Each year, Security magazine honors top security executives who positively affect the security industry, their organization, their colleagues and their peers. They change the security landscape for the better. They are nominated by their colleagues and associates, and they are chosen based upon their leadership qualities and the overall positive impact that their security projects, programs or departments have on their shareholders, organizations, colleagues and the general public.
Adding business value. Getting a seat at the table. Running security like a business. Aligning security with the organization. These are the contents of the Holy Grail of security leadership. Everybody talks about them. Everybody wants them. But most security leaders view them as the stuff of legend – great for motivation, but unattainable in reality.
How do you measure leadership success? Certainly, you can look down the chain and see whether your function and your team are accomplishing their objectives. You can usually tell if your staff is motivated and if they’re eager to follow you. But strong leadership isn’t just about how you relate to the people below you on the reporting ladder. It’s also about how you relate to those above.