The Role Security Leaders Play in Building Organizational Resilience
Floods. Wildfires. Hurricanes. Civil unrest. Terrorism. War. Crises—both predictable and unexpected—continue to proliferate, creating major challenges for security practitioners who might be reeling from one incident right into the next.
These challenging conditions mean that security executives are facing increased pressure to support their organizations by becoming more resilient amidst a rapidly evolving risk landscape.
In the World Economic Forum’s recent report, Resilience Pulse Check: Harnessing Collaboration to Navigate a Volatile World, the authors wrote that organizations need to invest in proactive future preparedness—or offense moves—but only 13 percent of companies currently incorporate resilience key performance indicators comprehensively into their strategies.
“While resilience awareness is growing, 84 percent of companies report feeling underprepared for current and future disruptions,” according to the report. “Many organizations remain focused on addressing immediate needs, favoring short-term defensive actions over forward-looking strategies.
“Across industries, resilience efforts tend to prioritize financial and digital strategies, often at the expense of foundational capabilities like foresight and disruption readiness. This imbalance creates vulnerabilities that could hinder organizations’ ability to navigate prolonged uncertainty.”
A key to addressing this imbalance is leadership that focuses on strengthening resilience efforts across the organization, from the board down to individual team leaders throughout the company.
“Resilience-building requires unified leadership from chief executive officers, boards, and policymakers,” the report explained. “Effectively addressing these challenges depends on collective efforts to mobilize resources, harness expertise, and encourage innovation at scale.”
At GSX 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana, security leaders will talk about taking on this exact role the Game Changer session “Resilience Amid Changing Conditions: Partnerships, Risk Transference, and New Patterns to Predict.” Joseph Frank, assistant chief of public safety, Caesar’s Superdome and Smoothie King Center; Emily Caldwell, acting executive director, OSAC; and Wayne Hendricks, head of global security and senior managing director, Macquarie Group, will participate in the discussion moderated by Security Management Editor-in-Chief Claire Meyer.
Meyer will walk panelists through a talk that will leaves attendees with the knowledge of how to assess disaster preparedness strategies for individuals, communities, and organizations; identify potential partnerships and resources available to support organizations during emergencies; and incorporate risk assessment, resource allocation, and recovery strategies into overall response plans.
“In a world shaped by accelerating change, resilience has emerged as the key capability essential for both survival and success,” wrote Borge Brende, president and CEO, World Economic Forum, and Bob Sternfels, global managing partner, McKinsey & Company, in the report. “Today’s leaders are increasingly seeing that resilience is not just about enduring crises but thriving in the face of them.”
Ahead of the Game Changer session, we recommend reading a recent ASIS International report on threat intelligence for resilient organizations and the following stories from Security Management:
- How to Create and Support a Crisis Management Team
- Building Resilience in High-Stakes Environments: 5 Key Lessons from Disaster Medicine Specialists
- Strategies for Success: Preparing Practical Crisis Response and Resilience Plans
- 5 Team Management Concepts for Navigating Organizational Change
- The Intelligence Impact on How Organizations Manage Business Disruptions
Megan Gates is senior editor at Security Management. Connect with her at [email protected] or on LinkedIn.
