Tony is currently training with us for his Life Coaching Diploma and NLP Practitioner Programme. Although our coaching success stories usually focus on those who have qualified and established a successful path as a coach we wanted to share Tony’s story with you as he has already successfully applied his coaching skills within the police federation to inspire action from over 15,000 colleagues! Definitely an achievement and cause worth shouting about! Hello, my name is Tony Munday. I am a Police Inspector and Chelsea supporter! Hopefully neither causes disquiet to you! I’m currently training with The Coaching Academy as I increasingly found that my motivations were becoming more focused on the ‘people’, rather than the ‘politics’ of Policing.
My interactions with the public were never seen by me, as merely a ‘task’, rather they were a privileged responsibility, to ‘make a difference’ to their lives. The same held for dealings with colleagues. Increasingly, I have enjoyed mentoring and coaching colleagues, to assist them to reach THEIR Goals, rather than serve my personal agenda. These activities have produced better people and improved outcomes (as measured by the organisation).
I adapt a forensic science term, ‘every contact leaves a trace’, in all my dealings with people. Reputation is everything to me in terms of how I am regarded by people I meet. This can manifest itself in a number of ways, including positive feedback received from people I have helped lock up! Comments such as ‘you always told the truth and were fair’ are hard won but easily lost. My ‘light bulb’ experience resulted from attending the free 2 day Coaching Certificate event. It was refreshing, challenging, stimulating and enjoyable! I shared my thoughts with Steve Fox at the event, and felt a strong sense of vocation, to developing myself to become the best Coach that I can be!!
I enrolled on both the Life Coaching Diploma and NLP Practitioner Programme and have recently attended my first Accelerator Day. It was such a positive vibe being in the company of like–minded people. We were all at different stages of our Diplomas, but there was a wonderful sense of camaraderie. I met coaches who have offered help in practicing skills, and providing support to ‘newbie’s’ such as myself. Thank you! In my professional career, I have worked with young people through The Princes Trust to understand their experience of the Criminal Justice System. We explored a wider range of issues including stereotyping and I received feedback which significantly changed our operational practices concerning Stop and Search. I’m really proud of the fact that this promoted a mutual understanding of the consequences of behaviours. Something that resonates with my coaching learning and understanding so far.
The attack on the concept of policing by consent by the recent Governments has been insidious and pervasive (in my humble opinion). For those not in the police force, I won’t bog you down with the detail but potential outcomes of the WINSOR Reports could include salary cuts of thousands of pounds, increased pension contributions and Officers being made redundant simply to save money (to name just a few implications). As an aspiring Coach, I felt it was unacceptable for me to feel that there were no alternatives to the current reality the police force faces. Inspired to take action, I started an e-petition in March, requesting that the police in the UK are entitled to enjoy the Rights of Association enjoyed by police in ALL other Countries of the European Union.
I was determined to deploy some of the Coaching Skills I have already discovered from my time at The Coaching Academy. I asked colleagues “Are you satisfied with the quiet diplomacy of the Police Federation in protecting our Terms and Conditions?” Using the ‘GROW’ Model, colleagues would then explore their options. After some 5 minutes of discussion, their mindset had changed from acceptance, to a pro-active determination to move forward and make things happen for the good of their future and careers.
Some 15,000 people have signed to date! The success in numbers has been reached mainly through email and social media dissemination to family, friends and colleagues. If you too would also like to sign the e-petition and find out more information then you can do so by clicking here. I am now intending to build my coaching business based upon police officers wishing to develop themselves, laterally or vertically (up to, and including the Rank of Inspector). Good luck on your coaching ‘journey’. Tony
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