Moderated by Zachary Dykes, President, Missouri Chapter of APCO; Co-Presenters: Timothy Stencel, Telecommunicator/EMA Liaison, Northwest Central Dispatch, Illinois; Andrea King, Carbyne; Johnathan Jones, Georgia Emergency Communications Authority; Brett Wrenn, Carbyne
As the staffing and retention crisis comes to the focus of leaders across the nation, one question has become abundantly clear: how do we prepare the younger generation for positions of leadership and enable them to continue modernizing the profession?
During this session, young professionals from all over the country – both in the public and private sectors of the public safety communications profession – discussed hard hitting issues impacting newer hires and the younger generations of communicators. During the panel, we heard from professionals in their early 30’s who discussed the difficulties they encountered in their early career due to their age, how they overcame some of these difficulties and how center leadership can help prepare their future leaders.
One buzzword that was discussed in depth was mentorship, but what is it and how can you mentor someone in your center? We learned that mentorship does not have to be a formal process, it can be as simple as identifying someone with potential, developing trust and helping gentry nudge them out of their comfort zone. While mentorship within the ECC is important, do not limit yourself to your center. Sometimes perspective from outside of the center is worth more. As in all things, it is imperative that those who have come before share their experiences and help the rising stars of the profession.
Did you miss out on this session? No worries! There is one more chance to catch this session live on Wednesday or you can catch the replay though the APCO recorded sessions available for purchase.
