Becoming a ‘people leader’ in the security industry

International Security Journal speaks exclusively with Eric Vento, CPP, Executive Resume Writer, Government to Private.

Can you tell me about yourself and your journey in security?

From a young age I wanted to be in security and law enforcement. I had a father who was in the emergency services and that was my first introduction to this type of career.

I remember doing a lot of ride-alongs and going with him to work and just getting a sense of what it looked like. I knew that was what I wanted to do.

As soon as high school was over, I went to college and it took me three years to get my degree because I was laser-focused on going into law enforcement.

Eight days after I graduated, I was in the police academy. Six months after that, I graduated and went to work for the Houston Police Department. I was there for approximately 10 years.

Being part of the Houston Police Department was my first foray into security and working across verticals such as physical security, technology, crisis management, emergency response, business continuity, exercise, design and planning.

All of these areas spurred my interest in corporate security.

When I transitioned from law enforcement into security, I knew that all of my skills were valuable in the private sector – I just didn’t know how to articulate them.

The term security is broad.

There are so many aspects and my journey to this point has been full of ups and downs. When we start our careers, we think of them as linear trajectories.

In reality, at least for me, my career path has been a figure eight.

You never know where your career is going to take you. Our journey is constantly changing, depending on what it is we’re looking for and what our expectations are.

What does good leadership mean to you and how do your previous experiences help you to be a better leader? 

I love that question because it’s something that I talk about on social media and when I’m coaching people.

I think if you’ve had a bad leader – and you’ve had a good leader – it gives you a perspective on how you want to lead yourself.

I’ve worked for some good leaders in the private sector that I would follow, if necessary, from job to job.

Being a good leader, in my mind, is about taking care of people and making sure that the space they have to work in is safe.

I’ve had bosses which have made me feel like I don’t want to go to work. It had an impact on productivity and my ability to do the job.

Contrast this with a good boss who sets expectations and gives you the resources to facilitate you meeting and exceeding expectations.

With the rise of remote work, some leaders have to remember that they’re hiring adults to do a job – as long as they’re doing the job, then you have to have a level of flexibility.

As long as the enterprise and hiring manager’s expectations are being met, they can be measured. You don’t need to micromanage every aspect.

If you put the resources in place that support employees, they will give you much more than what the minimal expectations are.

I believe that being a people-manager is one of the highest honours that you can possibly have in your lifetime.

I say that because as a leader, you have the unique responsibility and privilege to have a significant impact on an employee on a day to day basis.

You can either direct them in a way that makes them feel valued or you can watch them tie themselves up in knots every day.

When you are put into a position of leadership, companies should be investing in you – ensuring that you have the resources necessary to succeed and lead individuals.

You see so many examples on social media of people explaining that they left a business because of the culture and leadership.

In this scenario, the company has lost a good employee they probably paid a lot of money to and will now have to pay to replace.

In one of my roles, I was privileged to have three different leaders over the course of two years and every single one of them was exceptional.

When they all took over, they had one-on-ones and said: “Here are the expectations. Here are the resources I’m going to put in place to facilitate your success.

If you need something to do your job, or if something happens to you personally and it affects you professionally, let us know.”

It’s unrealistic to assume that your personal life will not impact your professional life.

A leader that understands this principle and puts the resources in place to ensure that you can take care of your personal life during the work day is rare.

Every day I worked with these leaders, I enjoyed going to work. It wasn’t just because I enjoyed the job – it was because I knew I was supported.

They were giving me grace. They expected grace in return. I think that’s important to recognise.

You made the transition from law enforcement to the private sector. What was that like and what challenges did you overcome?

When I left law enforcement, it wasn’t on a voluntary basis. But it doesn’t matter when or how you transition – you still have to approach the next position positively and prepare for it.

The government doesn’t typically do a good job preparing employees for life in the private sector.

As far as transitioning and articulating your experience, both on paper as well as during an interview, there weren’t a lot of resources five years ago enabling individuals to do that successfully and effectively.

I didn’t know who to turn to and I made a lot of mistakes.

I spent time with different resume writers, at great expense, who told me that they could help but they really had no clue.

When you move out of law enforcement, unless you know someone who has gone before you or you know someone that has already made the transition who can help you, you’re really just throwing shots in the dark.

The number one problem I see for people is that they don’t know if their experience translates; they don’t know how to make people on the other side of the interview understand what they’ve done and how it correlates to the job they’re applying for.

Your resume needs to read like it’s been designed for a 23-year-old fresh out of college who has no idea what you’ve done, who is being asked to recruit for a specific role.

The resume is a ‘first look’ at who you are as an individual.

There’s a lot of misinformation out there. A lot of the time, people don’t know who to listen to. My goal is to meet people and say: “Look, I’ve been where you are.”

Law enforcement, military and government careers in general are similar across the globe. Teaching people how to articulate their experience on paper and verbally is pretty consistent across the board.

Why is it important to you to help others in the industry making the transition from the public to private sector?

I’m trying to put resources into place for people to make their own informed decision.

I offer free 30 minute conversations to anyone, whether they’re former government or trying to go from corporate to corporate. In these conversations, the intent and purpose is not to sell them anything.

It’s to give them the resources and information they need to make an informed decision. Often I get to the end of that phone call and they say: “You didn’t tell me about your services.”

That’s intentional. I don’t want them to feel any pressure.

I want to provide good information. I want you to take that information, absorb it and make your own decision.

I probably spend six or seven hours a week talking to people all over the world about how to transition. 75% of those calls don’t ever lead to a conversion.

That’s okay because that’s not the goal.

The goal is to make sure people have the information they need. This is one of the things I like so much about the security industry – how supportive everyone is of each other.

You have experience within the business continuity and cybersecurity sectors. What considerations do you think organisations should be taking into account for these factors?

Having worked in cybersecurity for the past three years, which has been a unique integration of my past physical security experiences, the thing I’ve come away with is that whilst employees are the biggest positive for an organisation, they can also be a threat to an organisation.

Some employees can stay for 30-40 years with good leadership, resources and a great culture – then they have a bad experience and leave.

The period of time when they’re having that bad experience is when they’re most susceptible to acting out against the company or who they perceive to have wronged them.

I read articles about ransomware and the various threat actor groups that exist out there.

The theme throughout this research is how groups often target disgruntled employees who are making their feelings known on social media.

Organisations need to focus on their employees. They need to ensure they have good experiences, giving them the flexibility to have a personal life while they’re working.

Response, culture, leadership training and development will have an amazing effect on the security culture of a company.

If there is just one thing your readers should take from this conversation, it’s the value of being a people leader. I intentionally make the distinction between leader and manager.

Being a people leader is one of the highest honours that you can have in your life.

You can either be a force for good, building relationships and future leaders, or you can be someone with a reputation that follows you from company to company.