crisis management

corporate security

Control room optimisation

Many organisations require a control room to centralise the security processes, sensor feeds and technology to ultimately ensure the security and safety of their operations. The technological advances in the last 5 years coupled with the ever-increasing prevalence of AI driven detection systems have forever altered the level of sensor data available in control rooms. That said, the level of technical investment doesn’t automatically translate to a more mature or efficient operation.

RCAS and our key strategic partner Nenova, spend most of our time working on, in or around client control rooms. Our goal is to deliver 24/7, fully operational security control rooms equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, advanced technology, optimized processes and highly trained staff. The result is a proactive system based on cutting-edge technology and appropriate pre-defined processes and automation. When led by well trained and agile supervisors and staff, the holistic control room entity mitigates most security and safety threats to the business.

business continuity

Crisis leadership – seizing the golden hour!

Winning strategies for effective crisis management

A recent Netflix series documented Sir Winston Churchill, the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister who guided his nation through the global crisis of the Second World War. While controversial, his leadership brought many together in the fight against fascism and changed the world we live in today. What made him successful in the face of an overwhelming enemy and difficult geo-political terrain? The documentary did not provide enough detail in how Churchill organised himself to clearly state whether he was lucky or did he follow crisis management best practises to victory. What is clear, is that crisis defined his legacy as a leader. Today, crisis still defines how leaders and organisations are perceived.

If Covid taught us anything as a society, it is that crisis is inevitable, and it is highly likely we will not be offered the luxury of deciding when calamity strikes. After a 35+ year career in public and private sector roles, my current professional life has me focused on supporting organisations in preparing for and responding to crisis. The following keys to successful crisis management are a collection of what I have seen as best practises gleaned from working with my clients.

crisis management

Facet5 – what are and why we use psychometric assessment tools

Unlocking Leadership Potential with Facet5: A Revolution in Psychometric Insight
In the fast-paced, interconnected world of modern business, understanding the complexities of leadership has become a critical success factor. Leaders must navigate intricate team dynamics, drive innovation, and inspire others—all while maintaining a keen self-awareness of their own strengths, preferences, and challenges. Enter Facet5, the psychometric tool that redefines the way we evaluate and enhance leadership potential. Facet5 has been the preferred choice for many senior leaders across Europe, North America, and Canada, widely recognized for its depth, versatility, and practical application.
What Sets Facet5 Apart?
At its core, Facet5 is rooted in the “Big Five” personality model, one of the most scientifically validated frameworks for understanding human behavior. While many tools rely on generic outputs or lack depth, Facet5 dives into the nuances of personality, offering a precise, evidence-based, and actionable framework for self-awareness.
Unlike traditional psychometric tools that can feel static and overly academic, Facet5 strikes a great balance between scientific rigor and business relevance. Its detailed yet intuitive profile enables individuals to explore their personality traits across five core dimensions: Will, Energy, Affection, Control, and Emotionality. These dimensions go beyond broad categorizations, providing insights into how leaders approach challenges, interact with others, and respond under pressure.

Practical Applications for Senior Leaders
For senior leaders, self-awareness is more than a buzzword; it is the cornerstone of effective leadership. The demands of C-suite and executive roles require a finely tuned understanding of how personal behavior influences team performance, organizational culture, and strategic outcomes. Facet5 excels in this arena, offering senior leaders a roadmap for growth that is as insightful as it is actionable.

Building Self-Awareness and Resilience
Facet5 helps leaders uncover their innate tendencies, from how they assert themselves in decision-making to how they manage stress and foster collaboration. In doing so, it equips them with the tools to embrace their strengths while mitigating potential blind spots. A senior leader at a multinational corporation shared, “Facet5 gave me the language and framework to truly understand my leadership style. It was like holding up a mirror to my professional self, with clarity I’d never experienced before.”
Cultural Relevance and Adaptability
Facet5 is particularly adept at accommodating the cultural nuances of leadership across international organizations and project delivery alliances that involve multiple partners. With organizations increasingly embracing global teams, leaders must navigate diverse perspectives and working styles. Facet5’s versatility ensures that its insights remain culturally sensitive and applicable, making it a trusted tool in cross-border leadership development.
Unlocking Collective Potential
Beyond individual insights, Facet5 is an unparalleled tool for building high-performing leadership teams. By fostering a shared language around personality and behavior, it enables leaders to better understand and leverage the diverse talents within their teams. This alignment is crucial for driving cohesive strategy and fostering a culture of collaboration.
One European CEO who implemented Facet5 for her leadership team described the results as transformative: “Facet5 didn’t just help us understand each other better; it gave us the tools to operate as a unified force. We moved from working as individual experts to functioning as a truly cohesive team.”
The Leadership Edge
Leadership today is as much about adaptability and empathy as it is about vision and strategy. Facet5 equips senior leaders with the clarity and confidence to lead with authenticity, empowering them to navigate uncertainty while inspiring their teams.
In a world where leadership is often reduced to buzzwords and quick fixes, Facet5 stands out as a tool of substance. It doesn’t just analyze personality—it unlocks potential, builds resilience, and transforms how leaders see themselves and their teams.
As organizations across Europe, North America, and Canada continue to face rapid change, those who invest in tools like Facet5 are better positioned to thrive. After all, great leadership starts with self-awareness—and there’s no better tool to ignite that journey than Facet5.
To quote a senior HR executive who has deployed Facet5 across multiple markets:
“Facet5 isn’t just a tool; it’s an investment in leadership excellence. It turns insights into action, and action into transformation.”
Ready to discover the transformative power of Facet5 for your leadership? The journey starts with self-awareness—and Facet5 is the key to unlocking it.

