Security Leadership Theories And Applications Paper

Security Leadership Theories and Application Paper

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Leadership theories are used to explain the concept that how an individual becomes a leader. With these theories leaders can learn how to boost their leadership traits and behaviors, and the security leaders are those individuals of the company whose sole purpose is to improve and innovate the security measures of the organization. The two modern theories for the security leaders that we are going to discuss are situational and transformational leadership theories.

Situational leadership theory

Situational leadership theory is based on the impression that the leader can easily manage his team under any situation. He has an ability to fight with or bring any type of changes required as per the circumstances. In case of security leader, it can be a little difficult because security issues can emerge at any time and the leader has to deal with it whether he knows it or not. The security department of the organization has to deal with the instant security issues for example if a server of the company is hacked then the security leader as to make some immediate actions because all the data of the company is at high risk. Hence the situational leadership theory helps the security leaders as well as the organizations in guiding them to make instant decisions in difficult situations (Thompson, Glasø, 2015).

Transformational leadership theory

A transformation means changing the state of a thing or an object. In an organization transformation can be a change in philosophy or making new strategic plans for the company. Hence transformational leadership theory states that a transformational leader should be able to bring significant changes to a company on demand. Transformational leaders should have a strong vision and passion to achieve great goals and things for the organization. In case of security transformational leader, his main responsibilities towards his company are to understand the necessary steps required to achieve the vision and mission of the company. He should have ability to brashly explain the employees the goals of the company and the methods used to achieve them. Transformational leadership theory helps the security leaders to guide them in inspiring the security team of the company and to bring innovative changes in the company (Ghasabeh, Soosay, Reaiche, 2015).

Critical leadership skills

Security, has the utmost importance in any organization. Proper security teams and departments are designed in the companies. The critical leadership skill require to handle security operations can be:

Knowledge about security threats. A security leader should have complete knowledge about the security risks that can occur in the companies system (technical or legal). He should know the vulnerabilities and counter measures of the security risks.

Quick and intelligent response to the problems. Security leaders should be able to think intelligent ideas at the time of security threats as quickly as possible. For example if a server is down or there is any bug in the system the leader should be able to come up with an creative and innovative idea which can be implemented in minimum amount of time.

Ethical values. Security leaders are given the most prestigious data of the company to handle (like people personal information or assets of the company). He should be ethically strong and honest to his job.

Strong interpersonal skills. A security leader should have strong interpersonal skills, as they have to interact with the people all the time. He should be a people person and approachable for the employees.

Compare and contrast of situational and transformational leadership theories

Situational leadership theory is applied when some critical situation or emergency occurs. Its scope is only limited to that situation and it does not affect the whole organization. On the other hand, transformational theory brings a change to the whole organization. It is done on the organizational level and its implementation changes the whole performance of the company. Situational leadership is used for the short term outcomes whereas transformational leadership theory is used for the long term progress or results of the organization. Situational leadership theories are used for spontaneous actions whereas transformational leadership theories are used for achieving the long lasting visions of the company. For example situational leadership theories are used for solving the problems of the customers, removing errors of the system or solving any security issue of the company and transformational leadership theories are used when the company moves towards a whole new direction in order to achieve their goals and visions (Antonakis, Day, 2017).

References

Thompson, G., & Glasø, L. (2015). Situational leadership theory: a test from three perspectives. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 36(5), 527-544.

Antonakis, J., & Day, D. V. (Eds.). (2017). The nature of leadership. Sage publications.

Ghasabeh, M. S., Soosay, C., & Reaiche, C. (2015). The emerging role of transformational leadership. The Journal of Developing Areas, 49(6), 459-467.