What makes a security guard proficient? What skills and traits are necessary for truly succeeding in this role? It’s easy to assume competency when viewing a fully uniformed and armed guard standing at a post, but this commanding image does not ensure a full range of required capabilities. There is certainly more involved than the minimum government standards required for licensure.

DECISION MAKING
Almost more than any other skill, the ability to consistently make good decisions is fundamental to a professional security officer. Several elements of a protection agent’s role cause this ability to have such premium value; first, the job typically involves them in situations of elevated risk. Every decision they make carries a higher level of consequence. Additionally, an agent’s objectives can remain constant, while their environment and other relevant factors are continually changing, sometimes rapidly and unpredictably, with severe fluctuations in risk and outcome. Because of this volatility, no amount of training can sufficiently produce the ideal response for a variety of unpredictable situations, and the capacity for critical thinking and momentary, clear-headed decision making becomes vital.

The experience gained through prior circumstance is always valuable and will certainly affect the decision-making process, but the core skill required here is a cognitive ability to obtain and process information swiftly and rationally as it is presented, and to then act accordingly. This type of critical thinking enables the agent to adapt, improvise, and recover from unexpected and sometimes undesirable events. Such cognitive function is generally formed very early in life, beginning with childhood development, thus it is important to consider the full extent of a person’s education and upbringing when considering them for a position in the security industry. And yes, this cognition can and certainly should be reinforced with a range of continued training and education, both in the classroom and in the field. For a security professional, the stakes demand it.