Edward Brown, M.S.
What would inspire police personnel to dig deeper in
providing better services to the public? Does policing cause employee burnout
or is the employee doomed for failure from the start? The
sad fact is that many people are unproductive, because they have not developed
the critical thinking skills to become more productive. In part, it isn’t their fault. My teachers up until college seldom asked me
what I thought about anything. Kindergarten to Grade 12 education is
fundamentally about remembering—facts, dates, and people. It wasn’t until I went to college and later
graduate school that I began improving my critical thinking skills.
Fortunately, part of my graduate school experience included law school, where
critical thinking is the core of the curriculum. So if I had to go to law
school and later receive a master’s degree before I became an effective
critical thinker, how could the average person become a better critical thinker
without enjoying similar experiences?
Whether you have a college or graduate degree or no degree
at all, it is important to determine whether you truly have developed the
critical thinking skills to be productive in the workplace, particularly within
police departments. It all starts with
an adequate assessment of yourself.
Getting started
Although self-assessment, for some people in group settings,
can be a good start in building a positive attitude and outlook in life, this
might not be applicable to all people, especially to those who prefer to do
things on their own.
If you are one of these people, who would rather do things
on his or her own, then now is the time to realize how a big self-assessment
can contribute to your being more productive. Experts say that if one starts
with the process of self-assessment now, it will be easier for him or her to be
productive and accomplish greater things for themselves and for the people that
they love in the future.
Experts agree that for one to excel and be successful in
life, the concept of productivity is very essential. This is because knowing
how to be productive, even when you’re down, creates unforeseen opportunities
unavailable during any other time. Being
productive also serves as an inspiration that keeps your spirit high no matter
how challenging the times may be. This rang true when I served as a police
officer with the Atlanta Police Department. At a certain point, most officers
want a new challenge or change from the norm. Although policing is one of the
most fascinating professions you can experience, after some time, activities
can become routine. On many occasions, officers wanted more opportunities and felt
these opportunities would somehow fall into their laps. Of course, that’s not
how it works. Consequently, many police officers became less productive and did
just enough to get by. If critical thinking skills training was offered
in the police academy or during In-service training, it could create a
win-win situation. Police officers would know what to do to
create opportunities within the police department that were self-fulfilling.
And the police department would encourage innovative and ingenious ways for getting the job done.
For those who want to start being more productive, it would
be best to begin with a self-assessment by following these two tips:
- Discover and re-discover your purpose in life. Indeed, the
most powerful thing that can help a person get started with self-assessment is
discovering your cause or your purpose in life. Once you are able to do this,
you can find a reason in your heart for becoming more productive. The reason
may be for the betterment of yourself or for your family. No matter what it is, it is important to
anchor yourself to a motivation that promotes productivity.
- Be thirsty and hungry for something. For people who are
just starting out with the process of self-assessment, enjoy the process for
the end result. This is because wanting to learn the concept of productivity
alone would not fuel your drive to aim for greater things or heights. If you really want to use self-assessment to excel
and be productive, don’t be content with what you have right now nor merely go
through the motions without an objective.
It is best to always be hungry for knowledge as fuel for
learning. If you are consistently learning new things (inside and outside of
policing), you will be able to acquire new skills and even boost your
self-confidence in the end. Although it
may be unlikely or impractical to immediately enhance your critical thinking
skills through formal education, if you can engage in some form of critical
thinking training to improve your productivity, you are encouraged to do so.
One of the greatest yearnings we have as human beings is to be seen as
significant as well as leave a legacy that defines our life. If we can understand and embrace our unmet
need to create legacies, we will be moved to become more productive.
To gain the tools for becoming more productive through
critical thinking, visit: http://policerecruitmentandselection.core-edge.com/events
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