![]() The balance of freedom and security is one of the most challenging things to grapple with as a leader because it can have some of the most significant effects - positive and negative - on your company and team. As a secondary step, it’s also important to enforce safeguards like multifactor authentication (MFA) and user segmentation in your network, ensuring your team only has access to the tools they need, rather than the entire network. Your company’s virtual network should have a system in place that monitors data in and data out - assessing suspicious activity while blocking the content you consider inappropriate or dangerous. With the right tools in place, maintaining security doesn’t have to feel like a burden on your team. Does your team know who to contact if they suspect a phishing attempt? How about if their company phone is compromised? Give them the resources they need to be a part of the company’s cybersecurity. Make sure you provide regular educational updates on what to look out for, new malware risks and new scams they might come across. The more your team understands how to protect themselves and their data online, the safer your network will be. Just make sure there are measurements in place for the work employees are doing, and both you and your team will stay healthy and focused. You risk little to no security in doing so. Give them the freedom to make those decisions and set their schedule without constantly checking in. If someone needs to go to a doctor’s appointment, take a long lunch or leave early to pick up their child from school, that has nothing to do with you. ![]() Your team productivity should be measured in projects finished and goals reached, not in a specific number of hours worked. Micromanaging has no place in a healthy work environment, and the sooner leaders acknowledge that, the better. It really is a give and take: Give freedom where you can, and provide security where you must. But how do we, as leaders, strike that balance? How do we support and trust our team while protecting our network? While the answer to that is ultimately a long-term process, we can start with a few simple steps. ![]() This is why a balance of freedom and security is so essential the extreme of either is downright dangerous. As the old adage goes, your freedom to swing your fist ends where another person’s nose begins. There are those who want to be able to do anything they choose online, and through reckless actions, they may bring a computer virus to a shared network that then infects their colleagues’ devices. Those who argue that their personal freedom is more important than anything else can put themselves, and their communities, in danger. The other side of that coin is just as worrisome. One study found that older employees in a highly demanding and controlled workplace had nearly a 15% higher chance of death than those in less demanding jobs. Toxic company cultures, for instance, where micromanaging and unhealthy interpersonal relationships tend to flourish, may claim “security” when they really mean “control.” Ironically, those companies that strive to “protect” their employees too much - closely monitoring their every move, for instance - can do more harm than good. We see this most obviously in oppressive dictatorships, but in the workplace, this emphasis can take other harmful forms. ![]() I find that a focus entirely on security can often cover an underlying obsession with control. ![]()
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