10 leadership Principles For

Security Operations
The following are ten hands-on, field leadership principles that I have personally found to be
very useful for private sector security operations. Not only have I successfully applied these
leadership principles myself, I have also taught them to other field leaders, and watched how
they too have had success with them. Though these principles come from over fifteen years of
my own leadership experience (starting in the IDF and going into the private sector), Im not
setting myself up here as an exemplar. In fact, the pitfalls and mistakes I discuss here have all
been made by me as well. This is a lessons-learned type article I wanted to share with all of you.

Anyways, here goes:

1. Plan to adapt

One of the most important, and often neglected, points about operational planning is that it
should give you a platform from which to adapt and change when things dont pan out the way
you thought they would. Put together the best plan you can, but try to avoid falling in love with
it, and then rigidly forcing it onto a situation thats already changed. A good plan should fit the
situation, not the other way around. When the facts on the ground start changing, your plan
should adjust accordingly. Im not saying you should immediately abandon your plan as soon as
things change, just that a plan should be more of a platform to operate off of, rather than a
scripting of future events.

The realities in the field have a funny way of toying with prior expectations. The celebrated
quote by Helmuth von Moltke (Moltke the Elder) that No plan survives contact with the
enemy holds very true as his nephew, Moltke the Younger, painfully found out in 1914
(WWI history buffs Im a huge one myself will know what Im talking about). If you prefer
an updated version of this, Mike Tyson captured it perfectly with Everyone has a plan till they
get punched in the mouth. Im not saying youll get punched every time you go out into the
field, but the likelihood of it is very high, and your plan should reflect that.
Good security leaders have a flexible mindset, and the best leaders Ive seen not only know how
to roll with the punches, but actually enjoy rolling with them.

2. Simple!

As soon as you take into account that the reality in the field will almost always differ from
expectations, and that original plans will often have to be modified, you should realize that plans
must be simple. If a plan is too complex, it will be very difficult to tweak and adjust it on the fly.
You yourself might be OK with it, but the plan is not just for you you have a whole security
team to lead. If they already have to deal with a complex plan, its very likely youll lose them as
soon as you start making adjustments to it.
A good plan is more of a platform than a script. Keep it simple!

3. How to deliver a good pre-operational briefing

Many field security leaders tend to struggle when it comes to pre-operational briefs. They
understand exactly what needs to be done, and why, but get all twisted up when they try to
convey it to their subordinates.

A concise and effective brief should cover:

1. The strategic mission what the client needs.

2. Our tactical mission what were here to do, and how it serves the larger strategic
mission.

3. Methods and tools of achieving our tactical mission.

4. Parameters, boundaries and limits to our tactical mission.

5. Methods of communication.

These five points should be generally applied to the mission as a whole, and specifically applied
to each individual post.

Very importantly, be sure to cover the Why factor. Beyond the methods of achieving the mission,
do you (the operator) understand why the mission is important and why your specific role is
important for accomplishing this mission?

If possible, test your team members by asking them to brief you back on the above mentioned.
This will show you if theyre able take ownership of their individual missions, and perform well
even without constant supervision.

4. Work for your subordinates

Many people miss the point that leadership is a type of relationship, and just like any other
relationship, its a two-way street. Yes, team members work for their leader, but a leader also
works for their team members. In many ways, a leader needs his/her subordinates more than they
need him/her. Leadership is a strange kind of business where the quality of your performance is
evaluated on the basis of what other people (your subordinates) do. You yourself could be a
fantastic security operator but your leadership skills are not judged by how well you operate,
theyre judged by how well your team members operate. In a weird kind of way, your reputation
as a leader is held hostage by your subordinates. Im not saying your relationship with your
subordinates should be like some hostage negotiation, just that beyond the warm camaraderie
you should develop with them, you should also keep in mind how much you need them. Take
good care of your team, and treat them well.

An interesting thing that happens when you take good care of your team is that it gets noticed by
clients and they tend to really like and respect it. Most people think that a service provider only
needs to take care of their client, but Ive gotten many compliments over the years for how well I
take care of my teams, and how well the teams tend to perform because of this. So, once again,
take very good care of your team.

5. All-or-nothing type leadership

A common security leadership mistake Ive seen over the years is the youre in or out, my way
or the highway style of management. On the face of it, this might look like a solid, no-nonsense
type of leadership, but I beg to differ. Im not saying there arent situations where things simply
must be done a certain way, no arguments, Im saying that if youre in it for the long haul, this
type of leadership isnt really sustainable or good. All or nothing is just too simple too
simplistic actually and leaders who try to tell you that this is just their style, that they dont
babysit or hold hands, are actually telling you that they dont really know how to properly lead.
Anyone can set rules and then kick out subordinates who deviate a machine could do that.
Leadership is about motivating people, and getting them to willingly sign on to the mission. No,
its not always simple, and no, its not hand-holding either, its just good leadership.

