick, I agree with what you are saying and that same self realization that I have not done all that I can for self-care and improve myself as I can. I think many people in the police profession are quick to take care of others with zeal and effort but when it turns to the self care we are lacking, especially as organizations. The more we can focus on officer wellness, the better we will be, and we will have longer and better lives.
Jonno Hanafin discussed our beliefs and assumptions during this block. There was a question he asked. What am I learning from what I am doing? I have always been taught to rely on my training and experience, and I even mention that in some of my past reports or during testifying. I am not wrong most of the time, but sometimes I later find out I could have done something better or I was actually wrong about something for a long time. If we keep doing the same thing with the same result over time and consider that experience to be true but find the result is not accurate or correct, what have we really learned if we keep making the same mistakes or assumptions? I will make an asserted effort now to focus on what I am learning during each experience. The saying don’t just listen to what I am telling you, go look it up for yourself, so you know, is great advice.
Patrick, I totally agree with you. We can only learn and excel if we be honest with first self and open ourselves up for the truth and be willing to step outside the box and embrace the truth and except the change.
Skill 6, planning to provide motivation and balance, hit home with me. Several years ago, I took on so many tasks and assignments simultaneously that I became overloaded. As a result, my personal life struggled. I was worried about how others perceived me, so focused on outward appearance I forgot why I was doing the things I was doing. Ultimately, after some poor work-related decisions and sole searching, I lightened the load, focused on the priorities that I found the most important, and began down the road to self-improvement.
I respect your honesty and thank you for sharing that experience. The idea of being equally yoked and balanced is so important. Often our families and duties suffer when we are so focused on a task. We forget the other important stuff in our lives. This has been a great reminder to get back to our center.
Thank you for sharing Daniel. You have been a great example to others at our department and now to this class. I gladly work along side you and would follow you into battle or two week residency, whichever comes first.
I grew up in a single mother residence until I was nine years old. My mother was a dispatcher and worked shift work. Out of necessity, I was relied upon to self-manage my actions while also learning to navigate the minefield that is the youth social dynamic. It was my responsibility to ensure I was at the bus stop on time each morning, that I maintained my grades, that the laundry was handled, and that I did not go hungry. This was obviously a different time in comparison to today and very much responsible for my views and perceptions as an adult. Self-management is critical to professional and personal success. Each of the twelve skills builds off the others and for me the two most important are our ability to be grounded/focused in the present and our ability to maintain a positive mental attitude throughout our professional and personal experiences.
Coming out of high school and entering the Marine Corps gave me a great sense of self-management. This module continued to educate me and fine-tune my understanding of what I needed to do to better myself internally. I found that stress management skills and energy management skills are where I have focused more lately as I have gotten older. Teaching other officers to focus on this aspect and other hobbies is vital, so critical not to fall victim to bitterness overall. I also see where many people lack in planning for the future and understanding their purpose. We all need to constantly work on this and redefine our vision if we want to achieve our goals.
This module was an awakening for me of the importance of managing stress and having an even balance between work and leisure. I never stop to think about what stress could be doing to me and I’m only focused on staying ahead by looking for what’s next to be done or what else could I be getting done. I’ll have to start making time for me and create a more balanced platform.
I agree. Our ability as leaders to manage and regulate our stress level is critical to our successes. I too tend to get lost in being a problem fixer and problem finder. My greatest fear is being viewed as incompetent by those around me, whether professional or personal, and because of this I frequently find myself reading and researching ways to address my professional issues while I should be decompressing and being present with those in my personal life.
Stress can indeed have serious detrimental effects on one’s health, which is why it is so important to manage it. Stress can be managed by creating a more balanced lifestyle—allocating time for work as well as leisure activities. This will provide a healthier and happier environment for one’s physical and mental health. I too have gotten caught up in the hustle and bustle and sometimes let those moments of relaxation be filled with ancillary noise.
You are correct, Elliot, when you say we just look for the next thing we have to do. I have an ever growing list of such items on a white board in my office. I find that we are programmed that way in our career. If we have a free day or a free hour, we look for something with which to fill it rather than taking a moment for ourselves. Once you start doing that, it's hard to get out of the habit.
Joseph Spadoni Jr.
Session #15
This module taught me some skills that I need to incorporate into my career and daily life. I enjoyed the module teaching me how to ground myself, center myself, the beliefs in clarification, my purpose and vision, identify my values and set up priorities, plan to provide motivation and balance in my life, and educational and career planning with setting motivating goals, prioritize and manage my time, manage my stress and energy, and have a positive mental attitude.
Session #015
I need to commit some time to each one of the skills addressed in this module. I think what would be most beneficial is focusing on the exercise, nutrition, and rest aspects. When I get some exercise in it helps me to focus.
I agree, I also need to commit more time to each one of these skills discussed in this module. It seems so hard to find the time to do so at times with being so busy with work. But we must make time for it and not let work overtake our lives.
I agree with Tasha Eurich's theory that too much introspection can lead to unwanted personal and professional outcomes, but it is necessary to check the rearview mirror sometimes. Understanding (but not dwelling on) our mistakes and what led to them can be beneficial moving forward.
I learned a lot in this lesson on 12 skills of living and working effectively. I know that I will try to implement some of these so that I can find a better balance with work and life. Every law enforcement should look at theses skills and start implement them in their everyday life.
I enjoyed this module and the tips that were provided. The centering during stressful events is important skill to maintaining command prescience. Leaders have to remain calm under stress. Each of these skills build on each other and strength a leaders ability to lead. As leaders we must constantly be self aware that our actions line up with our goals, beliefs' and values.
I agree and believe this is why being centered was the skill presented as being instrumental to all others.
I agree Kevin, there are so many scenarios out there and the leader sets the tone. No matter what the circumstances are, as long as the leader stays grounded and centered during the conflict, he’ll give his subordinates the fighting chance they need to come out on top.
Well said, Kevin; within the last two years was introduced to the centering technique. I have been able to apply it while at work, and it has helped me tremendously. Self-awareness is, at times, hard to achieve but an invaluable skill.
Kevin, I agree. I have become better at centering during stress; however, sometimes, I find myself internally reminding myself to keep moving forward. Make a decision, even if it is a small one. What do I need to do next? I will use the centering techniques in the future.
Self-awareness is sometimes hard to do, for you might see something you do not like. This module has shown me that I can look inside myself and make changes when needed and strive to do better each day. It has shown me that I tend to try and do everything I’m task with during a day, instead of focusing on the more important things.
I also fall short in self-awareness. I find it hard to look at myself and see the important things.
This module discussed the 12 Self-Management Skills that leaders need to improve on. As I listened to the module, I learned that I have fallen short in some of the categories that Dr. Anderson discussed. Specifically, being able to positively manage stress. I think as leaders we have to find ways to manage stress especially in an environment where we see the worst of people sometimes.
Jeremy Pitchford Session #015
Jimmie, I have also fallen short in several categories. I think that skills 10 and 11 address important techniques for stress management. Those being proper nutrition exercise and rest. We as law enforcement officers tend to struggle in these areas.
This is very good information for anyone especially for law enforcement and the information should be readily available for all. Its truly important to manage every aspect of our lives as it could cause to unwarranted stressors.
This module made me take a long hard look at myself. It made me evaluate and reevaluate myself. This would have been beneficial to learn this early in my career. I would recommend teaching this to new employees early in their careers.
Life is for living; it's a journey we are on that involves highs and lows. We can control some things and others we aren't supposed to control. Instead, we adapt to them. I have worked with people who allow the job to become the center of their world; some burn out because they lose sight of what they are working for. They have no system set up to help relieve stress.
Increasing self-awareness is something we must strive to do daily. I found the twelve skills of living and working effectively interesting yet simplistic way to maintain balance. I wish this were a lesson I had been taught at the beginning of my career. I did find that I do well in some areas and not so well in others. For example, I tend to take on more tasks than I probably should keep the wheels turning. I think the skill most in need of improvement for me is time and priority management so that I can a lot of approximate time for each of my various responsibilities.
I agree that the twelve skills are very interesting, maintaining balance is something I have been working on my entire adult life. I understand priority management, but sometimes I feel there just isn't enough time in the day.
I agree Mitch. For I too tend to take on more than I can complete during a day. I also tend to get to tied up and stressed out do to this.
During this module, I liked the comment by Dr. Anderson that “a strong personal foundation will help you rebound from stress and trauma, develop resilience and versatility, stay true to your vision, values, goals and ethics and move in the direction that you most want for your life and career, no matter what happens.” We all know that stress is a killer in law enforcement, and we deal with stress so many different ways that are not healthy. The skills focused on grounding, centering, purpose and vision, time and priority management, and stress management really spoke to me, as those are the areas I really need the most focus. As you move up in supervision and take on more responsibility, the stressors change but they all take the same toll on our minds, our bodies and our lives.
I have found that being physically active and taking time each day to go to the gym not only benefits me from a health standpoint but also from a mental health aspect. I also found the point made in the lecture series concerning the recent phenomenon of officers choosing horizontal career paths instead of vertical. That is to say, taking lateral transfers in lieu of promotions to a higher rank.
I agree, Chris. I enjoy physical labor in the yard or outdoors and find that it helps my mental state as well. I have noticed that with our younger generations, most get the most contentment and satisfaction out of finding their niche and staying with that for a while rather than climbing rank. To them, it doesn't seem to be about the money or prestige, but whatever makes them happy and fell fulfilled.
I also believe that gym time is beneficial. I go multiple times a week and I usually use this time for reflection. After reviewing the module I learned that this is part of Skill 1 (Grounding) and Skill 2 (Centering). I wish more members of law enforcement would use this time for self-reflection. I have learned that living in the present is just as important as planning for the future.
I agree, Lance. I find when I work out, I gain a sense of inner peace. I like to work out outdoors because I enjoy the fresh air. Exercise is good for my mental health as well as my physical health.
I agree and want to make a better effort to make time for the gym and get back into that routine. I have thought for sometime that the vertical rank works well with patrol but with the new specialties in law enforcement not so much. Many new techniques take a certain skill to performed build on. Then we lose them to the private sector because pay is often associated with rank.
Self-Management skills: Once again, some sage advice that should be taught in the academy to get a head start on the stress that awaits the future public safety professional and continued throughout their career if balance is to be maintained.
For me, I took interest in skill 4, the Purpose and Vision specification where I plan to develop a personal purpose and vision statement for me that I can use to better guide myself. I had never thought about writing one until I took this course.
I liked this module's emphasis on balance in your life. I think many times we sacrifice home for a career or vice versa. Balance is critical.
This module provided good information about time and priority. Knowing how to balance your work schedule and personal time is important .
At first, I thought it made sense to start at the first skill and move on to the next, with the notion that you cannot skip over the skills. But later on, I felt that some of the skills I am good at while some in the middle I can work on. I am not sure how that is possible, but I will start at the bottom and work up from there.
I agree
I also agree. I guess later on in life, we get to a point where we kind of worked on every step in some sort of way and we managed some aspects better than other.
This module’s training really pointed out the health concerns we have in law enforcement. The training was somewhat concerning as I agree with what it taught but getting to a healthy place is a much different story. We have placed so much work on our own shoulders as law enforcement leaders, I do not know how we can absorb more work. I am curious how much more stress we will absorb as we continue in our current staffing issues. My stress level is high due to being on call every day of the year, monitoring and responding to crisis after crisis, and honestly, trying to keep up in this program and other programs on my plate.
With that said, I was at work the other day feeling very stressed and I decided I needed to take a lunch break. I generally make a sandwich at my desk and spend less than five minutes eating before I am back at work. I generally work late everyday and work more at home. When I was feeling overly stressed, I asked a couple of my lieutenants if they wanted to get lunch which we did. The simple task of going out to lunch and allowing myself to have a break did wonders for my stress level. After this module, I am committed to pursuing stress reduction and ensuring I am a healthy and happier person. I cannot be a good leader without being healthy and happy.
Jeremy, in my daily duties, I make it a priority to visit with each of my sections to "shoot the breeze" with all comers. This is very informal. There is no agenda, no pressure, we talk about whatever the section wants to talk about. This includes local or national news, or sometimes someone wants to brag about personal accomplishments, or at times concerns they may have in the section.
This not only helps to destress me, but it also has the added benefit of destressing the troops, keeping lines of communication open, and building of rapport. The lunch you took with the Lieutenants probably did them a solid too.
Kudos to you for coming up with a plan to alleviate some of that stress you deal with. I have begun just taking time off when I feel the stress getting to me. Because of my position and being on salary instead of an hourly position, I am able to take the needed time to reenergize and come back the next day and pick up where I left off. The work is always waiting on me.
This module was a breath of fresh air for myself being a seasoned LEO. I enjoyed learning about the 12 skills and the chance to reflect and actually put pen to paper on where I thought my weakness was.
This module was particularly challenging as I struggle with attempting to have a work-life balance. These 12 Self-Management Skills are simple to grasp the concepts but for me, some are more difficult than others. I would like to think that I am doing a good job managing all the activities well but I know that is not my reality. This module gave me tangible skills that can be developed and implemented. The need to manage stress and prioritize activities in my life will have a direct correlation to my overall effectiveness as a supervisor as well as being present in my personal life.
This module really hit home for me and made me realize all the things outside of work that I have neglected to include myself. at work and outside of work I am always running around trying to get a million things done at once. I realize I need to do a much better job at prioritizing things at work and my personal life.
I need to improve my stress management skills as well as manage my time better. By doing these things it will not only improve my leadership abilities but also relationships in my personal life.