The session had three main parts: we started with a review of crisis management principles in accordance with ISO 22361 Security and resilience – Crisis management – Guidelines. We then conducted a guided warm up exercise and moved immediately into an in-depth international hostage scenario. This hostage taking location was defined by the client so that it would be a very realistic exercise.

leadership

Veterinarians Without Borders: Crisis Management Team Training

Preparing for this engagement presented the team with some good challenges including a very globally dispersed work/volunteer force within this not-for-profit organization. At each location there is a mix of locally employed persons and expats with corporate leadership in Canada.

leadership

Case Study – Autumn 2024 – A Strategic Retreat with RCAS and Concert Infrastructure

‘In pursuit of team high performance’

Working with the leadership team at Concert Infrastructure, RCAS designed and delivered a high-impact strategic retreat that weaved leadership behaviors, a powerful sense of team ethos, and increased cultural awareness into business-critical activities.

Concert Infrastructure lead an aggregate portfolio capitalization of more than $3.4 billion, specializing in direct investment and management of high-profile public-private partnership projects across Canada.

Rooted in four distinct pillars of high-performing teams, RCAS built a series of activities, guided discussion principles, and points of reflections that stimulated new ways of thinking and ‘flushed out self-challenges’ that would move this long-standing executive team from good to great.

leadership

An exciting day for RCAS and the future of leadership training!!!!

I recently posted about our leadership offering BRIGHT FUTURE and more specifically, exciting new additions to team RCAS. James and I constantly preach that your crisis or executive management team needs to diverse in thought & action if you want to have any chance of successfully navigating today’s perma-crisis business environment.

James and I are very proud and excited to announce that Samantha Woolven and Kate Forrest have joined RCAS. To say they bring a wealth of knowledge and experience in leadership and human performance would be a gross understatement. They have successfully transformed senior leaders and teams across the following industries: architecture, botanical gardens + science, automotive manufacturing, charities/NGO, construction, defence, energy, engineering, food & beverage, heavy metal refining, mining, mining rehabilitation, cultural institutions, nuclear, petrochemical, pharmaceutical, private equity, health care, rail transport, supermarkets and retail. Might have been easier to list what industries they haven’t supported (yet 😉).

We have had the pleasure of collaborating with these exceptional ladies over the last few years, learning a ton in the process about delivering curated professional leadership experiences. I wish I could share a “fly on the wall” video with you of our BRIGHT FUTURE program planning sessions. What I can say is they are exciting, vibrant and full of ideas on how to develop unique leadership experiences for our clients.

Very shortly, James, who spearheads our leadership practice, will be releasing more details about our BRIGHT FUTURE offering. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out directly to James at [email protected].

leadership

Next generation leadership development

RCAS has its roots in a successful crisis management and security consulting. This competency is based on our individual backgrounds of team and organizational leadership at various levels both in daily and crisis operations, primarily in the defence and security industry.

We have discovered and currently teach that crisis management is crisis leadership, change management is change leadership, team performance optimization is team leadership, I think you get the picture.

crisis management

Human Behaviour and Its Impact on Crisis

One constant through time is crisis, whether it be political, professional, or personal. While no one wants to experience a crisis, it is inevitable. That said, our responses are fully under our control. The examination of the history of crisis leaves us with many lessons learned based on the successes and failures of others.

crisis management

Managing video evidence – moving from cumbersome to easy!

There is a myriad of video surveillance solutions available to organizations seeking to protect their assets. Video management systems (VMS) have matured to a point where the collection of video and on-site storage is straight forward. Selecting and replaying video within a VMS is typically a standard feature with most offerings. Modern investigations, whether internal or external, increasingly require organizations to share digital evidence outside the VMS.
In a retail setting, a customer may become injured after a slip and fall. Was it a legitimate injury or a frivolous insurance claim? Archived video can typically reveal the true nature of the event. A Legal department may request the footage to share during court proceedings. Most corporate security departments or whoever is entrusted with managing the VMS must dedicate time and resources to extract the desired footage and place it on removable media such as a DVD or USB stick. This process is laborious, hard to monitor and slow. The process restarts any time there is a request for additional footage or a different video format to align with the end user’s technical requirements. It is common for large organisations to have dedicated personnel for the “DVD team”, sapping much needed resources from the security team.
Public sector agencies have a similar video management issue when conducting their own investigations. After a significant crime, law enforcement agencies are often required to send uniformed officers into the community to gather videos from nearby businesses, residences, or witnesses.
RCAS can provide consulting and implementation services for either of these operational scenarios. Systems such as Genetec Clearance address both sectors’ issues with a cloud-based service that makes sharing or collecting video in a time efficient manner feasible. All video is managed to an evidentiary standard should it be required in legal proceedings bolstered by a robust audit trail. Video format compatibility issues are no longer an issue as the system can provide the video in whatever format best suits the end user.

crisis management