6. How to handle weak team members

Almost any security leader has to face the fact that youre not always going to have an A-Team
under you, and that you cant always just get rid of weaker team members.

From my experience, the best way to handle underperforming security operators is to pull them
aside, tell them how important they are to the mission, and how you personally need them to
deploy the top-notch skill-set you know they have. Is there a bit of mental Jiu-Jitsu going on
here? You bet your ass there is. It doesnt matter if you dont necessarily feel the operator has a
good skill-set, this kind of encouragement tends to put some wind behind peoples sails. They
might still be weak, but at least theyll try harder, and make it easier for you to accomplish the
mission.

Now, does this type of motivation always work? Of course not. And there might eventually be a
need to take stricter measures with a weaker team member, but reserve those unfortunate options
for later after youve tried the positive approach. Remember, leadership is mostly about
guiding and motivating, not reprimanding and firing.

One common mistake youll want to avoid is sending weak or untrustworthy team members out
of sight, to man some quiet back entrance. Its probably a good idea to give them a less critical
job, but keep in mind that the seemingly appealing idea of posting them out of sight might do
more harm than good. You usually need solid operators for the slow, boring corners, where
operators arent closely observed and managed. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
If youre stuck with an untrustworthy operator, post them where you can keep an eye on them.

7. Leading up the chain

Ive talked about leading down the chain of command motivating your subordinates but you
should also try to lead up the chain of command, all the way up to the clients who hired you. You
obviously have to be very tactful here, but its very important to instill calm, control and a
feeling of security in your client. Thats after all what they hired you for. Many people tend to
forget that at its core, under all the layers of physical operations, systems and protocols, security
is a feeling we are hired to provide not for us, for our clients. And a good security leader knows
how to instill this feeling in their client.

8. Self-control
Simply put, if you cant control yourself, how will you control, or lead, others? Think of it from
their perspective why would a subordinate want to follow someone who cant control
themselves? Its not that they cant follow you, its that they probably wont want to and
getting people to want to follow you is what leadership is about.

The biggest problem in maintaining self-control is that you often dont realize when and how you
tend to lose it. The key to fixing this is to develop good self-awareness and empathy. Try to
look at yourself from the outside. How do you appear to others? How are you coming across?
How is your tone of voice affecting the people youre addressing? How would you be affected
by it if you were being addressed in that manner? Try to notice how fast and loud youre talking.
Try to notice what expression you have on your face.
The key to self-control is self-awareness.

9. Calm down. Slow down

Now that you got the self-control thing going, use it to calm down and slow down. Many people
tend to forget how important this is, especially during stressful crunch-times. A calmer
disposition has two important functions: First, it will help you make better decisions. Its like
being a quarterback even when everything is erupting around you, and youre about to get
tackled, calm down, look around and make a decision. The second function has to do with the
above mentioned self-reflection thing. Regardless of whether you personally can handle a
frenzied pace of running and yelling orders, how do you think you come across to your
subordinates and clients when you do this? I get it, you want to set a good example, lead from
the front and create a good tempo, but the line between that and coming across as confused and
frantic is quite thin and easily crossed. Its usually more important for a leader to instill calm and
control, and it starts with calming and controlling yourself first.

Slow down. Take a few deep breaths. Do you need to go to the bathroom? Whens the last time
you had a drink of water or grabbed something to eat? Run your index finger over that little area
between your eyebrows. Is it creased up in a frown?
Calm down. Slow down. Look around, and make better decisions.

10. Know thyself!

Leadership is all about people, and understanding people starts with understanding yourself.
Beyond understanding how leadership works in principle, if you want to learn how you yourself
can be a good leader, youll have to figure out what kind of leader you are. Leadership comes in
many forms, and from many types of people. Try not to emulate too closely leaders who are very
different from you. Youll probably just have a bad time struggling with it, and then come across
as phony.
Know who you are, and be you.

Some people have a permanent leadership disposition that comes across both on and off the job,
while others (like me) have to switch it on when the need arises. Some leaders are older and
more distinguished, while others are younger and more energetic. Some lead with lots of gusto,
while others have more of a quiet intensity to them. Whatever the case may be, know who you
are and figure out your personal style of leadership.