Unbiased look at the Sint Maarten Elections
Some twenty police team leaders and acting team leaders received their certificates on November 29, for the leadership course they took last summer. All officers received their certificate from David McGregor, senior trainer at the UTS Training and Development Centre (TDC).
During the course, the officers learned not only the technicalities of leadership and the structure of communication skills, but they also learned how to manage and support their team members into making their working days as productive and challenging as possible.
All graduates were congratulated by TDC, the management team of KPSM and, from a distance, by Angela Dekker, member of USONA, which financed the "Management Development Training." Dekker couldn't personally attend the ceremony, because she was off island.
Facilitator McGregor addressed all students and talked about how the group had first arrived as cynical and hardened officers, with many years of service, and yet they opened their hearts quickly to the spirit of good leadership and motivational management.
McGregor said that he saw changes within the personality of most of the officers, who started to appreciate that their staff are people who need to be developed, encouraged and validated. Furthermore, these officers now have the tools to bring out the best in their team members.
"During the course, it became somewhat of a competition to get the highest grades on the tests that the officers were taking almost every week," said McGregor, who further said that there are many occasions when the police force is criticised, as bad news always receives more publicity than good news. However, he learned that these men have put themselves on the line on many occasions and that the many hours of extra work are never publicised and appreciated as they should be.
To finalise his speech he asked the graduates to continue their efforts to make the people of St. Maarten proud of the men and women they lead and of the service they can provide.
"It is only as we develop others that we permanently succeed," concluded McGregor.
