Lt. James Kiernan, Southampton Police, NY<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n As a student of leadership for over two decades I have examined the complexities of leading over, through and around the generational divide.\u00a0 What is true for sure is that different generations are motivated differently due to different frames of reference.\u00a0 Or, are they?<\/span><\/p>\n The answer is yes and no.\u00a0 While it is essential to understand the differences in the people that you lead, there are far more similarities then you may think.\u00a0 The basics still remain the same.\u00a0 As long as the new generations are still being produced by human beings and are human themselves, basic motivation theory will always apply.\u00a0 While the pursuit of fulfilling a need may look different for different generations, the innate desire for satisfaction of each basic need is the same for all.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Nothing makes this simpler than\u00a0 to understand then Maslow\u2019s Hierarchy of Needs.\u00a0 Without fulfilling physiological needs first and foremost, there is no other reason to be motivated.\u00a0 Food and water must be provided to continue being in the world.\u00a0 No generation has been able to circumvent this need.\u00a0 No participation trophy has been received for those who try and don\u2019t succeed.\u00a0 They just die.<\/span><\/p>\n Physiological needs are met prior to someone becoming a police officer.\u00a0 The screening processes will usually weed out the malnourished dehydrated types right away.\u00a0 No need for a leader there.\u00a0 However, as we progress up the Hierarchy our involvement as leaders become a major part of the motivation equation.\u00a0 Concrete issues such as better benefits and compensation that meets the cost of living fulfill Security needs.\u00a0 Although the GenY Millennials are not as motivated by fulfilling this need by being loyal to one agency as prior generations like Gen X and Traditionalists, I have noticed that as Millennials are having families, they are more motivated by satisfying security needs without uprooting.\u00a0 We all got to grow up, I guess.<\/span><\/p>\n Moving up the Hierarchy to Belongingness is where leadership plays the stronger role in motivation.\u00a0 As a leader, understanding the innate human need to belong is the best tool you can keep in your tool box.\u00a0 Our profession is saturated with examples of how the sense of Belongingness motivates our officers.\u00a0 Take for example the new recruit.\u00a0 They start off from the outside looking in at a group of people that all dress exactly alike, carry themselves the same way, talk alike and seem to have an unbreakable bond.\u00a0 To join this club that recruit must endure vigorous screening and testing.\u00a0 Even after the all the tests are over the new recruit must be trained.\u00a0 Not only does she get the academic training necessary to do the job but, now they are inducted, at least one step, into the club.\u00a0 They are expected to dress like the group (uniform), they learn to talk like the group, they even conform to sharing the group\u2019s political and social philosophies.<\/span><\/p>\n This new shiny police officer is now yours, Mr. Leader.\u00a0 You can fulfill their continued need to belong and thereby motivate the individual to help you accomplish organizational goals, or, you can let them find that need met elsewhere.<\/span><\/p>\n If you choose the right path as a leader you will pull that officer into the fold of productivity and service.\u00a0 Provide opportunity for your officers to give opinions and take part in the decision making process as it relates to the entire organization.\u00a0 They do not have to get their way to feel as though they have been part of the process.\u00a0 And more then that, they will respond and react in a mission oriented manner when they have been able to participate in the process.\u00a0 That belonging need is satisfied when your officers are brought into the process of leading the direction of the agency.\u00a0 You keep the responsibility for making the decisions that guide the department, but whenever possible, allow for as much subordinate participation as possible.\u00a0 If your line workers share in the responsibility for a problem they will be motivated to solve the problems.<\/span><\/p>\n This sound simple, but is so seldom done.\u00a0 And when it is not done you get the generational divide.\u00a0 You will hear from your supervisors, \u201cwhy don\u2019t the just do their jobs\u201d?\u00a0 \u201cThey are lazy\u201d, \u201cWe are in trouble with this generation\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n If we don\u2019t help them fulfill their need for belonging it will be met elsewhere.\u00a0 The malcontents will pull them in and like a cancer destroying that shiny new officer that just wanted to belong.<\/span><\/p>\n Now let\u2019s take it to the next level.\u00a0 Maslow\u2019s next level is Esteem, or how does the recruit feel as a cop.\u00a0 In the day and age where cops are constantly being criticized for everything they do, where everyone has a video to capture every interaction (and only show the bad part), and where the newspapers favor creating a good story over reporting the truth, police and corrections leaders have never been more important.\u00a0 How do we make cops feel good about themselves, and especially the young officer?<\/span><\/p>\n As the world influences become more negative, you have to go opposite and become more positive. \u00a0Truly, society is creating an \u201cUs vs. Them\u201d philosophy, we don\u2019t create it anymore, although frankly there is a lot more on the police side than you think. The leaders need to call in the young officers and tell them what they are doing right.\u00a0 Like in parenting, \u201ccatch them being good.\u201d \u00a0In psychology they say there should be three positive to every negative in order to teach somebody efficiently.\u00a0 With a young officer, the ratio may be more like 5-1 or even 8-1.