Responder Resilience
Guest, Tom Rizzo
I'm currently in my 20th year and hold the rank of Captain (overseeing both sworn/civilian personnel). I've blended my law enforcement career with that of a military beginning (US Army), college professor for 10+ years, and by serving as a motivational speaker. On
July 1st, I released my first book; "Copikaze", which is a series of lessons built to help navigate the career, while simultaneously serving as a means of understanding for the non- sworn.
I am most proud of the fact that while much younger, I served as the primary caretaker for my mother who suffered from terminal cancer. Since her untimely death, I now find myself caring for my wife, who also suffers from medical disabilities, to include parenting four children. I provide you this background as a means of understanding why I teach what I teach. Traditional supervisory courses, while valuable, seemingly always offer similar content in the "management" of the position, but not the leadership tenets which focus on the human component. With no bad intention, as we promote and gain more years of experience, we tend to become further separated from the operational level and more importantly - our loved ones, who we are tasked to lead and care for (Ivory Tower theory). To counteract this, I've found by learning transformational leadership strategies, officers can influence personnel in such a way that allows them to expand their potential to heights never thought possible. In addition, learning various methods on how to properly address our personal wellness, so that it aligns with the obligations of our profession serves to achieve a profound effect - multi-dimensional wellness. We become the best TOTAL version of ourselves, which in turn, allows us to perform at our best, while productively influencing others.
Simply stated, this course is about leadership perspective. By having others realize that they too, can be transformational leaders, despite their current rank/designation, serves them on a personal basis, in addition to improving their respective agencies as becoming more effective officers. I can assure you the confidence that enrollment in this course will not only equip the officer student with a newfound leadership mentality, but a work-life balance methodology, built to support wellness on both fronts.