Leadership & Management

It is paramount that organizational competitive advantage be enhanced to advance and optimize operational effectiveness. Diversity, equity, and inclusion principles can play a major role.

Even when we try to limit outside influence and make purely rational, logical decisions, humans are still incredibly susceptive to cognitive peculiarities that color our judgment. For security professionals, this can have serious ramifications for reasonable risk assessments.

Facing discrimination at work shakes your confidence, no matter your gender. But the psychological consequences of gender discrimination affect men and women differently.

Researchers found that when geopolitical conflict climbs, the number of valuable patents filed drops amid turnover of key scientists and inventors.

As security’s profile changes within the company—from the frontlines to the boardroom—CSOs and CISOs must adjust their focus from tactics to value.

Background checks are a critical tool for employers to help avoid liability for negligent hiring—but navigating myriad U.S. federal, state, and local laws that govern such investigations can be a difficult task.

What approach can companies take to keep their staff from joining the millions of Great Resignees? To put it simply: implement a people-first mind-set within your hybrid business model.

To get out of a crisis, any crisis, we need to focus on building unity through purposeful communication, ethical reciprocity, and authentic trust-building efforts with our stakeholders.

With near record-high job openings, engage your employees to ensure you don’t lose them to a costly turnover tsunami.

Being a security leader can feel like an unending race, but establishing personal and professional finish lines to mark accomplishments and demonstrate progress can reinvigorate both managers and their departments.

As young professionals build up their experience within security, it can be easy to miss some essential areas that CSOs look for in their successors. Here, two members of the ASIS CSO Center share career advice and professional development tips.

Early-career security professionals bring unique and valuable perspective to organizations, but their soft skills often outweigh their subject matter expertise. Two ASIS Young Professional leaders share advice on how to rebalance.

If you’re a new manager and are feeling overwhelmed, here’s some good news: There are immediate steps you can take to acclimate yourself to a leadership role.

Incoming ASIS President Malcolm Smith, CPP, takes the helm with inclusion and community as his top priorities.

The researchers’ goal was to evaluate the various tools available to determine whether they are effective in accurately measuring the security culture within an organization.

In addition to dealing a blow to a company’s culture, a lack of trust can sabotage productivity, engagement, and retention.

Millions of people are transitioning to new, changed, or evolving roles in the post-pandemic upheaval. As onboarding shifts virtual, CSOs have an opportunity to leverage a new normal of online meetings to get up to speed and begin adding value faster and more effectively.

The high student population, prevailing freedom, lack of guardians, and homogenous nature of the college campus setting create an environment with many opportunities for crime to occur. A modified security model is therefore needed.

As the threat landscape has changed, security leaders have had to adapt. It is infinitely important that the leaders responsible for the safety and security on university and healthcare campuses comprehend and strike a balance between needs versus wants as they build their programs to respond to changes.

Integration into the workforce environment, rather than mere patrol of it, is more necessary than ever for an accurate assessment, prevention, and disruption of threats.

Job seekers are holding potential employers to higher standards in workplace health and safety efforts, diversity initiatives, and flexible work arrangements in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic and social unrest of 2020, according to a recent survey.

How are certification and professional development changing perceptions of security practitioners in Jamaica?

As organizations scramble to keep up with evolving threats and pressures, employees are struggling to keep up. A business-savvy manager can help coach them through it all.

ASIS President John Petruzzi, Jr., CPP, expects a high level of energy at GSX, driven by security professionals’ eagerness to reconnect and reinvigorate their networks.

Organized crime, shifting workforces, and stricter hiring requirements are influencing the role of security leaders across Latin America.

COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on global workforces. To retain and foster future leaders amid the tumult, personal connection through mentorship can provide support and grow both mentor and mentee.

Trust in information sources hit record lows in 2021, but trust in employers remains high. Security now has an opportunity to help rebuild confidence in organizations through effective communication.

U.S. workers rank mental and psychological wellbeing as one of their biggest wellness concerns, but participation in programs like mental health resources or Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) has dropped.

With more than 40 countries in close proximity, managing security and teams in Europe is a test of cultural intelligence and flexibility.

Months of turmoil and upheaval take a toll; the mental wellbeing of the workforce has never been a more important topic.

With vaccinations on the rise, organizations are seriously contemplating whether and how to return to physical workspaces. By leveraging ESRM principles, security leaders can help steer the conversation.

Worries over workplace safety in the COVID-19 era, as well as concerns about the impacts of business closings, plant shutdowns and mandatory stay-at-home orders, spawned more than 2,000 lawsuits from January 2020 through March 2021.

Arming security officers creates opportunities for misuse of force, injuries, and even fatalities. By putting leaders at the forefront of training, organizations can improve threat awareness and proactively address risks.

