Latest news with #PolicingLeadershipAcademy
Fast Company
5 days ago
- General
- Fast Company
Police are turning to improv to improve leadership skills
Discomfort is common in leadership training, but it's especially palpable when you walk into a room of police commanders and ask them to say 'Yes, and…' That's the scene I step into regularly as part of my work with the Policing Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago Crime Lab. These sessions bring together leaders from some of the most high-risk, high-pressure precincts in the country. At first, there's skepticism. Arms crossed. Blank faces. There's a quiet but unmistakable undercurrent: What is this? Why are we here? Then, something shifts. Within 30 minutes, they're not just participating; they're connecting. They're not just answering; they're listening. And whether they realize it or not, they're building the skills of an improviser: agility, curiosity, presence, and trust. The challenge facing law enforcement leadership Police leadership today demands far more than operational expertise. Commanders are expected to be strategic communicators, culture builders, and community connectors, all while navigating constant scrutiny, high-stakes decision making, and immense public pressure. Yet many of these leaders rise through the ranks without ever receiving formal training in communication or emotional agility. Their development often emphasizes tactics, not trust. And that leaves a gap between what their roles require and what they've been prepared to do. This isn't a critique of individuals. It's a systemic truth. And it mirrors challenges in other industries: elevated expectations without the human-centered training to meet them. Why improv is the unexpected solution Improvisation is often misunderstood as spontaneous silliness. But at its core, improv is structured practice in navigating the unknown with others. It's the skillset of presence. Of curiosity. Of listening before reacting. At Second City Works, we use applied improvisation to help professionals build real-world capabilities, ones that align perfectly with the demands of modern leadership. Skills like: 'Yes, and': A mindset that builds momentum rather than shutting it down. It trains leaders to acknowledge others' ideas while adding their own, creating space for collaboration, not control. Intentional listening: Listening not to respond, but to understand. It's a discipline that reduces conflict and strengthens relationships. Agility in complexity: The ability to make clear, grounded decisions without a script. Something every leader (especially in law enforcement) needs daily. As my colleague Kelly Leonard often says, 'Improv is yoga for your social skills.' It stretches our empathy, it strengthens our communication skills, and it builds the kind of flexible resilience that today's workplaces demand. What happens when police leaders learn to improvise These skills aren't just interesting, they're effective. A 2023 study published in Science Direct found that participants in improv-based training improved their adaptability, confidence, and clarity under stress. In high-pressure environments, those outcomes aren't optional. They're essential. At the Policing Leadership Academy, I've seen those outcomes firsthand. In nearly every session, there's a moment when one participant turns to the group and names what everyone is feeling: that this work matters. That shift in energy is immediate. The room leans in. And more often than not, the person making that statement is later chosen by their peers to deliver the graduation speech. In every case, they've referenced our session as a turning point. And the data backs this up. A 2024 review in the International Journal of Innovative Science and Research Technology found that leadership programs emphasizing communication, teamwork, and conflict resolution led to increased officer safety, fewer misconduct reports, and stronger public perception. Similarly, a two-year study involving 101 first-line supervisors in the ILEA School of Police Supervision program found that service-oriented leadership rose from 63% to 77% after training. Among those who reported communication gains, that number jumped from 35% to 93%. The lesson is clear: When we train for communication, trust, and presence, whether through improv or other human-centered methods, we don't just make better leaders. We make safer, more connected communities. What every industry can learn from this The conditions that challenge law enforcement (uncertainty, complexity, rapid change) aren't exclusive to policing. They're everywhere. Across sectors, leaders are being asked to connect across differences, navigate conflict with empathy, and make quick decisions that carry real consequences. They're also leading teams that are more dispersed, more diverse, and more stressed than ever before. And yet, many industries still treat communication and relational skills as secondary, if they're addressed at all. That's a mistake. According to Gallup, business units with higher employee engagement (which is closely linked to better communication and leadership) see up to 23% increases in profitability and 18% higher sales. And in that same Science Direct study, individuals who participated in improv training saw meaningful increases in creative self-efficacy and self-esteem. These two qualities are essential for innovation and confident leadership. The message is simple: The workplace doesn't need more perfect scripts. It needs more people who can lead without one. Why now We are living in a time of disruption. New technologies, new expectations, and new ways of working are reshaping the workplace faster than most organizations can adapt. But some truths remain constant: People want to feel heard. They want to feel understood. They want to follow leaders who can communicate clearly, respond flexibly, and model confidence under pressure. Improv doesn't just help you react; it helps you relate. And whether you're commanding a precinct or running a board meeting, those are the skills that make leadership work.