This module drives home the point that the value we bring to our agencies will be limited if we fail to take care of ourselves morally, ethically, physically, and mentally. If we fail to strike the correct balances, we limit our effectiveness and longevity. If we fail to develop ourselves and fail to plan our lives, we limit or potential and impact at home and at work. We also need prepare to exit the career, so we can move on to our next chapter with purpose joy.
I agree if we fail to take care of ourselves we will fail to be effective in our personal and work life. It amazes me how quickly time has come by. I have been in this career field for over two decades. I can't imagine doing anything else. I know I must do better on how I prioritize different tasks or activities in my life. Developing these skills be definitely increases my effectiveness and purpose within my organization as well as in my home life.
This module provided good information regarding self-management skills. I think Skill 12, positive mental attitude, is important individually and for the group you are leading. In law enforcement and life there will be countless challenges that we face. It is important to remain positive when faced with these challenges. The discussion of life/work balance also stood out to me. As I have promoted, I have been more likely to take work home with me and allow it to interfere with my family. It is crucial to find the right balance within your life.
I agree with you Matt. It seems I am always working even when I am off. I have been that way for several years now and just keep adding more as I have moved up. This has caused me tons of stress and I leave projects that I enjoy doing unfinished because I am always focusing on work and not myself or family. This has gotten worse since my kids have graduated and began moving on with their own lives.
I agree with both of you, and I often find myself working seven days a week. This module reminded me of counseling a young officer about his driving. “If you are in a crash on the way to a call for service and do not make it to the incident, you can not help anyone.” This also applies to our daily lives; we must process our stress and find a healthy balance, so we are at our best.
It seems odd at first that this module about personal well-being comes in the middle of the Group Sub-System learning area, but it reinforces the idea that as goes the leader, so goes the team. We cannot effectively lead if we are not well ourselves. For one thing, we will eventually be forced to deal with our own messes and lose time to focus on our teams. Perhaps more likely, our team members will see the problems in our own lives, which harms our ability to be an example to our team. Why should they allow us to mentor them if we don't have our own lives together?
Beyond this, because leadership asks more of us, becoming leaders will make us more prone to lose our work/life balance as we invest more in our work. It's especially important that leaders pay attention to our lives outside of work and our personal goals inside work so that we maintain a proper balance for the sake of our own well-being.
I believe you are spot on. It is all too easy for those of us who tend to put work too high up on the priority list to step back and realize how things are getting out of balance. Then those we are setting and example for are see us set the example of what not to do. Add in generational differences and many of us are poster children for imbalanced lives.
I believe we have both had bosses who walk into the office on a regular basis, and they are grumpy, stressed, and not engaged. I believe this goes along with what you said about “as goes the leader, so goes the team.” When our leaders are not happy or energetic, most of us avoid those leaders and attempt to walk on eggshells. When a leader is happy and energetic, we in turn want to engage with that leader which leads to a natural connection and relationship building. When I am stressed out, I am not much good to my team. I can become irritable and short if I am not careful. When I can let go of my stress, I find myself more willing to engage in general banter, which is just as good for building a team than almost anything. I did appreciate this module like you, and I hope I am able to follow through on the suggestions provided.
I enjoyed the the focus of this module in setting the stage that career and live development are dependent on one another. Too often we think if I have this career my life will be perfect. In reality, they both have to balanced and healthy in their own right to work together in harmony. For example, you must be able to be grounded in the present in life to live each moment and be engaged with those who are important and we love. Where as in work, we must be grounded in the present to see situations clearly and with detail so we make sound decisions that can promote our well being and safety. In turn, they work together in the sense that our attention to detail at work supports our ability at home to focus attention on details of those around which increases our ability to be supportive physically and emotionally. By learning to be grounded the two facets of life are in harmony.
Great points. I think we have all seen officers that are overinvested in the job. This often makes them great producers early in their career and the rewards they get for that reinforce that the job is the most important thing in their lives. But eventually, their lives outside of work begin to suffer. Then when the job ends (as it will for all of us), they have nothing upon which to base their sense of self, and that is dangerous. Proper balance is key to maintaining the long-term health of ourselves and our officers.
The self-management skills listed in this lesson are definitive things that we all need to work on in our lives. When listening to these skills it makes me wonder how many of these things have I done in the past and if I am doing them now. I see that about 3 years ago I rethought my life and did some things to change the way I was living it, and in these skills I know that some of the things helped me through that as it was a very stressful time.
This module did a good job of breaking down each skill. Self-management skills allow you to maximize your productivity, improve your workplace performance and efficiently achieve professional goals. Improving your self-management skills can help you increase your employability and better manage your career path. In this article, we identify self-management skills for the workplace and offers tips for enhancing them. These skills gives you the abilities to control you thoughts, feelings and actions. If you have strong self-management skills, you’re able to set goals independently and take the initiative to achieve them. Purposeful self-management can help you direct the trajectory of your career and ensure you seek opportunities that get you closer to your goals.
This module caused (by design I know) a great deal of reflection, both inner and outer. These 12 skills give us a litmus test to ask ourselves, "how am I doing?". I think we need to ask ourselves this on a daily basis sometimes, and more often than that sometimes. But truly being honest with ourselves when we ask that question is the only way we can experience growth, re-center our lives, and focus on having a positive mental attitude.
I agree, too often we are afraid to ask that question, "How am I doing?" This module helped me understand life is a continuous process that requires reflection and bravery to continue to take one more step forward, stumble, fall, get up and start again. The answer that you can do better, and I am capable is a great motivator.
I agree that this module caused self-reflection. As he went through the 12 skills, it allowed me to look at areas of my life and evaluate how my thoughts and actions were measuring up to the skills he described.
This module was based on the “self” instead of the group. We, as officers, are always taught that if you don’t arrive safely, you cannot help anyone. You become part of the problem by getting in a wreck on the way to a call for service. This analogy matches with leaders who do not care for themselves. If they fail to motivate themself to plan or manage their stress, they may burn out and become part of the problem.
The twelve self-management skills were very informative. I realize how important it is to have that work/personal life balance and that it is something I need to work on. I believe stress management is something that needs to be addressed across the board to all employees. Law enforcement can become very stressful at times and we all need to learn how to recognize our stressors; we need to learn different ways to manage the stress.
Learning about the 12 Self-Management Skills helped me identify some areas that I need to start working on. I appreciated this module because it placed emphasis on how important intent is, you must be intentional in life to achieve overall satisfaction. I have been developing skills to fit my career instead of being intentional in planning for a career and life I want to live. Following these 12 skills and developing them with intent with the understanding that each is reliant on the progress of the one prior will help me with further career development. This module reminded me that I need to take time for myself and take better care of myself. Finding that balance will make me be better for others and be a better leader for my department.
I agree! Each one of these skills will help further your self-management skills. This module has taught me that you have to manage yourself before managing and leading others. You cannot be a leader and expect people to follow you if you do not have proper self-management skills. This module teaches us how to balance out self-management to make us better leaders. Great post!
This module reminded me to get my life back on track. Over the past couple of years, through promotions and the growth of my family, I have let myself get off center and have felt like I was pulled in a million directions at once. I have now started working on planning and prioritizing the things I need and want to do. Even just starting it has restored a filling of control and direction.
Dustin, I am in a similar situation. Not so much that my life is off track, but I have a need for reprioritization. Life changes, work changes, and just simply getting older really need to be continually thought of as we face every day. Staying centered is huge.
I agree Dustin! Focusing so much on work and making it your center and gage of success is problematic. Remembering all you missed while you were working late or taking that other shift can be the savior in redirecting you and get your priorities back into balanced. You don't want to be at the end and say, " I wished I would have seen my kids grow up instead of hearing how they did."
During this lecture, I learned the twelve self-management skills. These skills will provide a personal foundation to cope with the negative effects of the job. These skills build on each other and they help us build a strong foundation. The stress management and energy management sections really spoke to me. I really need to follow the advise and learn to successfully manage my work/life balance.
The 12 self-management skills have helped me. Since this module, I have found myself managing my time much better once I am off work.
This module did a good job outlining how to balance work and life, but also how to plan for the future, both personally and professionally, even if that is planning for a lateral transfer instead of vertical promotions. It left me with a lot to think about as I am within my five-ish year mark of being able to retire.
This module was informative. For me the energy management and stress management really hit me personally. I wake up early to workout and work on this class, then go and work all day. Once I'm off, I go home and give m Wife a break as she is a stay at home mom. I don't manage my time once I get home and feel that I have to complete everything all at one time instead of prioritizing the tasks. The module has given me the information I needed to hear/read to improve my energy and stress management.
I agree with you Tyler, I really needed to hear that information to improve my energy and stress management as well. I do not take care of myself physically or mentally as I should.
This module was very interesting as it dealt with the 12 different self-management skills in leadership. Through listening to the skills, they all play a role in the leadership aspect of how we conduct day to day operations. The one that keyed me in was skill 11. This skill identified the energy management for health and performance. I know that in our line of work, personal fitness is extremely important, and I fall short on that sometimes because my daily activities prohibit a constant physical fitness mindset because I focus most of my attention on other aspects that I see taking priority. This in turn will affect my health and well being if something is not done to address it. This job is physically demanding, and we should mold our bodies into the best possible shape to endure the requirements needed to be successful.
This module reminded me of an old saying…..”Get a Life”! Do not allow this career to take over. The monster that is law enforcement will chew on you then spit you out. When all is said and done, this job will end. You must choose how to handle the aftermath. Will you have friends and family waiting or just regrets? Find and maintain that balance looking forward.
Your right Curtis! Many officers find themselves retiring with no other "life". This leads them down a road of destruction or they return to the force. Their only other option is when they refuse to retire and get in the way of the up-and-comers.
Curtis -You are so correct, balancing this job with an outside life can be difficult to say the least. We must not give in to the stress of the law enforcement profession and continue to enjoy our family and other things in life that continue to make us happy.
The module outlined the importance between balancing work and home life. This lesson reminded me how we work in a stressful environment and that we must take care of ourselves mentally and physically. From experience, I have seen maintaining a balance will reduce burnout professionally and allow a satisfying personal life.
I really enjoyed learning the 12 Self-Management Skills in this module. I was able to relate to some of the examples and learn how to improve my coping skills. The Self-Management Skill that applied to me the most was "Stress Management". This one has really affected me the most throughout my career in law enforcement. It was good to see that some of my coping skills was listed and I learned a few more. I have to agree with others that stated this module was very insightful and thought provoking.
Glenn, I completely agree. Having healthy coping skills is the key to getting through tough times.
This was a very insightful and thought provoking module. I took me back to an incident early in my career that forced me to reflect and re-assess priorities, relationships, career, and family. This job at times is a complete juggling act so you have to stay in tune with yourself and what is truly important in your personal and professional life. I find myself using the same tools now that I did early on be it for grounding, centering, or setting priorities.
This module was extremely insightful. I found it very useful and understanding as I have been struggling with keeping up with managing not only my professional life but also my personal as I am working, taking this course as well as college courses. This module could provide some great insight to other mangers and leaders within my organization. I will absolutely consider saving this module and potentially presenting it at an upcoming training. This module taught me the importance of investing in myself and how it will benefit me in my life both personally and professionally.
This module couldn't have come at a better time. Working full time and trying to manage the workload for this course has become rather stressful. This lecture has given me some tools to use in order to better manage my work/home life.
Donald is correct. This job is time consuming and stressful enough, then you add the pressures of this course on top and having to prioritize your schedule to make it all work. It has definitely turned into an exercise in adaptation for me and those I supervise. It is a lesson in trust and delegation.
Donald,
I couldn't agree more. I have done a poor job managing my time with this course and life trying to balance. Either life or this course seems to get my everything until I burn out and nothing gets my time.
I am in complete agreement with you Donald! I have been in a learning process since Command College started; having to manage my time between work, the kids, and completing class time.
This was a very insightful module and good review for me. It reinforced areas I need to work on in stress management and having a better balance of work life and personal life. This would again be a good area to cover in academy classes when people are just starting off in this career as well as in-service trainings to reinforce to folks already in this career.
Jeff,
I absolutely agree with you. This could absolutely have a huge advantage to being taught to recruits in the academy. This module also covered areas of improvement for me as well.
I found this lecture very useful. I think as LE we get caught up in the day to day work and conflicts and forget to focus on our own self-management. By covering the 12 skills of self-management, I think all officers would benefit and live happier and healthier lives. I think that this could be a great in-service or even a briefing topic which is covered with my crew throughout the year. There are skills that pertain to our field more than others so I think I would focus more on those.
Jared, I agree. I think this is something that should be taught at the start of our careers. I know I would have benefitted from it early on.
Jared,
We absolutely tend to get caught up in our day to day activities and life in general to the point we forget to focus on our own selves. I absolutely think this is something that officers can benefit from if taught at a in service or during shift briefings. The 12 skills of self management is very beneficial. Very well written post.
This lesson has taught me to look at what my struggle is management. I can also see some of those that I used to have but have over come them with trying to get better.
Shawn,
That is good to hear that you have over come some of the struggles you have had with self-management. I had mentioned that the skills listed in this lecture are very important for LE. To be able to have self-management skills will directly impact how our officers interact with the public.
This module outlined several things that I need to work on within myself to give me the proper balance between work and family life. The skill of Life Planning to Provide Motivation and Balance was written for me, I think. I have definitely had my eye on goals and milestones I wished to achieve in my career, with my eye on the finish line. I have never taken the time to invest in myself, always saying that there will be time. Now I see that investing in myself and my overall quality of life will benefit me personally and as a leader.
