What is your most "Valued" piece of advice?
Protecting your people is the foundation of effective emergency services leadership.
The most valued piece of advice I received when I stepped into a leadership role in emergency services was simple:
"Protect your people, and the rest will follow."
I didn't fully understand it at the time. But years in this field—years of midnight calls, rural roads, hard decisions, and harder conversations—taught me that the strength of any emergency response system begins with the humans wearing the headset: the 911 dispatchers.
When you invest in their well-being, training, confidence, and sense of purpose, everything else improves: response times, teamwork, communication, and the way we serve our communities.
That advice shaped my career, my leadership style, my expectations, and my heart for this profession. It is still the compass I use today.
If you're new to emergency services or any leadership role, hold tight to the people beside you. I've carried that advice through every role—dispatcher, supervisor, training coordinator, director. It is the foundation of how I show up for my team and how I advocate for the emergency response profession.
If you're stepping into a new leadership role, find the advice that becomes your North Star.
Julie Lockhart is the Director of Mercer County Communications Center in West Virginia, pioneering the first female director role after 30 years in emergency communications. With expertise in CPR, EMD, and crisis intervention, she advocates for dispatcher wellness and mental health awareness. Julie authored "Brave Whiskers Rescue" to educate children about 911 services and remains committed to mentoring dispatchers…
