Security threats, business challenges and the importance of leadership
I recently had the pleasure of attending the annual Security Institute Conference. Whilst the conference opened with a rather stark and sobering assessment of the threats facing us, both nationally and globally, the underlying theme throughout the day was undoubtedly leadership.
I left the conference thinking that leadership really is the glue that holds an organization together, either making it stronger or leaving it more vulnerable. The speakers approached the subject from different angles, but several common themes emerged.
1. Speak the language of your organization.
When you work in a specialist or technical function within a business (marketing, HR, finance or security, for instance), understanding your key internal stakeholders is critical. It’s not about what interests you as a specialist, but about communicating options and solutions in terms of their impact on the business, whether that means profit, margin, footfall or quality.
2. Think ‘team of teams’.
The scale and complexity of today’s threats demand genuine collaboration, shared values and a common sense of purpose. Silos undermine our ability to be agile, innovative and competitive. Everyone needs to understand the mission, buy into it and take responsibility for delivering it.
At a national level, the call for all citizens to remain vigilant and play their part in supporting our security services is an excellent example of this principle in action.
3. Have confidence in your people.
In an increasingly unpredictable world, resilience matters more than ever. As leaders, we need to demonstrate what resilience looks and sounds like, listen to our people, trust their judgement and empower them to act.
One quote from the day particularly struck me: “Training is an investment in judgement, not a cost.” A powerful reminder that developing people is fundamental to building resilient, successful organiations.
A Question to Leave You With.
Thank you to The Security Institute for a thought-provoking and thoroughly enjoyable day. It was wonderful to reconnect with old colleagues and make some new connections along the way.
How confident are we that our organizations are creating the conditions for people to work together, exercise good judgement and take responsibility?
Putting These Themes into Practice
Each of these themes is covered in our training modules, including Stakeholder Management, Aligning Individuals and Teams with the Organization, and Building Resilience. Each can be commissioned as a standalone session or combined into a tailored programme.
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