This lesson taught me that I was basically winging it. Taking the learning style test and the Holland code, has provided more self-awareness. Understanding the 12 management skills in this lesson has also uncovered areas for which I need to strengthen. Mainly, life planning, personal purpose, and personal vision. With this module’s topics and the EOL book, I will commit to review on at least a quarterly basis to assist in course correction.
This was a good lesson. Through the years, I have made many mistakes and learned from them. Learning about these skills earlier would have saved many growing pains. I believe balance is where I need more work. It's challenging to balance life and health when you immerse yourself in work and consider that your time off is spent working details. I need to continue to improve myself in all skills, but balance is definitely at the top of the list.
Jose I feel the same way about balancing myself more. Developing my life plan. I have focused so much on my career and being good at it, as well as providing a life style for my kids, that I couldn't even identify a hobby or something I do for myself to relax. Working details doesn't count! This is definitely an area that I need to focus on.
This module is certainly a learning point for me. Many of the skill sets discussed are things that I am still working on even 12 years into my career. The skills are ever-changing and adapting based on our current positions and assignments and we must be willing to reinvest the time into sharpening these skill sets. I find one of the most difficult skills to manage is Time and priority management. This is something that I have had to continuously work with throughout my personal and professional life.
I agree. I also think most law enforcement officers struggle with balancing work and personal life. Most of us sometimes spend our days off working details. It's good to take a vacation when possible.
I agree with you that i have had at least 7 since the beginning of my career and some that I still have.
This module points out that we all are different. Being present and intentional during meetings and other interactions with staff is something that requires our daily attention. Being present shows that you invest and have an authentic interest in your people. These skills are the building blocks that will help you become a better leader. To state the obvious, these skills will benefit you both personally and professionally.
This module was definitely eye opening for me. The 12 skills of self-management is something that everybody needs to learn so that we can help improve our entire lives. There are a few of them that I can relate to and need to work on. Stress Management, time management, and finding a balance between professional and personal life. Time management has been the biggest struggle for me right now, trying to keep up with work, Command College and taking care of everything at home. I realize I have a lot of room for improvement and plan to use these skills to better myself and others around me
Very well said, Darryl. Those three areas are key for me in improving as well. With school starting school for the kids, it will throw another major lifestyle piece to properly manage for my family and myself along with everything else going on.
Time and priority management is an important part of my day to day planning. Although the day often des not go as planned I try and keep on a schedule of daily tasks. Daily routine, coupled with prioritization with whatever i am faced with on that particular day is what I have learned works best for me.
Kevin,
Priority management is beneficial to cope with daily workloads. Planning out each day accordingly can be tasking at times but does allow us to stay on top of things and prioritize the needs for the day. Starting the day with a plan of action makes the day run smoothly in the midst of being chaotic at times.
I have witnessed many officers, especially those new to the career, have a lack of work-life balance. As an FTO, I told everyone I trained their shift starts at XXhours and ends at XXhours. That is when they should be at work. Not before, and not after (unless a call dictates otherwise). I would not allow my recruits to check e-mails prior to shift. If I saw them in uniform sitting in patrol report writing, I would let them know that is not okay. Life outside this job must be enjoyed. They have 10 hours per day to work, but the rest is their time.
As a supervisor, I’ve had to tell new officers to stop coming in early and to leave on time. I stress to my crew that life is a far greater priority than work and family is always first. I tell them if they are working, they must expect to get paid, but I am not going to pay them because they want to check e-mails prior to shift. This job is full of many stressors, so adding to our work day and being away from our life outside work should not be allowed.
Why do we wait for leadership training to work on self-management skills? These are valuable things for every officer to know. I am fortunate to have been exposed to these during previous leadership training. There are several areas that I still need to work on. Time and priority management is a major one and one that has become even more glaring as I work through Command College. Also, Energy management is another area where I lack. Why don't we as leaders spend more time getting this kind of information to our people?
I'm with your Burt. self-management skills are something that needs to be taught early on not only in our careers but also in life in general. As stated in the module, most people do not begin to learn these skills until their freshman year of college. Having an understanding of these skills prior to this can help with goal setting and career planning. many people do not attend college, but that doesn't mean these skills are any less useful.
Burt, I ask the same question. Especially when you look at millennials who desire leadership training. Even for others, if we are all on the same page of resolving conflict, self-awareness and perspective of others, seems we all benefit.
I found this module assisted in clarifying the information on how to achieve some of the goals I set during Learning Area 1, Module 6. I was forced to learn a lot of coping techniques and stress management techniques when I went through a divorce. I had gotten away from them because I no longer felt the tremendous stress that life change brought. This module reminded me of them and helped remind me that it is important to daily manage my life and stress. The way this module was taught was helpful as each of the 12 skills build on each other. I of course have a long way to go to be able to think “G.R.E.A.T.” (Therwanger, 2017). But as with all things I am on my path and am a work in progress.
Anderson, T. (2017). Every officer is a leader cluster 1. Module 7, Weeks 3 & 4. National Command and Staff College.
Therwanger, E. (2017). Think great. Module 6, Weeks 1-2. National Command and Staff College.
I have had some training in the area of the (12) self management skills in previous leadership classes. What is interesting to me is that these skills are not really specifically taught anywhere else prior to the leadership trainings. These are important skills for any person to have in any career field, not just law enforcement. One of the biggest things many working professionals struggle with today is the work life balance. The stress we unknowingly place on ourselves by failing to self manage has several detrimental health and life effects. My response to this for many years was simply I would figure it out when it became a problem. During my career, I have had points where the balance was quite off. I can say from firsthand experience it is not really that easy to just figure out! The idea of having an intentional plan ahead of time is a great one that should be taught in the law enforcement academy. In the newer academy curriculum in Wisconsin, there is a section on officer wellness that does talk about these areas. However, I think it should be taken a step further. Prior to starting out in your law enforcement career, I think each new officer should put together a plan on how they are going to address these issues prior to them arising.
Very good reminders. Dr. Gilmartin talks about your identity when we come into law enforcement and how our identity changes once we're on the job for a while. Family, church, kids are replaced w/special teams, OT, and internal stressors. Dr. Anderson has a similar take on work/life balance and handling stress. I have always told cops, at the end of our careers, our families just want us; happy and healthy. They are proud of us and our accomplishments but the arrests, awards are just superficial reminders of the past.
Jay, I agree with your statement about our families just wanting us to be happy and healthy. When my father retired from law enforcement that is one of the first things he said to me. He always told me how he wished he would have spent more time with us when we were younger instead of always working.
Absolutely! My biggest regret is the time I missed with my oldest when she was young. It is a sore subject in my world. A mistake I will not repeat...
Your response is so true and accurate. When we begin our career in Law Enforcement, we evolve into another person. Our priorities and routines change unknowingly. We become our careers and our family / personal life is molded to fit around it. We some how lose site what is important and what is priority.
The 12 self-management skills showed me different areas I can work on in my life and career. The one I felt I could use the most work on was provide motivation and balance in life. I have never been able to really balance work and my personal life, as it is always more work with me. I know that this is something I need to work on and ensure I am putting just as much into my personal life as I do my work.
Balancing work with home is always a struggle. I feel the need to participate at work and provide for my family. This causes me to spend too much time away from family. In recent years I have come into a better balance by being more aware of the non-verbal communication from my wife and kids when talking about work and using that to realize when I need to be home more.
Derek, I agree. As first responders, we seem to always be at work. Looking back on my career, I missed a lot of my families' personal achievements because I was working. Also, for me, time and priority management has been a struggle and I always seem to take on too many task at once, then I'm stressed and overloaded. I'm working on it and this module has helped me prioritize some things.
I enjoyed all learning about all 12 Self Management Skills but what I really enjoyed Skill 1. Grounding is my favorite because I feel without being grounded you will not know how to stand alone if needed. Being grounded helps you stay calmly focused in the present moment. I agree that if you are not grounded you are a security risk to yourself and others. I think that being grounded is also being confident in yourself, as well as other's you lead.
Grounding, especially in LE, is a key factor toward success. The ability to remain confident (or at least appear confident) while maintaining self-control are two of the best skills officers have in guiding difficult people/situations toward success. I worked in a jail for awhile and the inmates clearly see those who are not grounded (both the officers and new inmates). They work very diligently toward manipulating the non-grounded persons around them to gain any standing they can. The same goes on the street and the employee who has solid footing will not be easily swayed, will remain focused, and will be able to keep control of situations much easier.
I really have to say that this a module I wish I would have been exposed to many years ago in its entirety. The years have gone by so fast that now it almost seems overwhelming to me to focus on the twelve skills; but I will. Especially number 11.
Like the saying goes Chris...control what we can our attitude and effort. The rest is out of our hands.
Jay Callaghan
Session #013
There was a wealth of information that I really needed to hear in this module. Remaining centered and articulating a sense of purpose and vision were of particular import to me.
I agree Robert. Centering is the foundation on which all other skills rest! Centering can either help you fail or succeed.
Dr. Anderson's (2021) Self-Management Skills really resonate. Day to day activities in a law enforcement agency can be stressful at best and a chaotic nightmare at worst. Being able to effectively address stress and proactively developing plans of action in anticipation of issues is sage. Interestingly, introspection was addressed in a predication that few folks actually are introspective and self-reflective.
In order to survive the environment that exists today, law enforcement professionals must develop these skill sets. Failing to do so creates health risks and narrows one's professional focus. The 12 skills posited by Anderson (2021) reveal a comprehensive plan for physical, mental and professional development while allowing time for assessment of goals and life balance. It certainly appears to be a wonderful and useful tool in developing our self-management skills.
Anderson, T. (2021). Self-Management skills. Module # 7, Week # 3. National Command and Staff College.
Kenneth,
I completely agree with your assessment. It is so important to be able to use these skills in order to have a balanced life and manage your stress. Life is stressful, work is stressful, and law enforcement are highly politicized and unpopular these days. It is only through strong beliefs, character, and dedication that this career can be sustained without succumbing to the stress and walking away.
These 12 basic management skills show us areas where we can improve our everyday lives and to help those new officers that come under our command. They we point out whether this is the job for you. They also teach us to get our priorities in order to deal with the stress that we come into contact with everyday.
These 12 basic management skills show us areas where we can improve our everyday lives and to help those new officers that come under our command. They we point out whether this is the job for you. They also teach us to get our priorities in order to deal with the stress that we come into contact with everyday.
Great module to check your awareness of where you stand in your career and life. It makes you take assessments of areas many may not have considered.
This lesson pointed out that as my time and responsibilities are consistently changed, it’s very easy to lose myself in work that is being demanded of me at the moment. I find I might be forgoing leadership opportunities because my priority is a tasking given to me by the Chief of Police. I think creating a list, categorizing individual tasks, and then creating a timeline for completion is the first step towards managing my time. This is something I think is easy to do and can be started almost immediately.
I agree that time management and being task oriented is very important to effective in your leadership role.
This module shows the importance of having self awareness and how so many other aspects of our lives are impacted by how well we know ourselves. I really liked the information on Skill #4 - Purpose and Vision. I have never thought about why my actual purpose statement would be or what my vision of life 5 years down the road should be. Its easy to get wrapped up in the day to day struggles and lose sight of our purpose in life. Very good information!
I loved this lecture. It really opened my eyes and taught me a lot about myself. It made me realize how valuable it is to find a balance between job and family. I sometimes feel I have 2 spouses. The one at home and my job. Balance is a must.
Yes, life is all about balance and prioritizing the energy we put into work, home, and leisure. This is an area where I need to improve. In my 20's I was all about work and doing whatever needed to be done to further my career. I'm now realizing in my 30's that my values have changed slightly and a meaningful, happy life involves more than just being successful at work.
I agree. Police work is especially of sucking people into a life style of it's the most important thing in the world and everything else is secondary. Having a proper work/life balance if crucial to long term happiness and success. We must be able to shut it off when we are done for the day, and know that the others can do the job in our absence.
This is exactly how I felt when going over this lecture. I've learned through others that the one thing that is certain with your work is that once you are gone, you will be replaced. You can not make up for lost time with your family and that sometimes is learned the hard way.
I found this module to be an excellent way to see the “big picture” with regard to personal wellbeing, in both professional life and at home. The skills were interesting and I liked how the focus was widespread to include mental health, physical health, family health, and career health. I believe I will be able to thoughtfully put into practice much of the information learned to immediately affect myself.
This lesson really taught me things that i need to do to improve myself. I catch myself being overstresses, too much on my plate, worrying about things I cant control and so on. The way I thought I was handling it I see is not the correct way. I am doing damage to myself, my family and my career. I need to learn to use some of these techniques to make myself a better person, husband, father, and leader
I found I related to so many of the 12. It was an eye opener for sure. Showed me where I needed improvements .
When I first started I believe I also let the stress get to me but the longer that I have been on the job I have taught myself how to deal with the everyday challenges that these 12 management skills to improve how to deal with the stress.
Steve, don't feel guilty; I think we all suffer from that. We wouldn't be where we are in our agencies without the drive to serve others. That drive tends to have us put ourselves second on a list of priorities. Our families and peer groups around us suffer from us devoting our all to work. I need to work on this myself.
Skill 6, Panning to Provide Motivation and Balance in Life, greatly resonated with me. I’m not driven by promotions and/or rank in the department, but I do have a strong desire to work and accomplish goals I have set for myself or the department. Unfortunately, because of the workload I take on, it has affected my life balance. I think this quickly happens to any determined leader, which makes it essential to reflect on your intentions and recalibrate life in general from time to time.
