From Dispatcher to Culture Keeper: Leadership Lessons from 9-1-1 Supervisor Trae Maeder

More than half of employees who quit a job say they left because of their manager, not the work itself. In a 9-1-1 center — where burnout is already high and every open seat matters — that statistic isn't just a business problem. It's a public safety problem.

In this episode of Level Up with Tipi, host Tipi Brookins sits down with Trae Maeder, Communications Supervisor at the Lee County Port Authority in Fort Myers, FL, to talk about one of the most important transitions in emergency communications: moving from the console to the supervisor's desk. Their conversation is a masterclass in what it actually looks like to become — as Tipi puts it — a keeper of the culture on the comms floor.

Here's a look at the biggest takeaways. Watch the full episode here →

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From the Console to the Supervisor's Desk

Before Lee County, Trae worked as a dispatcher and Communications Training Officer (CTO) with the Florida Highway Patrol, where overnight shifts without a supervisor present gave him early chances to act in that role — making calls, supporting peers, and learning to lead with the team rather than over it.

When he moved to a brand-new center, he had to rebuild trust and relationships from scratch. Within about a year, he was promoted — not because he was the fastest dispatcher in the room, but because he showed he could connect with people and lead them well.

The takeaway: the best telecommunicator doesn't automatically make the best supervisor. Promotion boards are increasingly looking past technical speed toward something harder to teach — how someone handles conflict, supports a struggling teammate, and makes decisions that protect both standards and people.

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Feedback That Builds Trust Instead of Fear

As his center's training coordinator, Trae takes a proactive approach with CTOs and trainees alike. Instead of waiting months for a training issue to boil over, he checks in early: Is this a skills gap or a fit issue? Would a different trainer or a mediated conversation solve it before it becomes a bigger problem?

His approach to feedback after something goes wrong starts simply: "Hey, something happened. I just need you to tell me your perspective." He listens before he leads with correction, and he makes it clear he's not just there to catch mistakes — he's there to go to bat for his people. That combination protects psychological safety without lowering the standard.

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Ownership, Not Just Oversight

One of Trae's most practical moves as a leader is handing real ownership of the training program to his CTOs — letting them update outdated modules, build new quizzes and worksheets, and share their tools with other trainers. Instead of guarding the manual as "his," he treats trainers as co-creators. The result: a training program that stays current, and trainers who take pride in it.

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Modeling Wellness, Not Just Preaching It

Chronic stress on the floor doesn't skip supervisors. Trae talked candidly about learning to protect his own work-life balance — taking real PTO, stepping away after a hard call to reset, and checking his own emotional state before trying to support anyone else.

"I can't support them well if I'm not well in the moment."

It's easy to tell telecommunicators to take care of themselves. Trae and Tipi both point out that supervisors need that same permission — and normalizing it starts at the top.

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Leading From the Floor, Not the Office

Moving from peer to supervisor is awkward by nature — yesterday's console buddy is today's boss. Trae's approach is simple: hold himself to the same standard he expects from everyone else. He works the radio, answers calls, and shows up for training instead of managing from a distance. That consistency is what earns trust in the transition — his team sees the standard modeled, not just mandated.

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Staying Sharp Beyond the Center

Trae stays plugged into APCO and NENA standards and working groups, reviewing new toolkits and publications to check his center's policies against national expectations. His personal motto — never stop learning — shows up in everything from reading industry SmartBriefs to updating local procedure the moment a standard changes.

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The Power of a "Public Pat"

Perhaps the most memorable concept from the episode is what Tipi calls a "public pat" — a public pat on the back. Trae uses kudos emails that call out specific wins to the whole team (and loop in leadership), submits award nominations, and makes sure night shift — often the most overlooked — gets visibility too.

When a complaint comes in, Trae doesn't automatically assume the worst. He pulls the audio, reviews the CAD notes, and when his team handled the call right, he says so — clearly and publicly, up the chain.

This blog, and the episode itself, is one more public pat on the back for Trae: for going to bat for his people, for celebrating their wins as loudly as he addresses their mistakes, and for showing up in state and national working groups to help shape the future of 9-1-1 beyond his own center.

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Find Your People

Trae's advice for anyone eyeing a supervisor role — or already in one and feeling isolated — is to tap into the community outside your own center. Facebook and LinkedIn groups for dispatchers and supervisors, APCO and NENA chapter communities, and industry committees are all ways to see how other centers solve the same problems, stay current on new policy, and remember you're not alone in the hard parts of the job.

Trae's own path started with a training committee and eventually led him to become Florida APCO Chapter President — a role he never expected when he started. His message to future leaders: your voice has impact far beyond your own console.

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Watch the Full Conversation

Trae's story is a real-world look at what it means to lead on the comms floor — not from a distance, but from inside the work itself. If you're a telecommunicator considering the jump to supervision, a new supervisor finding your footing, or a director shaping your leadership pipeline, this episode is worth the watch.

Watch Level Up with Tipi – Ep. 08: Trae Maeder →

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