\u00a0 Now really, have you ever counted your positive to negative statements?\u00a0 We all need a little work on this one.<\/span><\/p>\n The final stage of Maslow\u2019s Hierarchy is Self-Actualization \u2013 will they look back on their career and be happy with the job they did.\u00a0 If you have kept your 3-1 positive to negatives, they may be able to self-actualize.\u00a0 If you keep in touch after they leave, they may be able to self-actualize. \u00a0If you look at your officer and the last thing he hears from you as a leader is \u201cMike, you\u2019ve been a good cop.\u201d\u00a0 Maybe they will be able to self-actualize.\u00a0 And you will know, you were a good cop too when you have to self-actualize.\u00a0 Help officers\u2019 needs to be met and it comes back to you many times over. \u00a0<\/p>\n Site Editor:\u00a0 Gary S. Aumiller, Ph.D. ABPP<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Please share this article from down below.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Please join the email list on the top of the sidebar and you can get these sent to your email.<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Come back regularly for more updated articles on police psychology<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Police Psychology | Motivation \u2013 Back to the Basics Lt. James Kiernan, Southampton Police, NY \u00a0 As a student of leadership for over two decades I have examined the complexities of leading over, through and around the generational divide.\u00a0 What is true for sure is that different generations are motivated differently due to different frames […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17168887],"tags":[17168912,17168797,17168831],"class_list":["post-2572","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leadership","tag-motivation","tag-police-psychology","tag-police-stress"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":455,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=455","url_meta":{"origin":2572,"position":0},"title":"Police Psychology | Officers Disproportionally Killing Black Men: Another False Narrative","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"June 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Officers Disproportionally Killing Black Men:\u00a0 Another False Narrative Guest Blogger Ron Martinelli, Ph.D., is an internationally renowned forensic criminologist and police expert directing the nation\u2019s only multidisciplinary Forensic Death Investigations and Independent Review Team at www.martinelliandassoc.com.\u00a0 His perspanl website is at www.drronmartinelli.com \u00a0 Among several prominent false\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Public Information Bureau"","block_context":{"text":"Public Information Bureau","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168888"},"img":{"alt_text":"martinelli image","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/martinelli-image-300x172.png?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":4859,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=4859","url_meta":{"origin":2572,"position":1},"title":"Police Psychology | Hanukkah Wishes and Communication","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"December 6, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Hanukkah Wishes and Communication by Gary S. 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This is the ability to know\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Public Information Bureau"","block_context":{"text":"Public Information Bureau","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168888"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":487,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=487","url_meta":{"origin":2572,"position":3},"title":"Police Psychology | Manipulation Subliminal Style","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"July 2, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | Are You Being Manipulated? \u00a0 With the current feeling about racial issues in police psychology, perhaps we should review the research on manipulation and subliminal messages. If you graduated in the 80\u2019s much of this might be new to you. \u00a0 In 2000, there was a well-documented\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rank and Leadership"","block_context":{"text":"Rank and Leadership","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168887"},"img":{"alt_text":"A screenshot of the campaign video with the subliminal message \"rats\" in large letters.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/rats-300x173.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":949,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=949","url_meta":{"origin":2572,"position":4},"title":"Police Psychology | How Policing Can Be Improved with Science","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"January 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology | How Policing Can Be Improved with Science \u00a0Marcus Clarke is the author of psysci.co a psychology blog that examines the latest research and explains findings in simple terms. Police forces around the world face increasing pressure, from cuts to funding to new forms of crime, so ensuring\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Rank and Leadership"","block_context":{"text":"Rank and Leadership","link":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?cat=17168887"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7132,"url":"http:\/\/policepsychologyblog.com\/?p=7132","url_meta":{"origin":2572,"position":5},"title":"Police Psychology Book Review: Towards the integration of police psychology techniques to combat juvenile delinquency in K-12 classrooms","author":"Gary Aumiller","date":"December 19, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Police Psychology Book Review:\u00a0 Rose, Gary. 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Crossroads <\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\n