I am guilty of several things that were identified in this module. The thing that I am most aware of is that I tend to wait until a plan is needed, or I believe that it is, to form one. I am aware that I do this often, and that it would result in less stress on myself if I made effort to change this. In times past I when I was more structured and "planned" my days, life seemed to run more smoothly. However, over time, I have evolved back to not planning until I already needed to have a plan. This is something I intend to remedy.
I am the same way. I tend to "wing it" at times and that causes me more stress. I believe having a plan and sticking to it will help in my professional and personal life
Paul- I feel it. I oftentimes wait until the last minute to plan. Further, I seem to march off into the weeds when faced with extensive projects for the boss. It seems as though I tend to decide he needs something other than what he has asked for. I do this because I over-analyze sometimes and over-commit. This leads to time management issues and disrupts my life balance.
I have improved over the last several months in this arena. I have to make myself do so...but I am better off for it!
Best and stay safe-
Ken
I remember hearing years ago that the average law enforcement officer retired at the age of 53. The statistics showed that most were forced into early retirement due to bad backs and cardiac disease. Decades of wearing the gun belt, combined with poor eating habits were to blame in most of these cases. It was also noted that the median age of death for retired law enforcement officers was 55. These statistics and Doctor Andersons lecture made me seriously think about my personal health and mindset. I definitely plan on incorporating all skills taught, especially number 11.
Man, due I agree with you. the years have gone by so fast and to think of the age reference you've given is a serious wake up call.
This module on Self-Management caught my attention right away and I found myself relating to many of these skills. One of the skills that I believe is obviously important is “Centering.” We in law enforcement need to hit the “reset button” from time-to-time and balance out our work and personal lives. The example he provided with officer’s having a pulse rate of 68 beats per minute on their days off, climbing to 100 beats per minute when they arrive to work, is very concerning. Staying centered, promoting health and wellness, and reducing stress are ways for us to stay connected and become more effective at work and at home.
This stood out to me as well, especially since I have recently seen the results first hand. I got a Garmin smart watch and it's crazy how many alerts I get at work that my bpm has climbed over 100. Rarely if ever do I get them when I'm off. Something to be mindful of and that I'm working on.
I think law enforcement professionals are under a tremendous amount of stress. I was especially interested in the stress management skill in this module. I use all of the points given in the skill with the exception of deep relaxation. I can understand where the deep relaxation is beneficial. Life is chaotic! Work is chaotic! I'm going to take the time when away from work and try the deep relaxation to free up stress. The topic of positive mental attitude was also interesting. I think that having a good attitude about a certain uneasy situation can help us have a positive outcome.
Self-awareness is a ladder I have been climbing for years, it is my nature to want to help people I know. I spent many years tired and stressed out with no time for my family. Whether I was coaching kids, sailors, or cops I was always hypervigilant about their success. I believed their success would lead to my promotions and the betterment of my life. I learned a valuable word that improved my home life immensely, NO, I had to use that word to spend time with my family. As I went through the 12 skills I could see into the past and all the changes I made to improve my life, and with my life, in order, I was able to help others without sacrificing my downtime. I am still working on the self-talk but I do play golf and that causes me stress and doubt all the time.
I found it thought provoking to have each of these 12 self management skills pointed out in this module. I can say that I have given very little thought to most of them before now, however during the lecture portion I found that I should spend more time reflecting on myself. All too often we focus on the coming to work, doing our job, go home and repeat. I for one need to spend more time focusing on my work life balance. I started this career having people stressing the importance of life outside of work, however as I advance through promotions I find it more and more difficult to maintain that healthy balance.
I couldn't agree more. It seems with every promotion comes added responsibility, which is good, but also bad because it can pull us further away from being able to balance our professional and personal lives.
Self-management is essential when one looks at the myriad of self-destructive things individuals in this profession experience. As seen in the military understanding, these concepts are essential to retain and support our most valuable resource. It all starts with grounding and centering. An exciting point drawn from the lesson is the importance of maintaining self-control and resetting to set a command presence under stress. Too often, it seems like an individual with years of experience, whether career or life, tends to reset more often or quicker than their younger counterparts. The challenge to an organization is the older and wiser officers tend to be in leadership roles when the younger officers in the trenches are the ones with this poor life skill. Their inability to react to and handle stress is often the root cause of complaints or dissatisfaction with the profession.
We, in Law Enforcement, don't really pay attention to our own needs. It was very refreshing to get a reminder that not only our body but our mind and spirit needs to be renewed daily. We deal with so much and it's also a great reminder that if you take care of yourself, mind, body and soul then the people you lead will know and follow. The 12 skills discussed made me think of my values and priorities and what is most important. I believe at some point in our career we focus more on work because we don't live an intentional lifestyle through planning. I really learned a lot in this module.
NIcole
What if we could make the values of Mind, Body, and Soul the values we instill in every new and veteran officer. There are 12 skills in this module to help guide anyone to self-awareness, look at how many are covered by education, exercise, and stress relief. We could not just save careers but how many LEO lives might we prevent being victims of suicide.
I enjoyed this module. The ability to look in the mirror and manage yourself is a great way to continually develop or reenergize yourself. the 12 skills covered help to with a framework to better focus your efforts to manage yourself and create a healthier life balance. This skill set should be required in every academy course as it is just as vital to officer safety as other tactical skills.
This module was very eye opening and one of the best so far. The 12 self management skills all have great information. Maintaining a positive attitude is the hardest one for myself, but with the insight that this module provided will be very helpful. The resource at the end needs to be shared not only with the leaders in our agency but all staff members. I found it to be very informative and motivating.
I completely agree with all of the turmoil that we face within our agencies and now with public perception, this is very necessary.
Every single skill is needed. Most of them seem so common sense. It seems we get so caught up in our daily grind that we forget to put these skills into practice. the skill that I need to work on the most is time management. This usually stems from too many distractions or trying to do too many things in one day.
I feel the same way about the challenges of time management. I have found that the idea of prioritizing what needs to happen now verses what can wait as presented in the lecture helps me with that.
Time management is crucial. This topic is not only important in our careers in law enforcement, but in our daily life too. We need to prioritize and balance everything very carefully. Having the different “levels” of priority is a great method. Knowing what needs to be done and what can wait will help us when balancing multiple tasks.
The module outlined a lot of life skills we take for granted. It was interesting that they are presented as building off the previous skill. As we went through them and I found where I could improve, I noticed I could improve on the skills that followed. I also know people that need great adjustments in areas and likewise the remaining skills for them could be improved too. It seems knowing how much first responders are affected by this, it would be part of the curriculum in the basic course. Although, it could have been in mine but I knew everything back then and would have been day dreaming about something else.
Goosfraba
"GOOSFRABA!" Anytime you can quote and Adam Sandler movie, I'm obliged to comment and "like".
Seriously, these skills would be very helpful if they were presented in a basic academy setting. Starting off a career with the proper skill set is way more helpful than trying to fix things later on.
In order to succeed and take care of your staff, plus home life, we must use the 12 skills to strive for better self management. We can have a great work life but if your family life is not in line, it will definitely spill over into your work life. We need to find the balance between the both so we can succeed in both.
Time management combined with understaffing. I have recently moved my office to a remote building within our agency which has facilitated greater efficiency. In the past with the number of personnel that would come in and just want to say hello was reducing work output by about 2-3 hours per day. Exercise, nutrition, sleep, and relaxation when combined increase our longevity with an organization continuing to promote a positive work environment; this also contributes a positive home life.
I often use exercise to help get rid of frustration and to assist with reducing stress. I found it interesting in the lecture how he pointed out that 20-30 minutes of exercise and deep relaxation can truly help with that. I knew that it works for me but I never thought of it as an official coping mechanism. I often feel that the exercise portion is easier for me as I often struggle with shutting my brain off from running with all of the thoughts that are most likely causing my stress. Relaxation is more of a challenge for me because of that. More time off and routinely checking in with myself is probably necessary and would allow me to relax more. This is very important to do, especially when in a leadership role. Stress can negatively effect you, which in turn can impact your team.
I hear you Kari. In 2015 I found myself stressed out to the max. My resting heart rate stayed above 100 while at work and developed tightness in my chest while on duty. I knew it was time to do something and ended up sitting with a man who taught me how to meditate. I sat in a chair for 20 minutes, twice a day, and it transformed who I was and how I felt. My resting heart rate came down and it strengthened my grounding tenfold.
By breaking the skills down to 12 distinct methods, it made the ideas and the theories presented all the more approachable and achievable. I will have difficulty in finding just one to write on in the essay section since there are so many that resonated with me.
Brad, I feel the same way. So many apply to many that I can't just write about one.
Brad,
I agree that numerous skills relate to one another. I thought this was a very good module.
Stress and energy management were two areas of this module that resonated with me. It is hard to find that "balance" in life the higher within the organization you go. At least for me, this holds true. Not that Escaping the job in 2021 is nearly impossible unless we bury our phone in the backyard. There is always someone calling to ask a question, needs a day off, or some unforeseen "something" arose at work. Email, text messaging, phone calls, and virtual meetings occupy so much of our work lives. The pandemic surely didn't help alleviate stress for anyone either. Working remotely seemed to only encourage more need for interaction among people. As the instructor indicated, experimenting with ways to reduce stress and increase energy is probably the way to go. I guess I still need to experiment.
Time management was another area of this lesson I could relate to. There is a lot of wasted time throughout a day merely by people stopping in to say hi. I like the idea of scheduling time blocks throughout the day in order to accomplish various tasks such as sending an email or returning phone calls.
I can honestly say that time management used to be a major issue for me. The idea that you mentioned about scheduling time blocks has worked wonders for me. I felt like I was often running behind or forgetting something until I started setting reminders and those blocks to make sure I was accomplishing everything. I hated always having the feeling that I wasn't doing everything that I committed to. I felt like I was better at managing my time than that, but sometimes with so many tasks on your plate, you have to keep yourself more organized in that way.
I agree. I definitely found myself looking in the mirror in this module. Especially in regards to stress management and life balance. Great points. Better time and stress management skills are so important to help deal with the increasing demands upon a person.
Andy, I see that stress and energy management also resonated with me. I work out daily during my lunch break now that I can break away from work. This is something I have tried to incorporate into patrol shift work. This, along with better eating habits and quality sleep, is essential to an officer's performance. I'm not so partial to the time block since our jobs as police tend to be fluid. There's a need for others to talk to each other throughout the day, and there's no specific time frame we should exclude ourselves from others.
This was a great module on how to just be great person and how to strive for constant self-improvement. I would assume that all the people involved in the command college have enough life experience to have gone through a challenging or trying time in their life really establishing their belief system. These skills need to be taught at a much younger age. They should even be part of elementary school education. Teaching our leaders the skill set to manage stress before it happens, keeping a positive mental attitude, and life balance are extremely important. I think in some people’s view a lot of these subjects are just common sense but do we really practice them? The human mind is a powerful thing and if we do not take care of our own wellbeing your thinking can lead you down a negative path, especially related to law enforcement. Just the simple fact of having a positive mental attitude can totally change your view on something negative that comes your way. I have had a number of discussions with my teenage son about looking at thinks negatively and changing his perspective into making something positive. I think in law enforcement we can all understand attitude is everything. As a leader I will take someone with a positive attitude any day over someone with talent. I also liked the idea of preparing yourself and your people for stress management before it happens. In law enforcement many times we wait too long until so much has piled on the officer, they have difficulty digging themselves out.
The biggest thing I took away from this lecture was living on purpose and not by accident. I feel I have lived most of my life by my design but there are times that I can look back on and could have influenced or changed my outcomes. I feel that over my career in corrections I have become more grounded and centered. I have a strong value and belief system but I do feel that I would have benefitted having had more guidance in my early 20’s with finding my purpose. My struggles today are managing my stress, which I assume is very common in law enforcement. I have done resiliency training but I am always my biggest critic and don’t allow myself mistakes.
12 skills for living on purpose not on accident should be a required part of the curriculum for all those entering the law enforcement field. After listening to this section, I thought to myself, "if I only knew then what I know now." Most officers lives would be totally changed and they would be in a different place if we knew this before and could follow these instructions. My guess is there would be a lot more officers who would be independently happy, finding true joy in their lives and careers. Finding happiness with what they have and not with what they can't have. Looking at skill #10 stress management, this is something we all need to pay close attention to so that we can keep on eye on ourselves as well as our partners and hopefully never loose another officer to suicide which is the end result from failing to recognize this key component.
Excellent point about wishing we knew then what we know now. It makes you think a lot about what we could accomplish, but on the flip side I really believe that youth hinders our ability to think as critically or as deep as we do with experience. It's the experience that shapes us to look for purpose in our life. It makes me question at what age most people find true happiness with themselves and their life in general.
I like how each of the 12 skills build upon the next, and how each is important in both our personal and professional lives. These skills are based on self-awareness, and require emotional and social intelligence to master. These skills will probably never be fully mastered, but provide a framework for living a fulfilling life in all aspects. Every day that you live is a new opportunity to make a difference, a new chance to be live better. Tasha Eurich's video stressed to me the importance of not spending too much time looking in the rear-view mirror or you might miss something ahead of you.
I enjoyed Eurich's video as well. The twelve skills discussed become more easy to break down and define and therefore more attainable. This module was well done.
The skills covered in this module were all very relevant to our profession. Energy management and health performance stood out for me. Focusing on your personal health will help to avoid many other issues that arise from a stressful job.