San Francisco Chronicle
23-06-2025
- General
- San Francisco Chronicle
Comedy and crime fighting join forces for police learning leadership skills
CHICAGO (AP) — Three dozen police captains pair off in a Chicago conference room to play a game: They must start a sentence with the last word their partner used. Many exchanges are nonsensical, full of one-upmanship using difficult words and laughter. But the improvisation game eventually makes sense. 'What we are trying to do, is get you to listen to the end of the sentence,' says Kelly Leonard, wrapping up the improvisational exercise. 'If my arm was a sentence, when do most people stop listening? Always the elbow! But then you're missing everything that goes after... and sometimes that's critical information.' The police captains who have flown in from departments across the country nod. 'I definitely do that," some call out. Officials at the University of Chicago Crime Lab's Policing Leadership Academy brought members of The Second City, Chicago's storied improv theater, to teach police leaders the more diverse skills found in improv exercises — like thinking on your feet, reserving judgment and fully listening. The academy, a workshop taught over five months, tackles some serious topics like to make data-driven decisions or how to help officers handle on-the-job trauma. Improving social skills 'We call it yoga for social skills,' said Leonard, the vice president of Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development at The Second City. The skills might not apply to all policing situations in the field, but being a better listener or learning to take a breath before responding can make for better leaders, according to Tree Branch, a strategic client partner at The Second City Works. The creation of improv and of The Second City is rooted in social work. Both trace their beginnings to Viola Spolin, who created some of the exercises still used in improv while she was a resettlement worker in the 1920s helping immigrant children and local Chicago children connect. Spolin was also the mother of Second City cofounder, Paul Sills. The Policing Leadership Academy's creators believe those skills can also help meet their goals to increase community engagement, improve officer morale and ultimately reduce violent crime. 'We are trying to make the case that you can do all three things," without compromising one over the other, said Kim Smith, director of programs at the Crime Lab. The academy is focused on working with leaders from departments dealing with high levels of community gun violence and pays for them to fly to Chicago one week a month to attend the five-month training. Crime Lab researchers found that district and precinct captains have the largest potential impact on their colleagues, despite often receiving little leadership training for the job. A precinct could have high marks for morale, community relationships, or be making a dent in crime numbers, but if the captain changes, those gains could plummet, researchers found, even if the community, the officers and everything else stayed the same. Professors, researchers and police leaders teach courses on topics like developing transparent policing cultures, using and collecting data, managing stress and building community partnerships. So far, about 130 police leaders from about 70 departments including tribal police departments and even a police inspector from Toronto have participated. Communication is key Capt. Louis Higginson with the Philadelphia Police Department said the academy provided a much broader training than the two weeks of police job training he got before being promoted to captain a little more than a year ago. 'The big thing for me was thinking about the things we allow to happen because they've been that way before us,' he said. 'And the ways we can change the culture of our district by changing the thinking around why we do things.' He said he did some of the improv exercises with his wife and daughters when he returned home and it opened up communication in a way he hadn't expected. 'I think it opened their eyes, like it did for me,' Higginson said. Albuquerque Police Department Commander Ray Del Greco said he's still thinking more about how he communicates weeks after the improv class. 'When people talk to you and come to have you help solve their issues, to be able to push your ego out and worry less about your own agenda and listen, that's an understanding of leadership,' Del Greco said. 