PSA Security launches Leadership Institute

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico—The CEO of a successful independent integration firm is likely a great manager, but is he or she a great leader? Maybe, but not necessarily, said PSA Security CEO Bill Bozeman on Oct. 24, when he announced the launch of a new training program for integrators called PSA Security Leadership Institute.

“Leadership is influence,” Bozeman said. “It's our goal to teach you to have positive influence,” he said.

Bozeman described the new program at the PSA Security Annual Convention, which took place here from Oct. 21-25. An annual gathering of PSA owners and vendors, the convention drew more than 50 companies this year.

The leadership training was developed entirely by PSA Security staff and will include elements from a number of different sources including Dale Carnegie, HRGroup of Tempe Arizona, and leadership gurus such as John Maxwell.

There will be a charge for the training, which will be delivered in a number of formats including webinars, online, teleconferences and face-to-face meetings. Locations for those meetings have not yet been determined, but likely will include PSATEC, ISC West, and PSA Security Convention, Bozeman said.

During the Oct. 24 meeting, Bozeman gave attendees a taste of what the PSA Leadership Institute will include, going through the first chapter of John Maxwell's book, “The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership.”

“It will raise the value of PSA to members,” predicted Mike Bradley, president of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based Safeguard Security, who has worked closely with HRGroup over the past eight years. Safeguard's work with HR Group has increased retention and raised the caliber of employees his company has hired, Bradley said.

Eric Yunag, president of Dakota Security of South Dakota, said he appreciates that PSA Security has “vetted and compiled the very best leadership training options for our kind of business.”

Ron Oetjen, president of Intelligent Access Systems of North Carolina agreed, saying most “small- to mid-range integrators don't have the opportunity to get good, focused leadership training.” It's something that's becoming increasingly important “as the Boomers start to retire, there's not a huge group of young talent coming into the industry … and we'll be faced with a leadership gap.”

Arthur Beaver, owner of Pittsburgh-based Security Systems of America, said he's interested in the leadership training and he'll be recommending that his son, Brice Beaver, president of his company, take the leadership training as well.

“I was impressed,” said Mary Ferry, VP of Operations for Altec Systems of Marietta, Ga. “This was a really good first step to actionable leadership training.”

Sharon Shaw, PSA Security director of education, who worked with Bozeman to develop the leadership training, said this is something PSA members have been requesting. PSA spent a great deal of time reading and researching options to ensure that they chose curriculum and training partners who “are relevant to the integrators.” They also were careful to develop a program that's delivered in a way that's flexible enough for company executives to be able to take advantage of, she said.