My thoughts and comments exactly William. I posted that these 12 skills for living should be included in EVERY law enforcement skills program around the country. We need to do better on informing our new hires of these factors so they can start making lifestyle changes and adjustments early on instead of too late in their career.
These positive lifestyle choices have numerous benefits. Departmental polices which facilitate personal health should be implemented creating a better work environment decreasing the amount of stress caused by lack of sleep (double shift after double shift), poor nutrition, exercise (sitting in a car for 16 hours a day; elevated heart rate due to the inability to relax.
This lesson opened my eyes to having to take care and making a better me. I have dedicated so much of my life to my career and stress over meaningless things.
The video with Tasha Eurich talking about self-awareness really brought some clarity to work life. I took the most out of the stop asking why and replace it with what. Out of all the conversations I have had with staff I wish I would have done this more.
There were several skills presented in this lecture that provide us great leadership skills enhancement. Personally, I found a path forward in time blocking and priority management. Being able to time block my day allows for greater focus on administrative tasks and responding to emails while allowing my employees the opportunity for discussion during open blocks.
I am going to try the time block thing too, what can it hurt right? Days go by like minutes most days and it is frustrating to look back at the end of a day to only scratch your head on what you accomplished. Making appointments you stand by might be just what is needed.
I was in the same boat as you. Not blocking out times, let to me chasing butterflies all the time. One thought would trigger another and I would have a half dozen or more things partially done, and most poorly done. Managing my work time, which I'm still very much working on, gave me more time at home and help me start meeting some goals.
During this lesson I found it interesting they spoke about planning and balance in life. I agree this topic is lacking in our K-12 setting, but even as our future leaders begin to move up the management track, I wonder if they are in the field they are passionate about, or if they are just moving up. There is greater focus on advancement and moving up the career track, and less focus on where individual strengths are and developing areas of specific passion. It seems people are entering the field not because they are passionate about the job or calling to work in public safety, but rather look at it as being just a job. I think some of our recruitment efforts could be better served attending high school career fairs and really explain all the ins and outs of the career.
I agree with your assessment. I see this more evident in corrections as a stepping stone into law enforcement. Working in a jail is just a job to move into a licensed position. In fact a lot of metro area counties will require deputies to work in the jail prior to working on the streets. This is frustrating for me because of the work and effort put into someone. There are times when that person realizes they don’t want to be on the streets and come back to the jail, but that rarely happens. Having more development earlier in their careers and education would be highly beneficial. At least I think I would have benefitted from it more.
Well put Cynthia. I think we're wiring our kids and ourselves to constantly have something going on or somewhere to be. That lifestyle seems to contradict this lesson. Finding a way to relax and focus sounds very nice. I just don't know how to get there.
This module is definitely an eye opener. I remember when I watched this video taking the ICLD courses. This video pointed out several areas I need to improve upon. Seeing it again is a reminder of the work I still have to do. Stress management and positive mental attitude are probably my two biggest areas I need to work on. I hadn't seen the video with Tasha Eurich previously. Her comment about self analysis being able to trap you in a mental hell is spot on. Her comments about asking what instead of why were a great reminder. I've heard this before and it works very well. For some reason it is natural to ask why. I've proven to myself many times over that it is more successful to ask what instead of why. I just need to get back in that habit and hopefully I can maintain it this time
The immense power of ‘why’ as it relates to self-reflection and how just a change in the focus to ‘what’ immediately shifts the lens is interesting. The examples of how easily one can enable the subconscious brain to invent things that seem true. Taking a solitary event and spinning into a definition of one’s relationship is ruminating at its best. Being grounded and centered, that ability to slow down and reflect on one’s values and beliefs goes a long way to fight the demons inside.
It's amazing how important it is for us as leaders to have a clear vision for our future. That clarity of vision will not only help us, but also the people we lead. I gotta be honest, I've never really mapped out my goals in life but have been simply living from one day to the next. Life got busy for me quickly and my wife and I started a family at a young age. Things have turned out just fine but I have to wonder if I had established earlier a vision for my life if I'd be in the same place I am right now or if I'd be in another town or even a different profession.
Dr. Terry Anderson provided some great advice. The awareness skill of grounding hit home for me. I could benefit by living in the here and now and not thinking about other things while people are engaging with me.
I am always thinking of "what's next", instead of being in the present fully. This was very interesting for me as well.
I also am always trying to think 2 steps ahead. Being grounded in the present is something I will work on both in my professional and personal life.
What am I doing now that is making me a better person, husband, father, leader is so much more valuable to me then why am I not a better person, husband, father and leader. Little performance changes to how we think certainly make a big difference. I have tried to apply this principle as often as I could lately and I have been surprised by its impact. I was trying to explain to my son how to complete a certain assignment for school and I asked him 3 times why don't you understand what I am saying. Then like magic I asked - what can I do to help you understand. He provided me the information that I was lacking, 30 seconds later he was working on his assignment with clarity.
I think this is such a powerful statement and realization. Sometimes, as the leaders we perceive ourselves to be, we think we know what our people need. So much, that we often do not ask them if their needs are being met, or what they might need to be more successful. Even with the best intentions, we can unintentionally devalue someone with our best intentions. Words, and the way we use them, really do have so much power.
I like how you phrased that logic about your son and homework. It's easy to get frustrated with our kids after a long day of our own. Trying to reach him or our followers at their level is a good idea. What sounds common sense to me might not be for someone else.
Eurich’s discussion during her TED talk was very compelling. I found it interesting that 80-90% of us don’t have an accurate identity of our self-awareness.
I was also interested in the health portion of this module, specifically when the study was done about police officers heart rates while on shift as well as leaving shift. I’d be curious about my cardiac health, especially while at work, maybe a fitbit is in my future.
I identified several skills in this module that I need to work on. For example, I am terrible about admitting that I am under stress and often don’t acknowledge it to myself either (Skill # 10-Stress Management). I don’t think this is particularly healthy and I can look back at my career and identify multiple instances where I should have asked for help but didn’t. I also recognize that I need to spend less time in my “career box” (Skill # 7-Educational Planning and Setting Motivational Goals) to find more balance in my life. There was a lot of good information in this module, so it would be easy to get overwhelmed at first. However, if we look at it as a process and a journey or a commitment to ourselves, it becomes easier to process and adopt one step at a time.
I believe that once the person is centered they are able to focus on other skills. Being focus and having a vision is a major fact in planning anything. The 12 skills are very valuable to a person's life
Too often, I think we put the job before ourselves. This module was a good reminder that by taking care of ourselves physically, emotionally, psychologically and spiritually will serve us better in our personal and professional lives.
Great points Sgt. Blanchette. Dr. Anderson provided some awesome tools to help keep our lives in check. Staying balanced in this profession is key to success.
It is so easy to put ourselves last. Much easier to focus on our career, our families, friends, etc. You are correct though, we need to take care of ourselves so that we can better care for everything else. I too need a reminder like this class
You're correct about taking care of ourselves! If we let ourselves become run down, stressed and chaotic will not be beneficial to anyone. After listening to this lesson I will use the stress relief techniques discussed.
I wish I knew about the 12 Self-Management Skills when I first entered the police academy over 12 years ago to have better handled stress. In this module, the 12 Self-Management Skills presented by Dr. Terry Anderson were very beneficial to my personal and professional life. To be specific, grounding and centering gave me clarity and opened my eyes to what is important in terms of stress management. The correlation between my professional and personal are rooted on grounding and centering, which made me realize there has to be a proper balance between physical and mental health to proactively engage in activities to reduce and prevent stress. It terms of physical health, I realized that I need to maintain proper fitness levels to give my body the best fighting chance, should I ever be critically injured on or off the job. This also gave me direction on why mental health is very important. As leaders, it is important to be aware of our mental and physical in order to nurture personal and professional relationships. Grounding allows leaders to reset in order to maintain a state of resilience during high stress and critical incidents. Officers will emulate this state of calmness, allowing them to develop their own skills in these areas. It is also important to constantly speak with our people about these 12 skills. I will be practicing more meditation, try to get better sleep, increase my nutrition and exercise more often.
This module on the 12 self-management skills was thought was very good. There is no question that each of us can identify areas within these 12 skills that we can improve. I particularly like the Ted Talk which talked about changing the why questions you have (past thinking) to what questions (forward thinking) . That mind shift of changing your thought process from dwelling on the past to action oriented forwarding thinking is an excellent technique and mind shift.
I enjoyed this module immensely. The introduction video by Tasha Eurich, caught me off guard. I always considered myself as being introspective. She pretty much burst that bubble but she made some poignant points. The first is that self awareness is made up of several factors; how we see ourselves, how we fit in, and how others see us. Prior to this, I always thought of this as a purely personal process. Eurich also mentioned that people who ask why put themselves is a trap that only lead to paralysis and more stress. I immediately thought about a recent incident where I spent a considerable about of time and personal energy to find out why I felt the way I did about something I had done. In the end, I never really found the answer. Instead, I should have acknowledged my feelings and thought about what I could do in the future to do better. I could have really avoided a lot of needless "emotional Hell" as Eurich put it, over my life time if I had just focused on the right question to ask. The remaining 12 skills outlined by Dr. Long really do focus on the individual. We spend so much time looking out for others (family, friends, community members and co-workers) that we forget about ourselves. I thought it was interesting that the skills built on themselves. I might think that I have my career goals figured out but if that conflicts with my actual personal purpose or vision, I am setting myself up for failure either personally or professionally. The 12 Skills provide clarity, direction, a strong purpose, a grounded center and built in stress relief measures. I think that Skill #4 (specifying your personal purpose and vision) is especially applicable. This concept was discussed in a previous module and this particular module provides further insight into why doing this is so important. It's easier to move a head and accomplish personal goals if your vision and purpose are built on your beliefs (Skill #3) and your values (Skill #5). This in itself, is another example of why you cannot focus on one skill to the detriment of the others if you want to lead a successful and stress free life.
This module brought my attention to skills that I had not really put much emphasis on as of yet throughout my career, suggesting I have not been living as intentionally as I thought. I liked the idea of setting what I would call intermediate goals, such as a five year plan as suggested. Not too far down the road to be forgotten about, yet far enough out to make you stay vigilante in your efforts to obtain. I will use these skills as I work towards continual self improvement within my life.
The concept of living intentionally is really powerful, though like yourself, I’ve got some work to do to improve in this aspect as well. It is easy to get caught up in everything we think we have to do instead of focusing on what we really ought to be doing. The 5-year plan is long enough to make us reach beyond our comfort zone yet short enough to keep us motivated.
This module caused me to have a revelation as I reflected on the 12 skills presented and realized that I, all too often, ask myself “why” rather than “what can I do?” It’s actually funny thinking about Simon Sinek’s “why” in relation to this module. They may seem opposite at first glance, but I think people, myself certainly included, put too much effort into trying to explain or figure out that in which we have no comprehension for language…emotions. But these 12 skills that Dr. Anderson presented really clarified for me why I have changed over the years. My beliefs have changed due to my education and experience and the application of that which I have learned has impacted outcomes I just never realized until now. Having clarity of my “why” I do what I do is just as vital as understanding “what” is important to me and having a prioritized plan to get me where I would like to be.
I agree with this post. I also associated with the "WHY" vs. "WHAT" concept. I recently met with a shift to discuss some changes in our COVID procedures. After the meeting, I felt that I could have done better in the way I presented information. I frequently review things in my mind afterwards in an effort to be introspective. As always, I had a feeling that I could have done better. I spent a considerable amount of time mulling it over and even asked a fellow commander who was present how I did. In the end, I spent valuable time and emotional energy on something that I never really figured out. This module taught me that I cannot find reason for my motives or feelings. furthermore, I learned that in asking WHY, all you're really doing is creating alternate facts that relate to a past experience. This does not lead to answers. What I should have done was acknowledge my feelings about a topic and then figure out WHAT I can do in the future to do better. Only by asking WHAT I can do, will I ever learn and move forward.
I thought of Sinek's TED talk as well! I agree, two different topics on two different planes. These 12 skills seem to come down to health and time management. How many times do we tell ourselves, "I'll do just this one more thing and then I'll take some time off". Unfortunately, many of us never take that time off.
I like the beginning quote in this lecture that said "Live on purpose not by accident." It was a nice and fitting introduction to the 12 skills outlined in the module. I think the 12 skills provide for the balance between our professional and personal lives, especially when looking back on my own and seeing where I have placed too much emphasis over the years. I really saw value in skill #5, specifically "Plan to live within a set of personal values. Appreciate diversity of values that exists in others and understand how values that clash result in conflict." One of the biggest problems today (politics, social media, life choices) is that people by and large do NOT appreciate the diversity in values, to the point where its their way or else...Very disheartening, but also an opportunity for us to live by our values and realize our job is not to change others but to be OK with the difference. Another area I appreciate was #8- Career Planning and Setting Motivating Goals. This is an area that I have worked on throughout my career, and still hope to do more before my time is done. And finally skill #12 has and is important for all we do- Positive Mental Attitude. Good outlook to have when you think to face an apparent problem and see it as a positive challenge.
"Live on purpose, not by accident," was a great quote with a deep meaning. The 12 self-management skills were great reminders that we need to take care of our well-being; not only personally but professionally as well. The purpose and vision specification really caught my attention. I've started to create my own purpose and vision statement to provide a more clear outlook 5 years from now for my career. While I have long-term goals and aspirations, I like the idea of setting something up 5 years at a time. A skill I know to work on is time and priority management. I often agree to do so many things that I sometimes find myself scrambling to finish them as the deadline approaches.
