Have you ever stopped for a minute to really consider what we ask of our CTOs in 911?

If you are a CTO, you know all too well.

If you aren’t a CTO or haven’t taken a second to ponder that question, here’s a hint:

It’s a hell of a lot.

To wit:

• Orient someone who was probably working in a semi-relaxed retail environment a couple of weeks ago to a job with life and death circumstances potentially awaiting them every time they answer the phone. This will need to be done in a few days.
• Introduce those same new employees to, essentially, a foreign language that they’ll need to be fluent in — CAD (Computer Aided Dispatch). Emphasize the importance of this fluency while being inordinately patient and understanding when inevitable mistakes and errors occur. This will also need to be done in a few days.
• Take full responsibility when that new employee makes mistakes. They will, because that’s how they’ll learn. But you’ll answer for those mistakes, because that’s your trainee. 
• Take the responsibility to “sign them off” on literally hundreds of tasks based on your relatively brief observations, using your judgment. If they make mistakes in those areas later, we’ll come back to you about that judgment.
• Be the gateway to getting new employees trained so that we can get you MORE trainees to go through that same process on infinite repeat, or until the mythical status of “fully staffed” is reached (Note: It probably won’t ever be).
• Represent the department. Have a great attitude. Be infinitely patient. Adjust to different learning methods. Cancel your time off. Skip that vacation. Finish that late DOR (Daily Observation Report) on your own time. Come in early to talk to the trainee. Stay late to talk to the trainee. Be a counselor, mentor, and amateur psychologist. Be the best of us all day, every day, every shift, all the time, putting yourself second for perpetuity.

Daunting to be sure – and we’re just scratching the surface with this list.

In an industry filled with people taking on jobs that demand every ounce that they have to give, no one is tasked with more than the CTO in a 911 communications center.

No. One.

The degree of dedication required to serve in this role is unmatched. There is little to no down time, little opportunity to “turn it off” and do your own thing – and the endless nature of the job gives trainers little time for either celebration when a trainee succeeds or introspection when they wash out.

Through it all, we count on the CTOs in our center to keep the new employees on top of everything that, to be frank, many of us tend to forget as the years line up behind us. I used to love, for example, the ability of new employees to recite SOPs line-for-line, list fire station addresses on command and literally instruct on the geographical block and grid system of our city. Don’t even get me started on the number of times new employees fresh from training instructed veterans on the dispatch floor about CAD shortcuts and tips — all a direct tribute to the incredible teaching that our CTOs were doing.

We’ve more than established why most of us aren’t designed to do the job.

Let’s talk about the type of people that are.

Great CTOs are easy-going, despite what is required of them.

They’re endlessly funny and quick to laugh, regardless of the number of trainees they’ve had in the last year.

They’re thoughtful conversationalists who take real interest in others.

They listen — truly listen, in ways that become exceedingly difficult for people who work in 911 over the long haul.

Great CTO’s have every reason to complain – but the best of them seldom do. They could unburden themselves to their trainees, but they keep their personal issues personal, choosing instead to focus on the work of their trainees and to offer them unending support and dedication.

They are inquisitive, curious and quick to help with and volunteer for other duties in the center, despite what we’re already throwing at them.

In short: CTOs are the absolute best of us — the type of people who see problems and throw themselves at them when it would be far easier to walk the other way or complain that they already have too much to do.

They are, truly, elite.

If you are a leader in your center:

Thank them often.

If you have been recently trained by a great CTO:

Let them know what their efforts meant to you.

If you are a CTO in your center:

Thank you for showing us what it means to be truly generous in what you choose to give to this profession.

We would be lost without you.

 

 

CTOs and trainers: Please join us for September’s “Beyond the Basics” online training, “Training with Transparency” Monday, September 9th at 10:00 AM Central. Cost is $79 per attendee and includes a certificate of completion as well as access to the recording afterward. Register here: https://events.zoom.us/ev/Agxj_U01cgxBtC2uJV3zKPNsU8H1XexkHJdmufB5O5uLGKzkIlhp~AppsQaKq6LXWC2xRthzvFfG8PEmyQxTalSE6Al8_7IMBkw1w3TmHa2Ym0Q

About Kris Inman:

Kris Inman is the Director of Program Development for The Healthy Dispatcher. A 29-year veteran of 9-1-1, Kris retired in July 2023 as Director of Springfield Greene County 9-1-1 in Springfield, MO. An awarded speaker and instructor, Kris has delivered standout educational sessions, keynotes, motivational talks and yoga instruction to dispatchers across the country. He is also a long-time college adjunct instructor, teaching courses in communication and public safety leadership. Kris holds a Master of Arts in Communication and a Bachelor of Science in Electronic Media from Missouri State University. He is also a registered yoga instructor.