Breaking the Cycle: Embracing the Next Generation of Practitioners
It’s both fascinating and frustrating that so many professions still treat younger professionals as a threat instead of an opportunity.
In some organizations, there’s an unspoken ego at play. Senior members grow uncomfortable when someone younger holds authority, brings advanced knowledge, or moves faster than they once did.
But that raises an important question. Why wouldn’t we want the next generation to be better than us? Why wouldn’t we want them to advance further, learn faster, and push the profession forward?
That’s how progress happens. That’s how fields evolve.
A culture that holds us back
In public safety, security, and emergency management, this mindset still exists.
Practitioners with decades of experience sometimes feel threatened when someone newer begins to excel. Instead of mentoring and encouraging that energy, it’s dismissed or criticized. In the process, people forget that they were once new, eager, and learning too.
I was that young professional
I know this because I lived it.
I entered the field young, motivated, and ready to contribute. Too often, that eagerness was met with resistance instead of support. Potential was seen as competition. Guidance was replaced with gatekeeping.
It’s hard to stay motivated when the very drive that pushes you forward seems to make others uncomfortable.
I’ve watched this happen to countless others as well. Talented people come in with passion and purpose, only to be made to feel like they don’t belong until they’ve “put in their time.”
A systemic problem
The issue isn’t a lack of ability among younger professionals. It’s the way outdated hierarchies and ego-driven cultures suppress their growth.
In many workplaces, enthusiasm is punished instead of cultivated. Innovation slows. People disengage. Institutional knowledge walks out the door when experienced professionals retire without passing it on.
Then, when the next generation finally steps into leadership, they’re expected to lead without ever having been mentored. They weren’t shown how to develop others because no one invested in them.
The cycle repeats. Ego replaces mentorship, and stagnation replaces progress.
Breaking the cycle
Organizations lose twice. First, when experience leaves without being shared. Second, when the people who remain aren’t developed or trusted. Over time, that erosion weakens the entire system.
The only way forward is intentional mentorship and real cultural change.
Experienced professionals must choose to empower the next generation, not compete with them.
Leadership isn’t defined by how long you’ve held a title. It’s defined by how well you prepare others to lead when you’re no longer there.
The path forward
If we can start seeing the success of younger professionals as a reflection of our own leadership rather than a threat to it, we can build cultures that value growth over pride.
The future of public safety, security, emergency management, and every profession depends on it.
Your turn
How can we do better at empowering the next generation in our fields? Have you experienced this firsthand, either as the eager professional or as the mentor who chose to lift others up?
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Isaiah La Masters is a public safety and emergency management professional with extensive experience in physical security, critical infrastructure protection, and large-scale emergency preparedness. He is the Founder and Principal Consultant of Red Slice Group, LLC, and has served in multiple roles supporting emergency coordination, training, and exercise at the state and local levels. Isaiah holds an Associate of Arts in Liberal Arts and Political Science, a Bachelor of Science in Homeland Security and Emergency Management, and is currently pursuing a Master of Science in Public Safety—Homeland Security at Liberty University. Passionate about leadership and organizational resilience, he is committed to strengthening collaboration between agencies, responders, and communities to build a safer, more resilient world.