I think 5 year plans (rather than just long term) is a great idea. If an officer desires to be chief, that's great. But they should take it one step at a time and build a foundation. Maybe start with FTO, Sergeant, Lieutenant, education, etc.
I appreciated this module as it discussed the 12 "Self-Management" skills, as they identified, "skills of living and working effectively, and the skills of living on purpose, instead of by accident." It’s interesting to view these skills sets and look back at past situations in my life where I could have utilized these in my career and in my daily life. Skill 8: Career Planning setting motivating goals has been a focus of mine since I entered law enforcement, as I aspire to be an effective team member and develop skills for individual career development. This module provides more positive information that I can apply during my career and in my daily life. It also provides areas of personal development where I need to improve in, both professionally and personally.
This module was a great module to conduct a reality and health check. So many of us become so busy with our day to day tasks that many of us do not make enough time for our selves and our families. We are wore down by the day to day grind of our work assignments and the stress that accompanies those assignments. Getting thrown off center as one of the skills states can easily happen. I know for me I continually have full schedules day after day and I have found myself sometimes just stopping to try and take a deep breath just try and relax for a few minutes. I am going to use some of the suggestions in some of the skill sets such as prioritizing, set an exercise plan and just making time to do stuff away from work.
Good points Sheriff. I am guilty of putting myself behind the job and getting a plan in place to go forward needs to be a priority. Thanks!
This module was interesting with the explanation of the 12 skills that Dr. Terry Anderson delivered. To use these skills properly one would have to understand the differences and how to incorporate them into their lives and careers. Considering Dr. Anderson stated these skills aren’t taught at a younger age as leaders we should expose our younger officers to these skills as soon as they start their careers. It would benefit the new officer and the agency as a whole.
I agree that agencies should expose younger officers to these skills early on. I think this is something that can be taught at the academy or if not there, at the agency incorporated into an FTO program.
I thought the same thing as I was watching, especially after Dr. Anderson made the comment- I wish I had seen/heard this SO much earlier in my career. The younger group coming in will definitely benefit from having this sooner than later if we can make that happen. As you said, it would help them AND the agency move forward.
Excellent point. I wish I was exposed to these skills at the beginning of my career in law enforcement. It would have been very beneficial to my personal and professional life. I was informally introduced to centering last year by one of my role models. With the mindset of "every officer is a leader" it is critical for us to make our colleagues, supervisors and subordinates aware of these 12 Self-Management skills. Like you said it would greatly benefit all new officers and the organization as a whole. I will make the pledge of improving each one of these 12 skills to become a better person. The concepts in these lecture showed the importance of using the skills to become more productive at home and at work.
When I began my law enforcement career 21 years ago, I wish back then that I would have followed each one of these 12 “Self-Management Skills. Over time, I learned the importance of a couple of these skills the hard way. Nonetheless, at this stage in my life and career, I understand the importance of self-management in becoming a healthier, more productive, balanced leader.
The twelve skills mentioned in this module are important regarding the balance of life. This would work effectively in our agency with recruitment of new employees. I have always assumed and believed that when new employees embark upon their new career with a proper and fair beginning, that impact will always have a lasting impression on them throughout their profession.
As I watched this module and learned about the 12 Self- Management Skills I was surprised at when the skills were being explained, how many of them talked about stress management. It dawned on me that one of the biggest priorities in your life is stress management.
If you need a road map to change then this is the module for you. All the information is well presented with good examples. The trick to all of it is implementing and staying on course. None of these skills are real surprises but they can help make the difference in your life if you allow them to.
Yes, I use Skill#11, whenever I'm really stress from work I use my gym time to whine down and regroup. It's been a practice that I never look at as the main help that has gotten me through some rough times.
I have done the same thing. Taking time to go to the gym for just an hour, an hour of no other thoughts but just working out clearing your mind. I believe it can also help get rid of the cortisol which is built up from stress.
Concentrating on both my mental and physical fitness has been an area that I have enjoyed, and the gym has helped tremendously with relieving stress and developing a tactical edge. I have been lacking in this area for the past couple of months, which I have observed an elevated level of stress and decline in my physical health. It's interesting to notice how important this has been in my life for so many years, and how I've changed in these capacity's due to the lack of my attendance. This area is definitely important for me moving forward that I need to focus on.
While all 12 Self-Management Skills presented by Dr. Terry Anderson are beneficial to leaders, there are a few that probe at me and were needed in my career. As stated, often people do not realize they need to release stress until they have become so overwhelmed, having to find a way to rewind. In my organization I tell the guys all the time public safety is a challenging career. The day to day routine can change without a minute's notice. Take time to spend time with your wife, children, and grandchildren. Worship together and enjoy family time as much as possible.
What an eye opening module. I wish someone had introduced me to these 12 skills early in my career. I have had a pretty successful 40+ year career but my personal life has been pretty much a train wreck with 2 failed marriages and one son who barely speaks to me. So far so good on the third and these skills will sure help and I intend to use them.
This lecture about the 12 skills to strive for in self management strike a balance between life, work, and leisure time. The ability to maintain personal happiness, reduce burnout, keep in shape, and have a good family life is paramount. If you can not take care of your self, you definitely can not be of service to others. The ability to accomplish this requires discipline and and a definitive plan to succeed
Michael, your comments is correct, we have to take care of ourselves first and foremost. Make your plan and stick with it to reach your goals.
Agree with your comments. We do need to strike a balance between work, life and leisure. Although, I feel that many us struggle with that immensely. The skills from this module are all useful to put things in prospective for us and the need to have a healthy balance of each.
"Yesterday, I was clever, and so I wanted to change the world. Today, I am wise so I'm changing myself"- Rumi. Of all of the self-management skills taught during this module, the above quote, as shared by the very first Ted Talk speaker. I find this to be especially true for those of us that have been blessed to be promoted within our organizations. Contrary to contemporary thinking, before setting out to change what we now have "authority" to change, true leaders begin with themselves!
I totally agree. As leaders, we should continually strive to be a better version of ourselves today than we were yesterday.
I found this training module to be very informative. I believe that each of the self management skills discussed in this module are very important tools that can be used for training our staff during new hire orientation and during annual in-service training. Unfortunately, there inst very much of this type of training currently available for our staff to participate in.
I was thinking the same thing; if these skills are introducing earlier in a recruits career it will be a benefit to them and to the agency for their future.
I agree Mark that new staff do not have the same training opportunities and at times even understand why they need it and I think that is part of the answer. Information is always available if you only take the time to look for it. As we develop in our careers we begin to have different goals and aspirations and then we start to put the work in. When we are new we need to understand the FTO training and the basics don't do this but do this instead. However there are several key pieces of information that we have all learned. What my organization did was create a manual with veteran tips. Information that takes years to learn or experience and we provide it right up front. Some take it and learn others it takes more time to develop that desire.
These 12 skills are important to make sure you have a balanced life. i believe that this is something that we need to incorporate in new hire orientation, so it doesn't take people years to figure out. Starting new hires out on the right foot and hopefully not coming to that road block in their career. these can help them overcome any road block.
This module made me reflect on myself and address the areas in my life that need improvement. I think the best thing about this module is how it shows you ways to improve each of the twelve skills.
I feel all 12 of the self-management skills are important and should be addressed if a leader wants to be effective.There are a few skills that I don't even think about when addressing self-management. This module made me realize there a some skills that I need to work on that I have overlooked.
Stress Management and Energy Management are the two areas in this module that were the most relavent to me where I currently am in my career and my personal life. I thought this module provided some great reminders of ways that I can manage both of these areas of my life better. As a husband and father, I want to make sure I am phsyically and mentally strong for my children and wife. The stress that I carry over from work to home and vice versa is definitely effecting my health. This module reminded me that I need to work on these skills to be a better leader, husband and father.
There were some other great points made around Time and Priority Management that are very relatable to my role right now as well. When I am in the office it seems like there are constant fires being presented which gets me off schedule. Managing my time at work better will allow me to be more effective and organized leader.
Thank you for sharing your personal reflection and I couldn’t agree with you more. I do find time for some exercise and relaxation, but not near enough and sometimes it is at the expense of family time rather than work time. So, I agree that time and priority management are intertwined with Stress and Energy Management. I think if we can become better at these, we will inevitably lead by example and be able to mentor others in helping them be better organized and prioritize the right way. It should always be family first!
Learning about the 12 Self Management Skills was interesting. I think there are two areas I need to give strengthen which are stress management and time and priority management; for me, they seem to go hand in hand. I tend to try and accomplish more tasks in a day than time allows, in both my personal and professional life, then beat myself up for not getting it all done.
I don't carve out enough time for my own self care and stress management, as I had once done before I had a husband, kids, and career. No one is stopping me from doing this but me. I need to make both a priority. When I feel drained or stressed it definitely shows in my attitude and performance. I think by better managing my stress, time, and priorities I can feel more satisfied and productive in my personal and professional domains.
I wish someone would have taught me the 12 self management skills 19 years ago when I first started my career. This module helped me identify areas that I need to focus more on to become the most affective leader I can be. One of the area's that I struggle with is time and priority management. Trying to find the correct balance between my case load but also supervising other detectives case's as well as finding the appropriate amount of time to spend with the family. As I continue to grow as a leader hopefully a better balance will be found.
I agree that I wish I would have received this training years when I first started my career. Although I may not have paid enough attention the areas that I need to at this point.
I totally agree Mike. I my case it's over 40 years and two marriages and a a horrible relationship with one son. I'm on my third marriage and work at balance every day.
There are a few different self-management skills, I believe I can work on. The two that stood out most to me were stress management and energy management for health and performance. I know we blame it on the job, but there are definitely things that we can do on our own to better manage the stress and manage our health. I look forward to using the resources presented in this module to work toward these goals.
I agree we have to take ownership for the things we can change, which is us.
As an officer of 20 years, many officers with similar time in whatever their position is tend to become comfortable with how things are for them. The other, bigger majority are growing with the job as it also grows. They are hungry for more information and strive to be better and more successful at what they do. These officers, in my opinion, possess many of the 12 self-management skills. I’m not saying that the officers who I first mentioned do not, the officers in the latter category are simply more aware of what they need to do and have a strong desire to better themselves. Their motivating goals and desire to have a successful career path are the foundation for their success.
I agree with you on the younger generations seem to be more in touch and better equipped than us old dogs.
In this module, I learned that I still need improvement in some areas of the "self-management skills." Since I first began taking the leadership classes a couple of years ago, I have been working on my leadership skills and still have a ways to go. I wish I could have gained this knowledge before I became a supervisor. These skills will help me tremendously in the future.
You and I have been friends for years now. I first met you a long time ago when you were working as a firefighter. I think you made the right career jump because look at you, man, in a short time you've accomplished a lot!! We've had our differences, but those are in the past, and I accept blame for them. Always remember to be humble and learn from yours and other people's mistakes and don't make the same ones. It's exciting to work alongside you, hopefully for several more years to come.
I agree with you, Beau. After going through this module and doing a self-assessment, I know what areas I need to work on.
The lecture reminded me of how I have let many things in my professional life decay, because too many times, I am going from fire to fire, instead of prioritizing by true priorities, instead of who is complaining more. As for the personal life, I love my wife and she has put up with the emergencies that were and those that weren't from those phone calls, while at dinner, sleeping and so forth. We are in a profession where the landscape can change quickly, but our addiction to adrenaline or accomplishment has to go.
Thank you for your candidness! I feel the same way. And, not just with our positions as supervisors but sometimes life in general. But, yes, especially with work where putting out fires seems to be the bulk of what we do. And, yes, our addiction to adrenaline and accomplishments have to be put in check compared to what is most important in life with the most worthwhile investment!
This module really got my attention. I have struggled with stress and tension for years and having to fight high blood pressure and cholesterol as a result. I will be implementing these techniques immediately! These are also great tools for new officers to implement as they are starting out to avoid a lot of the issues most of us have gone through.
When you finally decide that management of your life to a balance between work and personal is a great moment. it take determination to realize that balance is the only thing that is sustainable. Over time your life or career will balance it self, with or without your terms. After loosing much needed weight, I recently decided to quite smoking after 25 years two weeks ago. Peers asked if I thought it was a good decision to try that during this course. It wasn't only good, it was great. Sometimes we think thinks help with stress and then realize they can cause it. Removing stress from both professional and person life is very rewarding.
I saw that you slimmed down a whole bunch last time I saw you at Nobiles. Congrats and also good job on the not smoking. Something I need to do......again. Maybe in 6 weeks.
This lecture has taught me that in the most stressful situation, I should be grounded so I can stay focus while making my decisions. also operating under a more balanced life can help make my profession less stressful.
This module makes you think of every aspect of your life and what you need to work on. It is easy to think and say that you have everything together in life. If you don't take a look at your life you can never improve yourself. If you never improve your self you will never reach any of the goals in life that you want to reach.
I agree with you. I was so focused on my career path that I placed my personal life on the back burner. After I reached my career goal, I looked back at the things I missed out in my own life. I now have a different outlook on my life and career path.
self awareness is huge. I like a lot of others lost sight of this pretty easily while focusing on achieving my career goals. Now as a father, I understand the struggles my dad went through when I was growing up and I'm doing my best to learn from his hardships.
This lesson opened my eyes and my mind to a lot of things I thought I had figured out and felt I was pretty strong on. I have always seen myself as grounded and centered but after some introspection, I can even still use work on both of these skills. The skill on Educational planning really hit home for me, I started this profession after failing out of college when pursuing my Bachelor's degree with the intention of returning to school to finish my last 3 semesters to reach my degree...that was 17 years ago now. I have also allowed the career drive to consume much of my personal life and have made personal life decisions that I am not proud of. I plan to start fresh from skill #1 and build a greater foundation and hopefully excel through all skills throughout the rest of my time at the department and life.