'To me that was the most valuable class we had.' The student becomes the teacher Academy leaders stressed the learning doesn't stop at graduation. They create communication channels so classmates can continue to support each other, they encourage captains to put on trainings with their departments, and participants are required to implement a capstone project that lasts well past the last day of class and addresses a real problem in their district or department. Many of the projects implement programs to address specific crimes, like involving the community in programs to prevent car thefts or piloting drones as first responders. One previous graduate created a partnership with community groups to increase community pride and reduce gun violence by reducing quality of life issues like littering, overgrown lots and graffiti. Stephen Donohue, a San Jose Police Department captain and recent academy graduate, is creating an early intervention system focusing on officer wellness. A typical system might flag citizen complaints or driving accidents, but Donohue's program gathers input from supervisors and peers to flag when an officer is taking on too much on-duty trauma, such as multiple murders or shooting investigations within a short time. 'It's a Venn diagram between training, wellness and internal affairs," he said. "And we can help them, we can lessen use-of-force complaints and allegations, offer better training and improve services put out by the department.' The trainers hope in a few years more captains and officers will be saying 'yes and' during improv classes. They are keeping tabs through a randomized control study on how well the overall training works. And with that evidence they hope funders, police departments or other universities will help expand the trainings to more departments. 'We want there to be rigorously tested scientific evidence behind this,' said Academy Executive Director Meredith Stricker. 'We work to design a curriculum to ultimately make better leaders and better policing. The participants definitely talk about the improv class as one of their favorites. We hope all of it will work in tandem.'
Winnipeg Free Press
23-06-2025
- General
- Winnipeg Free Press
Comedy and crime fighting join forces for police learning leadership skills
CHICAGO (AP) — Three dozen police captains pair off in a Chicago conference room to play a game: They must start a sentence with the last word their partner used. Many exchanges are nonsensical, full of one-upmanship using difficult words and laughter. But the improvisation game eventually makes sense. 'What we are trying to do, is get you to listen to the end of the sentence,' says Kelly Leonard, wrapping up the improvisational exercise. 'If my arm was a sentence, when do most people stop listening? Always the elbow! But then you're missing everything that goes after… and sometimes that's critical information.' The police captains who have flown in from departments across the country nod. 'I definitely do that,' some call out. Officials at the University of Chicago Crime Lab's Policing Leadership Academy brought members of The Second City, Chicago's storied improv theater, to teach police leaders the more diverse skills found in improv exercises — like thinking on your feet, reserving judgment and fully listening. The academy, a workshop taught over five months, tackles some serious topics like to make data-driven decisions or how to help officers handle on-the-job trauma. Improving social skills 'We call it yoga for social skills,' said Leonard, the vice president of Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development at The Second City. The skills might not apply to all policing situations in the field, but being a better listener or learning to take a breath before responding can make for better leaders, according to Tree Branch, a strategic client partner at The Second City Works. The creation of improv and of The Second City is rooted in social work. Both trace their beginnings to Viola Spolin, who created some of the exercises still used in improv while she was a resettlement worker in the 1920s helping immigrant children and local Chicago children connect. Spolin was also the mother of Second City cofounder, Paul Sills. The Policing Leadership Academy's creators believe those skills can also help meet their goals to increase community engagement, improve officer morale and ultimately reduce violent crime. 'We are trying to make the case that you can do all three things,' without compromising one over the other, said Kim Smith, director of programs at the Crime Lab. The academy is focused on working with leaders from departments dealing with high levels of community gun violence and pays for them to fly to Chicago one week a month to attend the five-month training. Crime Lab researchers found that district and precinct captains have the largest potential impact on their colleagues, despite often receiving little leadership training for the job. A precinct could have high marks for morale, community relationships, or be making a dent in crime numbers, but if the captain changes, those gains could plummet, researchers found, even if the community, the officers and everything else stayed the same. Professors, researchers and police leaders teach courses on topics like developing transparent policing cultures, using and collecting data, managing stress and building community partnerships. So far, about 130 police leaders from about 70 departments including tribal police departments and even a police inspector from Toronto have participated. Communication is key Capt. Louis Higginson with the Philadelphia Police Department said the academy provided a much broader training than the two weeks of police job training he got before being promoted to captain a little more than a year ago. 