“If we don’t start growing the number of people we’re fostering, our industry will go extinct,” says Rob Duhart, Jr., global head of federated security at Google.

Only 42 percent of managers in the United States strongly agree that they are prepared to have meaningful conversations about race and equality with their teams, according to a Gallup Panel study of managers.

Nearly half of board members surveyed identified cybersecurity as a top source of risk moving forward. CISOs should expect more scrutiny, support, and resources as a result of the board’s attention.

After a tumultuous four-year battle over Brexit, the UK and EU finally reached a trade agreement. But it leaves supply chains and workforce pools in uncharted territory.

The COVID-19 pandemic may have provided an ideal push for organizations to implement an ESRM approach to resilience and crisis management, which can multiply security’s value to the business.

When leaders fail to see how toxic masculinity affects their teams’ dynamics, the whole organization is at risk.

The COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impede aspects of employment screening in 2021, leading employers to use alternative procedures such as conditional hiring and remote drug testing.

Three years after the #MeToo movement sparked a cultural reckoning around sexual harassment and assault, one-quarter of working Americans—including 29 percent of working women—say they are more likely to report an incident of sexual misconduct in the workplace than ever before.

The contemporary CSO has to understand the geopolitical dynamics of the 21st century. In an interconnected and a globalized world, a crisis in one part of the world will have profound cascading effects on organizations on the other side of the globe.

Where do I start? It’s a common refrain, whether it’s coming from a young professional just entering the security industry, a former law enforcement officer building her first private sector SOP, or a security industry veteran preparing to combat a new crisis. Fortunately, few of these paths need to be walked alone.

The business case for diversity is stronger than ever. A 2020 report found that companies that foster gender diversity are 25 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies that don’t.

For companies to maintain a motivated, productive workforce, organizations need to find the best methods to gather and interpret employee feedback, including from remote workers, and make changes accordingly, experts say.

As organizations double down on remote work policies, security leaders shift their management, communication, and mentorship styles to foster team wellness and personal resilience.

Incoming ASIS President John Petruzzi, Jr., CPP, shares his thoughts on the challenges presented by 2020 and their continuing effects on the security industry and the Society.

Organizations need to begin to plan now for the wider rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine and what policies and procedures they need to have in place.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, maintaining productivity was of high importance to organizations. Now that the pandemic has disrupted what’s typically known as the norm within the workplace, productivity has been challenged now more than ever.

Crises are by nature unpredictable and uncertain. Our brains process uncertain and unpredictable events as life-or-death threats. During a crisis, one of the key steps to manage our stress and our emotions and to foster our perspective and analytical reasoning is to de-shame.

Creating a security startup is a challenging endeavor, and many entry-level entrepreneurs face high hurdles on the track to success.

Digital transformation has tantalized organizational effectiveness experts for years. But while the shift from paper to virtual files is well accepted, security applications for next-generation technology requires research.

Much like the world we live in, the security business has changed, and the lessons gained serve as a powerful reminder that to be effective in our industry, we need to evolve as leaders to get the best out of our people.

Three security managers across East Asia share how risks, management styles, and perceptions of security’s value are changing throughout the region.

Employers are re-evaluating workplace diversity at their organizations, starting with being more thoughtful about recruiting from a broader range of talent. However, these efforts are not without pitfalls.

Under pressure, solidarity prevails. Multinational chemical company Solvay is rethinking how it prepares for crises as it faces its road to COVID-19 recovery.

General Stanley McChrystal (Ret) led U.S. military counterterrorism efforts in Afghanistan, commanding more than 150,000 troops. Now, he will share crisis leadership lessons learned with security professionals at GSX+.

When confronted with a decentralized foe, General Stanley McChrystal had to shift his focus and operational hierarchies within the Joint Special Operations Command. The same principles apply to empowering organizations in a crisis today.

Kelsey Carnell, one of this year’s GSX Experience Award winners, explains how the coronavirus pandemic has forced her to slow down, reevaluate, and invest more deeply in her network, goals, and community.

In a competitive security management job market, recruiters often look for prior law enforcement experience. As security skills and needs change, however, so does the ideal candidate’s background.

Emerging technology, changing client demands, and multigenerational staff management were already changing the hiring process for security staffing companies. Then COVID-19 came along.

Security awareness training can fill two roles: educating the workforce and reinforcing company culture, especially during a crisis.

A majority of U.S. adults say the country hasn’t done enough about gender equality. Even though many believe there has been progress in the last decade, sexual harassment and societal expectations stand in the way.

Dr. Jo Robertson, author of Executing Crisis: A C-Suite Crisis Leadership Survival Guide, shares her top five rules for leading an organization through turbulent times.

Extreme challenges present opportunities to do things better. Leaders are at a major inflection point, affording the chance to reroute connections and revise how they lead industries, endeavors, and teams—which has implications for safety and security.