Definitely go get those semesters. I finished mine years ago, but a most of it was my dad pushing because he was afraid that I would not go back.
The 12 skills really had me thinking of where i could find self improvement. There's be day's where i admitting got off center and wasnt able to recenter myself. Also im guilty to be short sighted and put all my energy into the furthering myself in my career, while not always planning for my personal relationships. This module i will definitly take to heart and will use my notes to center myself once stress and anxiety takes over. I particularly liked Mr. Marshall Goldsman Rules a Happy Life.
This is a good set of skills to help you as a leader. It was an excellent refresher to remind yourself of the skills we all need to do. Of this list, I often time need to center myself back around so I can focus and get back on track.
In this article, I could not agree more with the lack of planning that we all do. I look at this course that I am in as part of the non-planned things in my life. I always thought that I would have gone back to get my master’s degree years ago, shortly after my graduation. I am proud to be going back to school; I just wish it would not have taken this long to reengage.
As we look at the skill of career planning, that changed for me with this job, as the police chief. I always envisioned in my mind that I would be doing emergency management when I retired or was not able to be a police officer anymore. With school safety, emergency management planning is ninety percent of what I do. I am glad I planned, by having a multi-discipline approach to this field. However, I wish though I would have been able to see this bigger picture a long time ago
I agree, many situations occur and cause us as leaders to get off track, but we need to know how to bounce back quickly, to continue leading our followers
Watching this video, I did a lot of introspection and realized how much more I could be doing to make my personal and professional life better. And most of it seems so simple and easy. I will definitely put some of the practices in this module to use. The one quote that really stuck out to me was in the last video. "You don't get in life what you want ladies and gentleman, you get what you are, not what you want."
Yes this lesson was really good and made me realize that i have so things to work on as well. It's amazing how we can think that we have it all together when we really don't.
This module made me think about the priorities I have set in my life or my purpose and vision. I want to be the best husband, father, and supervisor I can. How I can do that is up to me. I know, for some, that this may be a mixed up set of priorities, but my job is not as important as my family so it comes last. I love my children and I hope to be the best role model I can, but I also realize they will grow up to have families and careers of their own; leaving my wife and me. So the first thing on my list is being the best husband for her. My take-away is that as my life changed, my priorities evolved. I used to be more career focused, but that lead to stress at work which spilled to my personal life. I have become better as de-stressing and have refocused my efforts in being a better person and family man, which I believe may make me a better leader.
I agree Mike, I witnessed many people speak their last words including my mother. None of them ever said they wished they would have done better at work. When we focus on balance in all aspects we will be better at all aspects.
I enjoyed your perspective. When we grow, our priorities change for various reasons. I agree that finding certain balances as you used the example of de-stressing will benefit us in becoming better, which can include our leadership attributes.
Mindfulness and emotional management are subjects that are alien to most law enforcement training divisions. Perhaps law enforcement as a culture could stand to benefit from including this type of training in the on-boarding process.
I agree, that goes toward training the Rookie along with the old timers. I found the information extremely valuable and be putting it to use in my life.
This was a good module. I feel like I learned a lot from the self management skills. I especially like skill #2 Centering. Your center is your calm place in the eye of whatever storm you are facing. Over the years I feel like I have remained centered during high stressed situations. This module was also a reminder that I need to work on time and priority management. I don’t always have a good balance in my life. I often get caught up with my work which pretty much consumes my life. I need to start following a schedule.
I need to work on my time management as well. It is probably one of my biggest weaknesses. I try to do to many things at once. After watching his module I think I definitely need to focus my attention on one thing at a time as much as possible. Centering will definitely help with this also.
I agree with your views on both aspects mentioned, I too believe I have always been able to find my center even with multiple O.I.S. I have been unfortunate to be involved in. The issue of time management I believe is pretty systematic for our profession with the multiple hats most of us have to wear in our departments, with many task needing attention. All of which our given to us with the preconceived notion that they are all priority #1.
I felt this module was very informative and can benefit me greatly in the setting of priorities and especially the setting of a life plan before the setting of a career plan. I have seen many co-workers who define themselves by the job. Early in my career I would often forgo my own leisure or even family in an effort to "prove myself" and try to make sure my supervisors knew I was completely committed to being a team player. Now that I have a 7 year old son I realize my career is important in my life, but it is not the most important thing in my life. The last seven years I have focused on making sure my family is first and I have outside interests. I completed my Bachelor Degree and looked to this as my next educational challenge to better myself. Each of the skills discussed helps to contribute to making the individual a more rounded complete person and will strengthen the pursuit of becoming magnanimous.
In Module 7, learning about the 12 self management skills was very insightful. Knowing the more you practice and develop each skill, the easier it will be to develop the next one. It was good to learn that the skills are a perspective to give you of your life. I plan to utilize these skills in my every day leadership role to bring to my peers.
While undertaking this module of instruction into the 12 self-management skills, I found that as I was watching each section, I would ask myself if this was an area I needed to improve on. To answer that question honestly, I would say that each skill is something that requires constant reflection. I would say that I am deficient in each of these areas in one or another or in some kind of way. Hopefully by learning about these skills I will be able to identify areas of needed improvement and work on these areas so I can be a better, person, husband, father and leader. Achieving a balance in the process.
The 12 self-management skills showed me different areas I can work on in my life and career. Some areas I need more work on than others; time and priority management is one area I can use some work. As a supervisor, I have seen myself with 3-4 different priorities that came from the top. Everything we wanted to do and had prioritized took a back seat to the new priorities. This can be tough, but the sooner you realize what your purpose is each day, the easier it is to re-prioritize your missions and get them accomplished.
I agree with working on time and priority management. I also need to do a much better job. I don't have a good balance and really need to change the way I go about every day life. This module made me realize how important it is. I am going to start marking out my day and see if this helps.
Courses like this do make you look inward and reflect on how you react to crisis and stress.
In career planning not only did I like the statement about finding mentors so you don't fall under the Peter principle but it also mentions being a mentor yourself. Help guide those under your trust and prepare them for their next promotion. The section also briefly mentions getting mentors not from just with in your career but also from different aspects of your life. That is an important aspect as it will give you different perspectives and help balance you as a whole.
The opening of the session with the video presentation with Tasha Eurich, was rather exciting when she put things into perspective on how we think and know ourselves. The numbers she provided that only 10 to 15 percent of the individuals within their study group was genuinely self-aware. I have always felt that I was balanced with who I was until I looked further into the session. Knowing the introspective if I understood the word correctly enables us to explore ways of developing ourselves to reduce various factors, including stress. After thinking through the session, I have decided to reapproach some of the skills mentioned to build a stronger foundation with my professional and personal life.
When I watched her section I was reminded a a few former coworkers who had very high opinions of themselves. That is not to say they felt they were better than anyone else, but they often felt they were really great at what they did when the truth is they were average at best. They had experience but didn't always make great decisions, lacked self-motivation, and often just worried about putting their time in. I have always wanted to make sure I was not like that. Some of the self assessments and tips in this module help to take a true look at who I am and not who I think I am.
I also liked the opening video and found that in order for me to grow my introspective techniques need to change. I will start to ask myself WHAT more often than the alternative WHY.
Law enforcement experience more stress than most other professions which puts our well-being at risk. Following this 12 step program can help cope with them. I am a huge supporter of time management and believe it allows me to address the most important things first. When I do this I have more time to spend doing the things I love versus what I like. I already do many of these things. I just never did them in any order.
I agree I am a huge supporter of time management as well. As I got older in life and in my career things I learned to address and take care of the most important things first.
I am not going to lie. I really struggled with this module, but did discover that in my life and career one fact is definite. I excel in some of the self-management skills and need quite a bit of work in others. All of the skills are co-mingled and each affects other skills. Mastering each will ultimately make me a better officer, husband, father, and person.
Lance I found this module a little weak. Perhaps it has to be for one could spent months covering 12 self help areas in depth. One area that did peak my interest and has me thinking more on is purpose and vision. I plan on writing my 5 year vision this weekend.
Lance, I will have to agree with you. I also struggled with this module and found myself not really sure what to take notes on. One thing that did help me was actually reading about it in the Every Officer is a Leader book. It outlined the module a little better for me.
Some of the management skills hit home for me in this module. While I strive to be the best officer and leader in my agency, I don't add the same emphasis in my personal life. I give the agency 90% which leaves the 10% for the family. This course reemphasized that I need to have more balance in my life.
I agree with you, when we have a passion about something such as our job, we do tend to misuse the things that really matters to us, which is family. I'm also trying to make sure I balance my work life and personal life correctly.
I couldn't agree more. I fell this should be brought up to the new hires as I've seen time and time again new staff devoting so much time to the agency and not as much time focusing on home.
The 12 self-management skills were very informative and enriching. These skills need to be practiced built upon to get easier. Coming close to the end of my career makes me realize I have to start working more on life goals than career.
This module present 12 skills of self management. Each one builds of each other. Grounding in the one that I would say is the foundation of 12 skills of self management. Being grounded builds strength to maintain resilience to reset quickly. This important in peaceful state of mind.
I would have to say learning about the 12 self management skills was very enlightening. I learned that I have to continue building and practicing these skills in order for it to become easier. It is very important to take care of ourselves in every way. In recent years, I have found my purpose and it is an incredible feeling. I do, however, need to work on life planning and time priority management.
I concur. I already practice time management but could stand to refine some of my life planning. It’s hard to balance priorities between work and family. I do put family first and am fortunate that my boss encourages this but there also implied tasks that have to be addressed. I still have to pay the bills.
This is yet another module I wish I had the opportunity to take years ago. Much of what is covered I was forced to learn by trial and error, as I would wager is the case for most of us.
Two of the 12 skills resonated with me the most as needing work after I assessed myself: Planning to Provide Motivation and Balance in Life and Energy Management for Health and Performance. I need so much work in both that I am going to complete an essay for each, to set myself up to begin that work, then submit one.
Great motivation, Chris!! I believe new recruits could benefit from learning the self management skills.
I agree, I wish this would be a required type of training of supervisors. being able to recognize self-management and stress relief skill would be a great help in dealing with out stress and that of our deputies.
Yes this is something that should be given in orientation to new hires.
Self managing our mental and physical health involves so much. Have you ever known those folks who have the ability to disassociate from work? A couple of things are always apparent. They have interests and hobbies outside of work, and/or their home support system is firing on all cylinders.
I could not agree more, Sam.
I don't have a proper balance between life and work, but my eyes are open to the importance of it thank to Doctor Anderson.
I have already taken steps to improve the balance this morning and will continue working on it for the benefit of myself, my family and my team.
I agree with the mental and physical health. Physical health is easier to accomplish early on in your career, whereas mental health is needed later in your career. This is where your hobbies and family play a role in your health.
This is agreed upon, this video would be a great tool to use for training and to implement as a new hire tool. This maintains a tone that's not overwhelming, is easy top follow, and gives great resource material to fall back upon. It allows someone who may be overwhelmed to have a guide to draw upon.
This module was an eye-opening experience. The 12 skills are something that everyone can learn from and help improve their entire lives. Another student said something I was thinking as well; I wish I had learned about this early on in my career. Personally, planning to provide balance in my life was something I wish I learned a long time ago. As law enforcement officers, we tend to focus on our careers, at least in the beginning. Generally, we work shifts that take us away from significant events such as holidays and birthdays. We must find a balance in both our professional and personal lives.
I couldn't agree more. This knowledge would have really been great 20 years ago! We now have the opportunity to help those just starting out.
The 12 self-management skills in this module are so helpful in work life and home life. There are quite a few that I need to work on, but the biggest is time management. This has been a struggle trying to keep up with work duties, Command College and home duties.
Amanda I agree with you. Once we master the skills they will help us to become better people overall. I was thinking the EXACT same thing regarding the time management and stress management skills portion of the lecture.
The 12 skills were really an eye opening experience. Many can relate to all of them in our daily lives, personal and professional. I wish I would have had information on these a long time ago. There are several that I can relate too and see myself needing to work on. Work-life balance, stress management, time management just to name a few. Since starting this program, time management has been a huge problem trying to stay on task with my daily job and staying on track with the program too in order to finish on time.
Time Management has been an issue for me with Command College and work duties also.
I cannot agree more. Just think how more balanced our lives would have been if we knew this a long time ago. Not only with the stressors, we’re dealing with now, but everything in the past that we could have managed a lot better.
I agree time management has been a huge struggle for me too.
This section brought to light several self-management skills that we take for granted in our careers and personal life. The part on centering ourselves is a proper evaluation of if we are in control of ourselves. It’s like a state of alertness but relaxed at the same time. I know I have struggled with keeping my thoughts and emotions in check at times when dealing with supervisors who fail to do as they say. This is a time when I must calm myself down and become mindful. Equally important is, remembering to be happy and letting go of guilt in our life so that we can become centered again.
This module was beneficial in reminding me what is important in my life and career. To take time to enjoy life besides just all work. I like the quote "live on purpose, not by accident". There are several areas within my life to make improvements and the 12 skills of living and working effectively is a great reminder.
I, too, wrote down the quote, “live on purpose, not by accident.” Without a clear purpose, you will have some happiness but never real joy. I plan to look at my life from the outside and determine if I am keeping my life in line with my purpose.
