Chief Angela Averiett on What It Really Takes to Change Police Culture | A Bit of Optimism

It’s often true that the most challenging conversations are often the ones most worth having. Conversations that bring up strong feelings, different experiences, and questions without easy answers. Policing, and how we can make it better, is one of those conversations. San Leandro Police Chief Angela Averiett has spent nearly three decades in law enforcement, navigating the profession’s challenges while advocating for a healthier path forward. I met Angela through The Curve, my organization focused on helping policing evolve to meet the needs of a modern world. She’s a powerful example of forward-thinking leadership, exploring how culture, mindset, and psychological safety shape the way officers show up for each other and for the communities they serve. In this episode, Angela and I unpack why cynicism is so common among officers, how strong leadership creates healthier team cultures, and why rebuilding trust in policing starts from the inside out. Angela shares stories from her career that reveal a different side of police work: where compassion improves safety, discretion matters more than enforcement, and leadership means creating space for people to be human. Together, we explore the balance between strength and empathy, and why healthier internal cultures lead to stronger relationships with the public. Whether you’re a leader interested in organizational culture or simply curious about how policing can evolve, I hope this conversation offers an honest and hopeful perspective on the work ahead. --------------------------- If you want to learn more about the work The Curve is doing, head to: https://www.thecurve.org + + + Simon is an unshakable optimist. He believes in a bright future and our ability to build it together. Described as “a visionary thinker with a rare intellect,” Simon has devoted his professional life to help advance a vision of the world that does not yet exist; a world in which the vast majority of people wake up every single morning inspired, feel safe wherever they are and end the day fulfilled by the work that they do. Simon is the author of multiple best-selling books including Start With Why, Leaders Eat Last, Together is Better, and The Infinite Game. + + + Website: http://simonsinek.com/ Live Online Classes: https://simonsinek.com/classes/ Podcast: http://apple.co/simonsinek Instagram: https://instagram.com/simonsinek/ Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/simonsinek/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/simonsinek Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/simonsinek Simon’s books: The Infinite Game: https://simonsinek.com/books/the-infinite-game/ Start With Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/ Find Your Why: https://simonsinek.com/books/find-your-why/ Leaders Eat Last: https://simonsinek.com/books/leaders-eat-last/ Together is Better: https://simonsinek.com/books/together-is-better/ + + + #simonsinek Chapters 00:00 Intro 02:39 — Why Angela Averiett Became a Police Officer 05:46 — Cops Meet People on the Worst Day of Their Lives 08:34 — Why Cynicism Becomes a Coping Mechanism 09:51 — Officer Wellness and the Mental Toll of the Job 12:42 — The Curve Initiative & Changing Police Culture 15:36 — Leadership Training vs Broken Culture in Policing 17:05 — Psychological Safety Inside Police Departments 21:58 — Why Modernizing Policing Starts From the Inside Out 24:59 — Crime, Fear, and the Emotional Reality of Public Perception 27:20 — Changing Mindset After Working in a Toxic Police Culture 33:38 — Strength AND Compassion on the Street 36:17 — Redefining the Purpose of Police: Protect the Vulnerable 40:00 — How Internal Culture Shapes Community Relationships 50:07 — Crime Stats vs Community Trust: What Really Matters

Angela AveriettguestSimon Sinekhost

Feb 16, 20261h 5mWatch on YouTube ↗

WHAT IT’S REALLY ABOUT

Changing police culture through leadership, trust, wellness, and compassion inside-out

Averiett explains that policing exposes officers to repeated trauma, which often produces cynicism and unhealthy coping unless departments actively support wellness and recovery.
They argue many public scandals and uses of excessive force are symptoms of broken internal culture and weak leadership development, not isolated “bad apple” incidents.
The conversation emphasizes psychological safety—being able to admit mistakes, ask for help, or show emotion—as foundational to healthier officers and better decision-making in the field.
They propose reframing policing’s purpose as “protect the vulnerable from harm,” enabling officers to switch appropriately between enforcement and compassion as situations evolve.
They challenge arrest/ticket-driven performance metrics and suggest trust-centered indicators (community engagement, oversight, lived experience) matter as much as crime stats for legitimate public safety.

IDEAS WORTH REMEMBERING

5 ideas

Officer behavior on the street reflects the culture inside the station.

Averiett argues departments that “treat each other like crap” internally shouldn’t be surprised when officers struggle to treat the public with humanity; internal respect and safety shape external discretion and professionalism.

Cynicism is hard to remove, but wellness can reduce its harms.

They frame cynicism as a coping mechanism from seeing people on their worst days; structured decompression, mental-health support, and normalization of help-seeking can prevent it from turning into aggression or burnout.

Psychological safety is an operational necessity, not softness.

Allowing officers to say “I’m not okay today” (without stigma or career damage) decreases the likelihood of stressed, reactive policing and supports safer decisions under pressure.

Leadership selection by testing can miss the human skills that prevent scandals.

Both note promotions often reward technical knowledge and test-taking; without deliberate leader development, poor leaders can perpetuate toxic norms and enable predictable failures.

“Protect the vulnerable from harm” clarifies when to be forceful and when to be compassionate.

They stress a key distinction: enforcement focus during the threat, compassion after control; once a suspect is secured, the vulnerable party can shift—including the person in handcuffs.

WORDS WORTH SAVING

5 quotes

It wasn’t until 2015 that I felt comfortable enough to cry in front of people.

— Angela Averiett

We don’t build psychological safety into our cultures… vulnerability… people mistake it as a sign of weakness. I think it’s a superpower.

— Angela Averiett

If cops can’t even see each other as human beings, how impossible is that [to see the public that way]?

— Simon Sinek

Modernizing policing starts from the inside out.

— Simon Sinek

If the people that we serve don’t trust us, then nothing else matters.

— Angela Averiett

Trauma exposure and cynicism as copingOfficer wellness, suicide, and maladaptive copingLeadership training gaps in policing promotion systemsPsychological safety and vulnerability normsInside-out culture change and community outcomesPurpose of policing: protecting the vulnerableMeasuring success: crime stats vs community trust

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