How to deal with being passed over for promotion

How To...

AMAURY MURGADO

HOW TO DEAL WITH BEING PASSED OVER FOR PROMOTION If you didn't make the cut, evaluate what happened and decide what you're going to do going forward. for a walk, lift weights, or practice your favorite kata. Next, talk to a friend or mentor about what's going on with you. It's not about advice, but about your getting a chance to vent. Once that's done, you can start looking at what happened and why.

LEARNING TO DEAL WITH IT

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Accept what is. Unless you have grounds for some type of lawsuit, it is what it is.

There are many factors that you might not have considered. Perhaps you are a poor test taker. Maybe you don't do well under the time constraints of an assessment center. Or it could be politics played a role and you didn't support the right person. Keep in mind, none of these issues points to your not being able to do the job.

Be honest with yourself about what you think went wrong during the Figure out what went wrong. Be honpromotion process so you can learn from your mistakes. est. It's very important so you can learn from any mistakes you have made. It could have been as veryone starts out the same in law enforcement; you get simple as misreading the situation during the assessment hired, go to the academy, and then you do your time on center. Maybe you changed one too many answers on your probation. After that, there are usually two choices you can written test. Perhaps you should have studied more. Blammake: what assignments you want and if you want to be- ing it on the process is not only lying to yourself but preventcome a supervisor. I've known officers who never wanted ing you from doing better the next time. How can you make any rank, and I have known officers that wanted nothing changes in your approach if you don't know what they are?

Solicit feedback. One way to improve next time is to get less than chief or sheriff. Making your choice is not the same as being successful at it. For those seeking promotion, there feedback from fellow officers, supervisors, and mentors. is always the possibility of not getting one. Although when Ask what you could have done better. The next question you you don't get the promotion it might seem like the end of the ask is how they handled the process and what they did that helped them get promoted. Get input from all angles. world, it isn't.

What next. Should you try again or just be happy with what you're doing now? That's entirely up to you and not INITIAL REACTIONS Anger, resentment, and even depression are normal reac- something you have to decide right away. Sometimes offitions to being passed over for promotion. It's not our emo- cers forget the extra responsibility they must take on as a sutions that get us in trouble, it's how we react to them. Your pervisor. The extra money might be tempting but there is no first step is to cut yourself some slack and give yourself some such thing as a free ride. The headaches that come with the time to deal with those emotions. Put some distance be- position may not be worth it to you in the long run. Maybe tween you and the event by doing something physical. Go you're not ready and another year's experience will make

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How To a huge difference. Only you can decide.

OTHER FACTORS Just because you made the pro-

what your supervisor will need and get it done before they ask.

Understand the bigger picture and how your work affects others.

7. You are a perfectionist. Being a perfectionist gives the illusion of being a hard worker, but it creates problems. It can lead to indecision or wasted time spent on reinventing the wheel. When you are a perfectionist, you have trouble letting go and you also make others feel their work isn't good enough.

8. You stay in your comfort zone. You are great at what you do and don't want to try anything else. Command staff tend to look for officers who want to grow with the agency. Showing interest in several aspects of the agency will make you seem worthy of their investment.

9. You are a pessimist. You may be great at what you do but you spend more time focusing on why it can't be done than finding ways to get it done. That's not to say that contingency planning is not important, but that's different from poking holes at everything the agency is trying to accomplish. Pay attention to your attitude especially when communicating with others. If you change your perspective, you will change how others perceive you.

PHOTO: POLICE FILE

motion list doesn't mean you will get promoted. Here are some factors that might have affected the decision of the powers that be, in no particular order.

1. You lack skills. You need to become familiar with the requirements of the job you want, and determine what skills you need. If the position requires previous investigative work and you don't have any, you're not getting selected no matter how good you are. There may be ways around that, but it's still not your decision to make. You need to find ways to get the skills you need and take it from there.

2. You lack the soft skills.

Since law enforcement is in the people business, you need people skills. You need to understand how to deal with conflict, know when to use diplomacy, and above all else, have outstanding verbal communication skills. It's a simple truth that the words you use can get you into trouble more than anything else.

3. You don't take feedback well. When you receive feedback from fellow officers or supervisors, resist the urge to defend yourself. It's usually not perIT'S YOUR CHOICE sonal, so listen first and evaluate When I expressed interest in You might need to gain additional skills or adjust your later. See what applies and what becoming a captain, I was told I attitude if you want to continue pursuing a promotion. doesn't. There are always nuggets would never make captain unless of truth you can turn into action.

I had some detective time. Since If you fight with everyone trying to help, 5. You don't take initiative. Becoming I was not interested in becoming a deteceventually no one will want to help you. a problem solver shows that you care, not tive, I retired as a lieutenant. That was a 4. You lack professionalism. Profes- only about your own career, but about the choice I made. As you make your choice, sionalism involves more than doing your agency. Find ways to get involved in find- remember that your character defines job well. It involves integrity. For example, ing solutions. You shouldn't have to wait you, not your rank. if you have difficulty maintaining con- to be told to do something; you should fidentiality, are always saying negative recognize what needs to be done, and go Amaury Murgado retired a senior lieutenthings about the agency, or are involved do it. ant from the Osceola County (FL) Sheriff's in gossip, you lack professionalism. If you 6. You don't think like a supervisor. As Office with over 29 years of experience. He don't look the part, you lack professional- we do our jobs, it's important to add the also retired from the Army Reserve as a ism. If you don't show up for training, you supervisor dimension to our decision- master sergeant. He holds a Master of Polack professionalism. You get the picture; making. Thinking like a supervisor now litical Science degree from the University of no one promotes a boat anchor. will help you when you are one. Anticipate Central Florida.

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