'The big thing for me was thinking about the things we allow to happen because they've been that way before us,' he said. 'And the ways we can change the culture of our district by changing the thinking around why we do things.' He said he did some of the improv exercises with his wife and daughters when he returned home and it opened up communication in a way he hadn't expected. 'I think it opened their eyes, like it did for me,' Higginson said. Albuquerque Police Department Commander Ray Del Greco said he's still thinking more about how he communicates weeks after the improv class. 'When people talk to you and come to have you help solve their issues, to be able to push your ego out and worry less about your own agenda and listen, that's an understanding of leadership,' Del Greco said. 'To me that was the most valuable class we had.' The student becomes the teacher Academy leaders stressed the learning doesn't stop at graduation. They create communication channels so classmates can continue to support each other, they encourage captains to put on trainings with their departments, and participants are required to implement a capstone project that lasts well past the last day of class and addresses a real problem in their district or department. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. Many of the projects implement programs to address specific crimes, like involving the community in programs to prevent car thefts or piloting drones as first responders. One previous graduate created a partnership with community groups to increase community pride and reduce gun violence by reducing quality of life issues like littering, overgrown lots and graffiti. Stephen Donohue, a San Jose Police Department captain and recent academy graduate, is creating an early intervention system focusing on officer wellness. A typical system might flag citizen complaints or driving accidents, but Donohue's program gathers input from supervisors and peers to flag when an officer is taking on too much on-duty trauma, such as multiple murders or shooting investigations within a short time. 'It's a Venn diagram between training, wellness and internal affairs,' he said. 'And we can help them, we can lessen use-of-force complaints and allegations, offer better training and improve services put out by the department.' The trainers hope in a few years more captains and officers will be saying 'yes and' during improv classes. They are keeping tabs through a randomized control study on how well the overall training works. And with that evidence they hope funders, police departments or other universities will help expand the trainings to more departments. 'We want there to be rigorously tested scientific evidence behind this,' said Academy Executive Director Meredith Stricker. 'We work to design a curriculum to ultimately make better leaders and better policing. The participants definitely talk about the improv class as one of their favorites. We hope all of it will work in tandem.'
Associated Press
23-06-2025
- General
- Associated Press
Comedy and crime fighting join forces for police learning leadership skills
CHICAGO (AP) — Three dozen police captains pair off in a Chicago conference room to play a game: They must start a sentence with the last word their partner used. Many exchanges are nonsensical, full of one-upmanship using difficult words and laughter. But the improvisation game eventually makes sense. 'What we are trying to do, is get you to listen to the end of the sentence,' says Kelly Leonard, wrapping up the improvisational exercise. 'If my arm was a sentence, when do most people stop listening? Always the elbow! But then you're missing everything that goes after... and sometimes that's critical information.' The police captains who have flown in from departments across the country nod. 'I definitely do that,' some call out. Officials at the University of Chicago Crime Lab's Policing Leadership Academy brought members of The Second City, Chicago's storied improv theater, to teach police leaders the more diverse skills found in improv exercises — like thinking on your feet, reserving judgment and fully listening. The academy, a workshop taught over five months, tackles some serious topics like to make data-driven decisions or how to help officers handle on-the-job trauma. Improving social skills 'We call it yoga for social skills,' said Leonard, the vice president of Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development at The Second City. The skills might not apply to all policing situations in the field, but being a better listener or learning to take a breath before responding can make for better leaders, according to Tree Branch, a strategic client partner at The Second City Works. The creation of improv and of The Second City is rooted in social work. Both trace their beginnings to Viola Spolin, who created some of the exercises still used in improv while she was a resettlement worker in the 1920s helping immigrant children and local Chicago children connect. Spolin was also the mother of Second City cofounder, Paul Sills. The Policing Leadership Academy's creators believe those skills can also help meet their goals to increase community engagement, improve officer morale and ultimately reduce violent crime. 