10 Rules for Breaking Barriers and Leading With Influence  

At Security LeadHER 2024, Lida Citroën, CEO of LIDA360, highlighted how to authentically build trust, articulate your value proposition, define your leadership strategy and become visible to make your voice heard.

ASIS International and the Security Industry Association (SIA) recently closed out a successful second annual Security LeadHER conference, a unique event dedicated to advancing, connecting and empowering women in the security profession. The sold-out event took place June 24-25, 2024, in Phoenix, Arizona, bringing together more than 400 security professionals from seven countries.

Security LeadHER 2024 – a day-and-a-half program featuring industry-leading subject matter expert presenters – offered inspiring keynotes, educational sessions and networking opportunities on a variety of topics in leadership, career development, negotiation, allyship and more. One highlight was “Breaking Barriers: A Woman’s Guide to Leading With Influence,” a dynamic presentation from Lida Citroën, CEO of LIDA360.

“Each day, women around the world wake up and realize their potential isn’t fully utilized, their contributions are stifled, and their voices are not heard,” said Citroën. “Many of these same women take brave and bold steps to change their lives and build their reputation, career and legacy in ways that make the rest of us marvel at their confidence, ingenuity, and success. Now is your turn!”

Citroën shared 10 key rules of leading with influence:

1. Be courageous and push past fear. Courage doesn’t happen for you or to you. You need to find the strength to be the leader you’re meant to be.
2. