Stripes and Bars AMAURY MURGADO
YOUR LEADERSHIP ROLES Training, coaching, and mentoring are not the same thing. YOU'RE KIDDING YOURSELF if you think that you will ever needed and everyone moves on to the next task. have a fully trained and motivated command. With the natuMentoring is more strategic in nature and involves longral ebb and flow of personnel issues your job as a supervisor term goals. It is relationship based, and that's why it's more never stops, and it goes far beyond signing time sheets and long term in nature. The mentor shares what has helped him showing up on certain calls. You are a trainer, a coach, and if or her be successful along with lessons learned. The person you care about the future, a mentor. Unfortunately, many in being mentored shares his or her questions, concerns, or iscommand positions use these three words interchangeably. sues. Although specific scenarios may have led to creating the In reality, each has its own role, specific purpose, and desired mentoring relationship, its focus goes beyond those initial outcome. concerns and ends up covering all areas of the job, including Of the three, training is the easiest to understand. In topics like balancing the pressures from work and home, oforder to get where you are now in your career, you had to fice politics, and nagging self-doubt. graduate a law enforcement academy, get certified, and later Mentoring is about personal development over the long complete on-the-job training to move toward full-time sta- term. It usually takes the form of a call to discuss the topic tus with the agency that hired you. Training is very formal, of the day that is creating some concern. The mentor listens, structured, and has well-defined explains how he or she has hanlearning objectives. It is often reladled similar situations in the past, COACHING IS FINE TUNING tively brief as compared to coachSKILLS FROM PAST TRAINING, and then helps the person being ing or mentoring. After you attend WHILE MENTORING INVOLVES mentored walk through possible training you are responsible for the Sometimes a mentor just BROADER LONG-TERM GOALS. solutions. knowledge, and there is rarely any listens and lets the person vent. I follow-up unless you fail to perform have had several mentors over the to standard. years and even though some of Coaching, on the other hand, is less structured, more them are retired, I can still pick up the phone and call any of performance driven, and involves no time constraints like them for advice. I pass it forward to those I mentor. a schedule you have to keep. It's based on how the subject It's up to all of us to be good trainers, coaches, and menbeing coached is dealing with the material. Coaching tends tors. It's the only way we can pass on institutional knowlto be a short-term deal. Once the subject's skill has been im- edge that comes from our experience. If you haven't become proved upon your work is done. You can think of coaching a mentor to at least one person in your agency yet, I strongly as fine-tuning or upgrading past training. It goes beyond the recommend that you do so. mere presentation of material. There is more one-on-one inFind someone with potential and help him or her. Look teraction and you spend the time needed to work through for that young sergeant who has that occasional deer in the the relevant skill sets. There is no formal classroom; you headlights look. Work with that junior lieutenant struggling usually tackle coaching on duty. with the transition from firstline superior to secondline Coaching is task oriented. The focus is on specific issues, supervisor. Share what you've learned. Don't be politically such as managing time more efficiently, writing reports in correct; be as brutally honest as possible. It's one of the few the proper format, or learning how to speak more tactfully. ways you can help with the future of your agency and law Coaching requires someone who is capable of developing enforcement in general. No one is born a leader; they have the assigned skills. The coach is usually a supervisor (mostly to be developed. Through training, coaching, and mentorbecause of experience) or someone the supervisor delegates ing, you will be doing your part to create more. from within in his or her command. On occasion, the issue requires a subject matter expert outside of the agency. Amaury Murgado is a special operations lieutenant with the Coaching is also performance driven. The purpose of Osceola County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office. He has over 28 years of coaching is to improve job performance. This involves en- law enforcement experience, is a retired master sergeant from hancing current skills or identifying the need for new ones. the Army Reserve, and holds a master's of political science deOnce the skills are improved upon, the coaching is no longer gree from the University of Central Florida.
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POLICE NOVEMBER 2015