'We are trying to make the case that you can do all three things,' without compromising one over the other, said Kim Smith, director of programs at the Crime Lab. The academy is focused on working with leaders from departments dealing with high levels of community gun violence and pays for them to fly to Chicago one week a month to attend the five-month training. Crime Lab researchers found that district and precinct captains have the largest potential impact on their colleagues, despite often receiving little leadership training for the job. A precinct could have high marks for morale, community relationships, or be making a dent in crime numbers, but if the captain changes, those gains could plummet, researchers found, even if the community, the officers and everything else stayed the same. Professors, researchers and police leaders teach courses on topics like developing transparent policing cultures, using and collecting data, managing stress and building community partnerships. So far, about 130 police leaders from about 70 departments including tribal police departments and even a police inspector from Toronto have participated. Communication is key Capt. Louis Higginson with the Philadelphia Police Department said the academy provided a much broader training than the two weeks of police job training he got before being promoted to captain a little more than a year ago. 'The big thing for me was thinking about the things we allow to happen because they've been that way before us,' he said. 'And the ways we can change the culture of our district by changing the thinking around why we do things.' He said he did some of the improv exercises with his wife and daughters when he returned home and it opened up communication in a way he hadn't expected. 'I think it opened their eyes, like it did for me,' Higginson said. Albuquerque Police Department Commander Ray Del Greco said he's still thinking more about how he communicates weeks after the improv class. 'When people talk to you and come to have you help solve their issues, to be able to push your ego out and worry less about your own agenda and listen, that's an understanding of leadership,' Del Greco said. 'To me that was the most valuable class we had.' The student becomes the teacher Academy leaders stressed the learning doesn't stop at graduation. They create communication channels so classmates can continue to support each other, they encourage captains to put on trainings with their departments, and participants are required to implement a capstone project that lasts well past the last day of class and addresses a real problem in their district or department. Many of the projects implement programs to address specific crimes, like involving the community in programs to prevent car thefts or piloting drones as first responders. One previous graduate created a partnership with community groups to increase community pride and reduce gun violence by reducing quality of life issues like littering, overgrown lots and graffiti. Stephen Donohue, a San Jose Police Department captain and recent academy graduate, is creating an early intervention system focusing on officer wellness. A typical system might flag citizen complaints or driving accidents, but Donohue's program gathers input from supervisors and peers to flag when an officer is taking on too much on-duty trauma, such as multiple murders or shooting investigations within a short time. 'It's a Venn diagram between training, wellness and internal affairs,' he said. 'And we can help them, we can lessen use-of-force complaints and allegations, offer better training and improve services put out by the department.' The trainers hope in a few years more captains and officers will be saying 'yes and' during improv classes. They are keeping tabs through a randomized control study on how well the overall training works. And with that evidence they hope funders, police departments or other universities will help expand the trainings to more departments. 'We want there to be rigorously tested scientific evidence behind this,' said Academy Executive Director Meredith Stricker. 'We work to design a curriculum to ultimately make better leaders and better policing. The participants definitely talk about the improv class as one of their favorites. We hope all of it will work in tandem.'