I think the 12 self-management skills are very important to learn and recognize early in a career. This type of management is so beneficial to young officers joining the force. With "A" type personalities in this profession, we drive ourselves and are afraid to show weakness and act like we have it all under control. We put to much on our plate and create such a stressful environment that we think we can handle, when it does not need to be that way. I think by knowing these 12 self-management skills and using them might not solve all issues but can definitely help alleviate some of the stress we create.
What I gained from this lecture is that I don't work enough on myself in regards to stress management. Working fulltime while trying to manage National Command and Staff College has been pretty stressful as of late. My bosses know that I'm enrolled in this course, yet they continue to pile projects on my desk. Using some of the techniques in the 12 self-management skills discussed in this module is going to help me have a more balanced work/home life.
Brian I can't agree with you more and also it sounds like a lot of us are also guilty of not working on ourselves either. The stresses of professional and personal life really do take a toll on a person. Hopefully recognizing our faults in some areas can help alleviate the stress we bring on ourselves by using techniques that were presented in the lecture.
Brian, you're so right, and with all that is going on in the world, but think about all we've accomplished thus far!
The 12 self-management skills in this lecture is something that I will try to keep in mind in order to focus on what is important. Stress management is something that I can really improve on. As with most of us, stress is part of the job but I could do a better job of recognizing and managing it.
Very good lecture. Reminds me that you help any one else succeed in live until you know your own self. I have been guilty of finding the wrong way to deal with stress,which makes it worse then i cant sleep. I will be making a conscience effort to keep the 12 steps in my life and teach others about them. Very good leadership skills learned in this module.
This was a really good module. Reminded me of a lot of things I have been neglecting. The importance of constantly being aware and managing things like your stress and your time are critical. The lecture and the essay reminded me about how much I have failed to manage my stress. It made me re-prioritize what I am doing. This course has taken a lot of my time and this prompted me to take a look at my time management. I have re-analyzed my priorities and re-structured how I am doing things. It is very easy to lose ourselves in the work that we do. These 12 reminders are good to have to help focus on what is important. As leaders it is critical we are at the top of our game. I find myself telling people it is important to have a good work life balance and at times I fail to do it myself. We must stay healthy in body, mind and soul to help us be effective leaders, parents and friends and more.
Magda,
I agree with your last sentence and recognize the areas within my own life where more time is needed. With this module I hope to refresh my allotted time on my body, mind and soul. I can stand to input more into every category.
This video lecture was beneficial and will assist me in going forward. Especially the part that addresses stress management. We all deal with stress in different ways. Some do a better job than others. I for one want need to get better at stress management. I will often use vices such as food and alcohol.
I agree with you Lance it was very beneficial. I often turn to alcohol for stress relief along with my buddies. I don't remember turning to food. Looks like we are headed in the right direction now.
In my 28 years of being a police officer, I have done little planning on improving my personal career. I did not realize that I needed to invest not only my money but the betterment of my life. I had no idea of the 12 steps of self management, which could have made at least part of my life and career better. I will assess the areas of where I need to improve, by applying as many of the 12 steps as possible.
I agree with you, career planning is something that I never put a lot of thought into. It would have been beneficial to think about this much earlier in my career. This is something that I will talk to younger officers about.
This module covered so many necessary components for self-reflection. The majority of these skills are mentioned, referred to at times, or practiced regularly, but not enough. As I reflect where I need to improve, I am also thinking of integrating these concepts/skills at an upcoming training day for all of my staff to learn. We will grow stronger together knowing and understanding where improvements are needed.
I like the idea of integrating the 12 skills in upcoming training for my subordinates as well. Something I need to look into once I'm done with National Command and Staff College.
The 12 self-management skills listed in the lecture have opened up my eyes to see some areas that I need to focus on self-improvement. One area that I am focusing my attention on is to have a positive mental attitude. In the law enforcement profession, many officers are constantly exposed to negative environments most of their careers. As such, we tend to allow this negativity to become part of our attitudes. Many officers revert to what they know when dealing with challenging situations and display a negative attitude. I find myself at times doing the same thing even though as a leader I should be portraying a positive attitude. By focusing on having a positive mental attitude, it should also help improve my stress and health management.
I will have to agree with you whole heartedly, officers are exposed to a lot of trauma. Many don’t deal with the effects or take proactive measures to maintain their mental health and reduce their stress. Eventually becoming cynical, disenfranchised and they tend lose empathy for the people they interact with. This behavior embodies our being and it directly affects our loved ones at home and our work. Unfortunately, it is not just critical incidents in the street that officers have to deal with that affect their stress and mental wellness. It is the moral trauma they suffer within their own agencies as well. The feeling of betrayal and lack of support that is a major contributor to their stress.
This module helped me look at myself and taking care of myself. The techniques described are something that I need to work on in my professional and personal life. I think that these techniques will allow me to live a more fulfilling life and prosper at my work place.
This module was extremely helpful in recognizing the 12 life skills to follow. I also followed along and did a self-assessment and realized I have plenty to accomplish as well. Knowing my personal sense of mission, values and beliefs will set me up to understand better why I am in this profession. Also, with a majority of law enforcement, balancing the work-life with personal is crucial in reducing stress, not only at home, but work as well. I believe if I managed my time more efficiently along with my subordinates, time at home would be better managed as well. Great module for self- assessment.
Dan, you are right about time management and balancing work and personal life. Stress kills more police than anything and should be addressed more often.
I really enjoyed this module and did a lot of self-reflecting on things that I can do better and on ways in which I can grow. I have always considered myself a life-long learner and thoroughly enjoy the process and enlightenment that occurs with learning. This module discussed the 12 Self Management Skills and how they build upon one another for the purpose of achieving a well-balanced life. I believe I am good with time management and accel in this area in my professional life, but what I have found that I am lacking is a good work-life balance. The tools provided in the module will assist me in becoming a better version of myself and hopefully a better mentor to those in my professional and personal life. It is important to remember that as a supervisor and leader in my organization, others look to me to see how I live my life at work as an example and guide for how they too can achieve their own personal goals. Taking the time to focus on living and maintaining a well-balanced and healthy lifestyle can have a significant impact on those whom I contact in my life.
"Live on purpose, not by accident." This lecture made me realize how I could better map out my professional as well as personal lives. The 12 steps to self management should be of great help. Each one builds on the previous. We need to be properly grounded to even get started and centered to keep our composure.
Joey Prevost,
Your comments on the being properly grounded and centered are skills that must be practiced to become a better leader. Even being centered in the presence of stress takes practice but can display a command presence of being in control if you stay centered. I believe both centered and grounded compliment each other and sets a foundation for the rest just as you stated.
Good quote and so true. I found many new things that can help improve upon my self-management skills. By focusing on these skills it will definitely help improve my abilities to be a better overall person.
The 12 Self Management Skills in this lesson brought several things to light for me personally. The idea that you must have an intentional plan for your career will help you not only help yourself achieve your goals with less stress, but also to help mentor others and help them plan out their career. The biggest takeaways involve work-life balance and time management together. I am pretty good at my time management while at work, but struggle with a work-life balance and I can be more intentional to set aside time to complete tasks that make me happy and more productive at home. Those who have a strong work ethic, or may be "workaholics" can find it difficult to leave work at work and be intentional when they are at home. This lesson provided plenty of ideas of how I can be more focused on living a more intentional, happy and productive life, personally and professionally.
Frank
I agree totally with your assessment on balancing work and home life. I have always noted that to be successful in one area of life, you are going to take away so much from another area. Being successful at work is a goal for everyone and that unfortunately takes a great deal of time and effort. Sometimes so much effort, there is little time left for home life. Having such a strong work ethic has drastically taken away from my home life. At this point, I am still struggling for that balance but this lesson has given me some thoughts of how to improve.
This module did make me self-reflect and understand that I could strengthen my skills in several areas. I know that the skills I have learned today will help me with my personal development. I truly believe that this is something we should teach to younger officers that are just making law enforcement a career.
I agree. This should be something taught in the academy so that new recruits can implement this into their careers and personal lives from the beginning.
Monte, I think this would be a great idea to teach to the new recruits in our future academy. This is something I may suggest. It is great tool for them.
I agree that this would be a great tool to teach all personnel early in their career. I find self-management helps us to be happier and more productive.
I agree. This module made me take a moment to identify the skills that I need to improve on going forward. I also found that there were several topics discussed in this module that I believe would be beneficial to teach to our deputies, both old and new.
I agree with you Monte, I also reflected upon my own skills throughout this module and areas where I could use additional effort. I agree that young officers should be taught these skills, but I think bringing these into the high schools, and certainly colleges would also be beneficial, as these are valuable and applicable to every career and lifestyle.
I agree that these skills should be taught during high school and college. In my opinion these topics are much more beneficial than being able to determine the area of a rhombus or being able to recite the periodic table. I believe there is a huge need to replace some of the things currently being taught, with teaching life skills like the ones in this lesson.
I agree with your review of this module forcing us to self-reflect and look inwards towards areas where we can strengthen our skill set. This concept has helped me in my career development and is something I reflect on daily.
This module is the biggest area where I need to grow. We are all wired differently and understanding how you can re-program your subconscious mind through daily exercises (PQ Reps) is a powerful way to increase your EQ skills. Being present and intentional during meetings and other interactions with staff is something that requires me to focus on daily. Learning to be present shows that you have a genuine interest in your people. These 12 skills are the building blocks that will help me to be a better person and leader. To state the obvious, these skills will benefit you both personally and professionally. It's all about Balance!
Brian, I agree with your assessment that we can all learn to be more present and we can all grow our skills in these areas. Balance is sometimes hard to achieve when you are busy, motivated and have duties that pull you in various directions. Balance is key and I personally seek to find more balance in my personal and professional life.
And about learning from our mistakes! As the lecture said, how can we keep doing the same thing and expect a different outcome. Sometimes we have to start with changing our beliefs which lead to our actions.
I agree that once you are able to identify that a change is needed, one must start the change from within to show that he/she can show others that change is possible.
Totally agree Brian. It is interesting to dissect ourselves and identify where we need to improve. As law enforcement leaders, we are often doing this to our subordinates, but this self-reflection will help them and us grow together.
Brian,
I couldn't agree more. Being present and intentional during meetings and everyday interactions is a critical skill for supervisors and life in general. I certainly have room to improve in this area!
Brain you are correct!. The 12 skills are without a doubt the building blocks for becoming a better leader and person. Balance is the key!
I appreciated this module and the emphasis that the building of each skill is dependent upon the prior skills being developed. I also appreciated that being intentional in developing these skills will help with career development and overall life satisfaction. I have found that throughout my career I have done little planning and have not been intentional in developing these skills, but rather developed them as I have needed them in each position. Putting effort into these skills will help me in my career. Also, I appreciate the point that developing stress management skills, before you need them, is important as most people, including myself, develop them after significant stress events.
I also have not planned enough and waited to develop a plan as I needed it. The mentioned skills sure could have helped me a long time ago. But now that I am armed with this knowledge I will certainly pass it on.
Kyle, I found myself thinking similar thoughts as you did as I worked through this module. I too have found that I have worked on developing my skills to fit my career, rather than being intentional in planning for a career and life that I want to live. This module caused me to self-reflect and shift my mindset on finding the life balance and taking time for taking care of myself so that I can better take care of others and be a better leader in my own organization.
Nancy, I can relate to your post. After this module, I realized I had been developing the skills to fit my career. I thought the intent was there but now I realize it really wasn't. I think the longer you are in this career the harder it is to find balance or at least it has been for me. I have friends and family constantly telling me "you have to take care of yourself". I have realized that you have to take good care of yourself to be good for everyone else.
Kyle, I agree. I also have never planned in developing these skills. I have always seen the need to have balance in life, but have not made a specific plan to provide for it. This is something that I will definitely do, as I see it as a way to reach my goal.
Kyle,
I am exactly in the same position! I have never really worked on development of many of these skills ahead of time. The skills I do have in each area, were many times learned out of necessity after I found myself in a position (professionally or personally) where they were greatly needed. There is definitely a lot of truth to having these developed skills in place and the direct effect on stress reduction and overall life satisfaction. If you don't take intentional steps to balance your work life ratio, it is very easy to find yourself in a position that is hard to get out of.
It's so easy for us to reply "I'm stressed", but to have that articulated in specific areas for us in this module, I feel will increase our ability to make changes, which will, in turn, lower our stress levels and help us to live improved lives.
Learning about the 12 Self-Management Skills not only helped me to identify some distinct areas in which I must work to improve upon my skills but gave me a starting point as to how to do so. While applying some of the techniques proposed in the module will certainly be challenging (nothing good is easy, right?), I appreciate the power and simplicity of this concept and believe that others will also. For that reason, I look forward to sharing this information with my supervisors to not only help them further develop their own personal competencies but to put them in a position where they will be able to help their staff to do the same.
Chris, getting all your supervisors to accept that they can grow in the area of personal development, is the key to them having better relationships with there, family, friends, and co-workers. Create a Master Mind group might be a great way all of you can grow together. Brian
Brian, over the past three months, my supervisors and I have been reading "It's Our Ship" and meeting weekly to discuss how we can each use the principles contained in the book to better ourselves in our service to others. The results are that we are enjoying the personal and professional development that you alluded to in your post, all while building a more cohesive leadership team. With just a few chapters remaining, we are working on identifying the next book that can help us to continue this journey forward.
Chris, this course was a real eye opener for me. Hopefully I was able to pick up on a few ways to better self-manage stress in my life and in turn, allow these benefits to pass on to others that I work with. I personally am going to do additional research into this subject.
I to was able to pick up on a few ways to better manage stress in my life and will also be passing on this to those that I work with.