Police and work/life integration

Last week, I was fortunate to be able to do some work with a group of sergeants from the Baltimore Police Department.  I was helping them put together training in the areas of coaching, motivation, and leadership.  These were veterans who had 10, 15, and 20 years in the Department.  They worked on homicides, robberies, gangs, and on the SWAT team.

We talked about various coaching methods and their frustration with the lack of motivation on the part of a younger generation of police officers.  What surprised me was how they moved into talking about the need for harmony in their work, family, and community roles.  This is a place I had originally wanted to go to but I thought it would be too "touchy, feely" for police officers.  I look forward to continuing these conversations and helping them to train others to find balance among all their roles.  I think a discussion around developing intrinsic vs. extrinsic motivation will also be useful in helping these guardians do their jobs in a way that supports them and the communities they serve.