Hindustan Times
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Comedy and crime fighting join forces for police learning leadership skills
CHICAGO — Three dozen police captains pair off in a Chicago conference room to play a game: They must start a sentence with the last word their partner used. Comedy and crime fighting join forces for police learning leadership skills Many exchanges are nonsensical, full of one-upmanship using difficult words and laughter. But the improvisation game eventually makes sense. 'What we are trying to do, is get you to listen to the end of the sentence,' says Kelly Leonard, wrapping up the improvisational exercise. 'If my arm was a sentence, when do most people stop listening? Always the elbow! But then you're missing everything that goes after... and sometimes that's critical information.' The police captains who have flown in from departments across the country nod. 'I definitely do that," some call out. Officials at the University of Chicago Crime Lab's Policing Leadership Academy brought members of The Second City, Chicago's storied improv theater, to teach police leaders the more diverse skills found in improv exercises — like thinking on your feet, reserving judgment and fully listening. The academy, a workshop taught over five months, tackles some serious topics like to make data-driven decisions or how to help officers handle on-the-job trauma. 'We call it yoga for social skills,' said Leonard, the vice president of Creative Strategy, Innovation and Business Development at The Second City. The skills might not apply to all policing situations in the field, but being a better listener or learning to take a breath before responding can make for better leaders, according to Tree Branch, a strategic client partner at The Second City Works. The creation of improv and of The Second City is rooted in social work. Both trace their beginnings to Viola Spolin, who created some of the exercises still used in improv while she was a resettlement worker in the 1920s helping immigrant children and local Chicago children connect. Spolin was also the mother of Second City cofounder, Paul Sills. The Policing Leadership Academy's creators believe those skills can also help meet their goals to increase community engagement, improve officer morale and ultimately reduce violent crime. 'We are trying to make the case that you can do all three things," without compromising one over the other, said Kim Smith, director of programs at the Crime Lab. The academy is focused on working with leaders from departments dealing with high levels of community gun violence and pays for them to fly to Chicago one week a month to attend the five-month training. Crime Lab researchers found that district and precinct captains have the largest potential impact on their colleagues, despite often receiving little leadership training for the job. A precinct could have high marks for morale, community relationships, or be making a dent in crime numbers, but if the captain changes, those gains could plummet, researchers found, even if the community, the officers and everything else stayed the same. Professors, researchers and police leaders teach courses on topics like developing transparent policing cultures, using and collecting data, managing stress and building community partnerships. So far, about 130 police leaders from about 70 departments including tribal police departments and even a police inspector from Toronto have participated. Capt. Louis Higginson with the Philadelphia Police Department said the academy provided a much broader training than the two weeks of police job training he got before being promoted to captain a little more than a year ago. 'The big thing for me was thinking about the things we allow to happen because they've been that way before us,' he said. 'And the ways we can change the culture of our district by changing the thinking around why we do things.' He said he did some of the improv exercises with his wife and daughters when he returned home and it opened up communication in a way he hadn't expected. 'I think it opened their eyes, like it did for me,' Higginson said. Albuquerque Police Department Commander Ray Del Greco said he's still thinking more about how he communicates weeks after the improv class. 'When people talk to you and come to have you help solve their issues, to be able to push your ego out and worry less about your own agenda and listen, that's an understanding of leadership,' Del Greco said. 'To me that was the most valuable class we had.' Academy leaders stressed the learning doesn't stop at graduation. They create communication channels so classmates can continue to support each other, they encourage captains to put on trainings with their departments, and participants are required to implement a capstone project that lasts well past the last day of class and addresses a real problem in their district or department. Many of the projects implement programs to address specific crimes, like involving the community in programs to prevent car thefts or piloting drones as first responders. One previous graduate created a partnership with community groups to increase community pride and reduce gun violence by reducing quality of life issues like littering, overgrown lots and graffiti. Stephen Donohue, a San Jose Police Department captain and recent academy graduate, is creating an early intervention system focusing on officer wellness. A typical system might flag citizen complaints or driving accidents, but Donohue's program gathers input from supervisors and peers to flag when an officer is taking on too much on-duty trauma, such as multiple murders or shooting investigations within a short time. 'It's a Venn diagram between training, wellness and internal affairs," he said. "And we can help them, we can lessen use-of-force complaints and allegations, offer better training and improve services put out by the department.' The trainers hope in a few years more captains and officers will be saying 'yes and' during improv classes. They are keeping tabs through a randomized control study on how well the overall training works. And with that evidence they hope funders, police departments or other universities will help expand the trainings to more departments. 'We want there to be rigorously tested scientific evidence behind this,' said Academy Executive Director Meredith Stricker. 'We work to design a curriculum to ultimately make better leaders and better policing. The participants definitely talk about the improv class as one of their favorites. We hope all of it will work in tandem.' This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
