Leadership for Reducing Organizational Stress in Law Enforcement- Zoom

Registration deadline is November 22, 2020

This seminar will assist those attending with gaining a distinctly different perspective on the
unique and potentially problematic consequences of performing well within a law enforcement
culture. Executives, managers and supervisors will examine better ways to reduce their stress
and simultaneously garner greater staff compliance with department standards. Leaders will
address stressors encountered by the rank and file which influence the pivotal balance between
professional and personal relationships.
Emphasis will be place upon executives, managers and supervisors, developing leadership
practices and policies that recognize and encourage accomplishment of organizational goals while
also taking better care of themselves and the people who serve under their leadership.

An experienced law enforcement executive and educator will guide supervisors and managers in
understanding a variety of best practice approaches in addressing this problem. A theme of
personal leadership will run throughout this seminar and those attending will have ample chance
to share their views, develop decision-making models, and actually reflect on better ways to
make decisions for themselves and those they lead.

Topics will include:
• Inspiring a new generation of Knights
• Examining the Need to be Needed
• Removing classic frustrations encountered by all law enforcement officers and the
  consequences of rewarding cynicism
• How the dynamics of control and trust can negatively influence officer attitudes
• How to lead and inspire those who have been taught to anticipate the worst in everything
• Being an optimistic leader among a sea of professional pessimists
• Overcoming the damaging effects of “the rule bound” and stoic approaches to the job
• Recognizing the symptoms of stress and how police stress differs significantly from other
   jobs
• Developing a personal and organizational action plan to confront the issues
• Learning to help others overcome unhealthy organizational over-investment
• Why officers are at greater risk for alcohol abuse, divorce, isolation, depression and
  suicide
• Warning signs of distress and preventative programs to reduce and monitor it

Kent Williams is the owner of Breach Point Consulting. He recently retired as a Chief of Police for a
Chicago area police department after more than 32 years in law enforcement. He has served as the 2-
term President of the Northern Illinois Critical Incident Stress Management Team where he still serves as
a peer supporter for more than 20 years. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy, the University of
Southern California’s Delinquency Control Institute, the Police Executive Research Forum’s Senior
Management for Police, at Boston University, and the Buechner Institute for Governance’s Rocky Mountain
Leadership Program as the University of Colorado. He served as a Tactical Commander on a regional
SWAT team serving 60 Chicago collar communities. He has taught extensively on various courses related
to leadership and organizational change. Additionally, he has taught for over 28 years on topics including
use of force, weapons and tactics.

Through the development of Breach Point Consulting he has launched several courses, seminars and
programs being taught on a national level, based upon the principles of Servant Leadership and how
simple shifts in organizational perspective can profoundly reduce stress, frustration and open anger
expressed throughout the typical law enforcement agency. Chief Williams has been teaching leaders how
to negate the toxic work climate which can be caused by what he has termed “The Universal Police
Frustrations”. These misunderstood stressors are created by the unique combination of an effective
police personality coupled with an efficient police culture. The mix if not fully understood can be very
destructive to an agency’s morale and reputation. Additionally, it predictably places officers at risk for
failed careers, marriages and relationships. He sums this situation up by calling it “The Caustic Risks of
performing well in law enforcement”.

These efforts have led to groundbreaking ways agencies can create healthier, more productive and loyal
work groups who remain highly dedicated throughout their careers. These same principles have been
assisting officers themselves create a deeper, more meaningful vocation in policing and developing a
harmonious and rewarding personal life away from their career. His work on the predictable transitional
issues confronting the police officer’s family has led to numerous speaking engagements designed to
keep the family of a police officer emotionally and spiritually healthy

THIS IS NOT A PUBLIC MEETING