013 A career in the Police force; vulnerability and heroics

The modest humility, genuine kindness, and quiet strength of this now retired police officer and Scottish gentleman, warmly greets the arrival of visitors to one of the top Asset Management Companies in the UK, and is always a highlight of my many visits to Edinburgh.   His great love for his family and particularly his grandchildren encouraged John to capture his experiences in the police force in his self-published book, “Not long til Morning”. 

Once invited to train members of the FBI in USA, working the harrowing scenes of Lockerbie at the age of 26, and genuinely witnessing the dark side of life, John shares a very honest account of his thirty-two year career journey and “being human” within the police force in Scotland.

 

 

KEY TAKEAWAYS

“It's very difficult to get that sense of professional detachment that you require, when things are going very badly all around about you and those things that are terrible to look at…You can't just disappear into the background people.”

 

“...calmness radiates from people... that's good leadership”

 

“The Police are the public and the public are the Police; the Police being only members of the public who are paid to give full attention to duties which are incumbent on every citizen in the interest of community, welfare and existence” – Sir Robert Peel. 1825.

 

An article from John’s book… “So, and I start as we gather around the van waiting to go home, a large 4x4 drives slowly into our midst. I mean so slowly, it kind of nudged some of us aside, it stops and a man gets out, a local, I think, maybe a farmer or something. He goes to the back, lifts the tailgate, and takes a bundle out. He then walks around the side of the car towards the Sergeant, easily identifiable these days by the Chevron's on their arms. There are dozens of us and he walks slowly through this crowd of policemen who one by one step aside, we see his carrying the body of a child, a little girl, may be 4 or 5 years old. She looks perfect, as if she's asleep in his arms. He walks up to the side and holds her out. Sarge takes her looks at him, and nods. As he turns and walks back to his car. The boys start saluting him, one after another as he passes, including me. He doesn't look up, but returns to his vehicle, starts it up, and backs away as slowly as he had come. No one has said a word. The whole episode passes in total silence. We watch the taillights disappear into the gathering gloom. It's my first day at Lockerbie. I have just turned 26 years old”

 

“…Am I doing the right thing, at the right time, in the right way? And for the right reasons.”

 

“…always be a listener. It's easy to say, but it's a skill. It's a skill that can be learned, but never to be dismissive. Never be dismissive. … never worry, never hurry, calm, collected behaviour, will radiate from you. So don't… whatever hits you. Don't panic. Just tell your team. Okay, we'll get through this. It's happened. Let's focus on what we need to do. Let's move on”

 

ABOUT JOHN STUART

John was born the youngest of four brothers in the Old Town of Edinburgh in 1962. After a childhood spent in the suburbs, he joined the Edinburgh Police cadets in 1979.  He then spent the next 32 years in the service. This service spanned many notable events including the Robert Black serial killer, the miners’ strike and the Lockerbie atrocity. All his brothers also served in the emergency services. Two firemen and one paramedic. Retiring in 2011 he was employed in the NHS before joining BG in 2018.

 

He has one son, three daughters and four tiring grandchildren.

 

 

CONNECT WITH JOHN STUART

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ABOUT THE HOST – ALLI SPARGO

Alli is the mother of two daughters and a son, a wife, a daughter and a sister. She is also an executive leadership coach who passionately believes that every individual has the potential to be who they want to be, and do what they want to do (she is living proof of that!): to BE the BEST version of themselves. Alli specialises in behavioural performance as an executive leadership and systemic team coach. Her breadth of business experience, together with her coaching and facilitation expertise, enables her to enhance leadership capability and personal impact, whilst understanding the demands of the commercial and organisational environment.

 

WORK WITH ALLI

If you would like explore how working with Alli would support you to be the person you want to be, have the career (and life) you want to have and support your team to perform at their optimum, then please book a free 1 hour meeting with her:  booking:-Exploring-Human-Behaviours-at-Work-with-Alli

 

 

 

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HOSTED BY: Alli Spargo

 

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