CPDSO WEBINAR: Trust Me, I’m a Red Teamer

Our world has changed. It has become more volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. We are now more reliant on technology and, with that, a reduced reliance on our fellow humans. Data is the new currency. The activity that occurs in an “internet minute” is beyond belief. We are facing information overload.

The “rise of the robots” has rightly made us cautious. Do we trust AI and algorithms to make decisions on our behalf? Do we trust Big Tech?

But while we struggle with these challenges, we have forgotten about those beside us. In a world of fake news and unreality, our trust in people has waned. In organisations, we hear executives talk of psychological safety, but for many it’s just another buzzword, a trap! Keep quiet, trust nobody.

As leadership struggles to adapt, those who constantly display integrity and continue to do the right thing stand out, often head and shoulders above the rest.  Why? Is it because they are better than everyone else or just because there appears to be so few of them?  What these leaders have is the trust of their people, trust in themselves, and trust in those around them. With trust you can achieve anything, without it you have nothing.

We hide behind comforting lies in so many aspects of our lives, fearful of facing the hard truths, not even trusting ourselves to do so, let alone others. Many businesses die because of self-inflicted wounds, lying to themselves for so long that it becomes their reality.

The centuries-old concept of red teaming is the perfect way to enable trust, because it’s designed not to trust. It is designed to challenge, to be contrarian, and to ask the hard questions that nobody else dare.

And it works, trust me, I’m a red teamer.

Marcus is the Vice President at Red Team Thinking®,  a team that provides decision support red teaming to help organisations make better decisions faster in today’s complex world.  A former military officer and red teamer, Marcus retired from the Royal Air Force in 2013. In the RAF, he served as a fighter controller, and did tours with the Royal Marines, Royal Navy and U.S. Marine Corps, with whom he deployed to Iraq in 2003; he was also member of the Special Forces Air Cell.

After leaving the RAF, Marcus moved into business, initially working for a global consultancy, before moving on to lead major business transformations in the financial sector, focusing on enabling leadership to deal with the complexity of today’s business environment.