Unveiling the Thrill of Riding the Wave

In 2019 I was sitting at home at one of the lowest points of my life. Despite having achieved things at work that had gained national recognition, a new supervisor came and following a clash of personalities, I found myself moved across a number of departments in a very short time, isolated and overwhelmed. I had lost all confidence and wondered what was going to happen to me. Having invested over 25 years of my life in a career in policing and I felt like I was in a big storm, with waves coming towards me that I had no idea how to tackle. Then I received a phone call from a pastor in Stockton. She very cagily informed me that she may sound a little crazy, but she really believed God had told her to invite me along to Global Leadership Summit that was being hosted in her church. She continued, “Please don’t tell anyone, all the other people are paying to be here. Oh and by the way, you can bring a friend...

At the time I was a volunteer Branch Leader for the Christian Police Association, a 135-year-old multi-denominational Christian Charity aimed mainly at supporting Christians in Police Service. So I invited my CPA Regional Co-ordinator Mike Quinnell to be my plus one.

We went along not really knowing what to expect. Only to be greeted by smiling people with cups of coffee and croissants. Then we sat down, and heard Pastor Craig Groeschel laying out the sweet spot in the law of diminishing returns, only to flip it and show us how to ‘Bend the Curve’ To get more for less! Mike and I were looking at each other and the possibilities were starting to become clear in our minds. Our CPA Branch was never going to be the same again.

Follow this with Bear Grylls talking about resilience and recovery from seemingly insurmountable physical injury. Then we heard Paula Ferris interview Black Swan CEO Chris Voss about how we can use the Scotland Yard model of Conflict Management to leverage hostage negotiation tactics in everyday conversations and interactions!

I learned two very important tactics from this presentation.

1. Be a great listener, and

2. If you want your boss to support you for a course or promotion or an opportunity. Then before you ever get to that point, ask, “How can I support you to achieve your strategic goals and objectives?”

These 2 things are more powerful than you can imagine. Make yourself valued and invaluable, it builds your CV and collateral wherever you work.

Finally we heard Jia Jang talk about being ‘Rejection Proof.’ You can ask for virtually anything and roughly 40% of people will go for it! So, if you’ve been passed over, then ask again. If that person says no, ask someone else, and keep asking.

Here comes the Hope.

We are all just like Peter, when Jesus called him to step out into the waves. We are surrounded by waves everyday. Keep your eyes on Jesus and know this, you can trust that God sees you and knows exactly what you need to achieve your potential. To step into His plans for you.

I returned to work and my last two years in policing were two of the very best years of my life - I was Rejection Proof, I helped my boss achieve his strategic goals and he supported me for promotion, and said thank you.

People saw the change in me and God opened more doors. I became a Pointman Leadership Instructor and I have delivered leadership training to government officials in two different countries. I am a Director of the International Christian Police Fellowship, with great friends all across the globe, and I used all I had learned to successfully become the Executive Director of the Christian Police Association in 2021.

I am so convinced by the quality and value of teaching from GLN, I liaised with UK Directors Steve and Angie Campbell, and we delivered a bespoke GLN Summit for72 CPA Branch Leaders in November 2023.

I’m happy that we’ve equipped them to ride the waves!

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Brian McCarthy

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