“The push for companies to show what they are doing for the greater good will only intensify through the lens of the pandemic; the public will want to know whether companies put people or profits first during this global crisis,” says Allison Wood, an associate director at Control Risks.

Robust security technology, guarding programs, and services can fall flat when implemented without one essential element—context. Here’s how to collect and consider it for stronger security decision making.

Hiring assessments can be a slippery slope for employers, especially when they rule out protected employees and create disparate impact.

An unusual combination of sustainability, safety, and security aids Radisson in becoming a more trusted member of both global and local communities.

From identifying needed competencies to choosing content delivery methods to hiring trainers with adult learning expertise--here is a step-by-step guide for a guard training program.

Cathy Lanier, senior vice president of security for the National Football League discusses how the coronavirus pandemic redefined the phrase “game changer” and how she’s already looking at what lies ahead.

From documentation to witness statements to video surveillance, learn what lawyers and expert witnesses are watching for in negligent security court cases.

Paul Case’s career in security began when he was in high school—he served as a bouncer at the age of 16. By the time he entered university, he was qualified to be hired in leadership and supervisory roles.

After interviewing security officers, managers, and trainers, eight recommendations for developing more effective guard training programs emerged.

Assessments are becoming more common in the hiring process for security managers. Here’s a rundown on what they are and how to prepare.

Employees are an organization’s most valuable asset. Businesses that implement robust and sustainable strategies to take care of their people during the COVID-19 pandemic will fare better than those that do no not.

New research into organizational culture traces workplace conflict back to six core elements that can make the difference between a healthy and a toxic environment.

At this time, there is tremendous value in briefly pausing to reflect on the organization’s COVID-19 journey to date and conduct an “in-flight” incident review as a means of optimizing the approach going forward.

Cybersecurity is a stressful business. Here’s what managers can do to help reduce stress in the workplace and promote a healthy work–life balance.

With U.S. unemployment now at record levels, Allied Universal and G4S are swimming against the current by hiring tens of thousands of new security professionals.

Security directors add value when they find data-based leading indicators that can help an organization prepare in advance for the risk factors unfolding as a result of COVID-19.

As news proliferates yet public interest wanes, security leaders face myriad challenges to present accurate, timely, and actionable information to key decision makers. Here, two CSOs share their tips for communicating and influencing perception during the pandemic.

Seemingly small aspects of a security operation, such as the body language of officers and the color of uniforms, can trigger judgments that persist.

Speaking like a cop means getting paid like a cop, so security managers should communicate like a big-picture leader.

Interviews with two security managers in the Middle East reveal the progress that the profession has made in the region—and the challenges ahead.

Maintaining D&I in a security department can give it a competitive innovation edge and position it well for attracting future talent.

Managing and coaching are the two sides of the leadership coin, and both need to be well-polished for the leader to shine.

As wildfires grow more volatile and unpredictable, business continuity managers around the world are scrambling for creative solutions.

In considering future trends and demands, focus on four key areas to increase adaptability enough no matter what lies beyond the horizon.

Incoming ASIS President Godfried Hendriks, CPP, shares advice for incoming security professionals, education opportunities, and the unique community within the security industry—and the role ASIS plays moving forward.

Interviews with two security managers, one in Nigeria and one in Ghana, reveal the progress that the profession has made in the region—and the challenges ahead.

Diversity, an all-encompassing safety focus, and leaders who champion wellness are a few of the initiatives that Jacobs CEO Steve Demetriou stresses.

Adopting a successful ESRM program often requires a full understanding of ESRM – its components, contexts, and complementary strategies.

Scenario analysis helps security leaders manage business threats by accounting for all possible uncertainties.

When Nóirín O’Sullivan, currently the United Nation’s assistant secretary-general for safety and security, began her career with Ireland’s police force back in 1981, the uniform code for female officers was rather strict.

Management practices around the world have failed in maximizing human potential, a recent study found. The result is a bleak global workplace situation—just 15 percent of employees are engaged at work.

The ability to adapt and stay flexible in one’s thinking is crucial for success as a leader or manager.

A security manager’s personal and professional journey can be the basis for compelling stories that educate, inspire, and make emotional connections.

​"How can I keep my overburdened team from cracking up?" The question has increasing relevancy for security managers in the contemporary business world. Continually bombarded with information, these managers also face a growing number of security threats. The collective effect can be serious stress overload.

After disasters and conflict, culture can play an irreplaceable role in resilience and recovery for cities and organizations.

A leader’s first 90 days are crucial, often auguring one’s ultimate success or failure.

The project-based economy is on the rise. Global consultant Marko Cabric explains the ramifications for the security industry.

An ASIS leader, devoted parent, and Super Team tennis player details the typical day of a manager of physical security operations at Capital One.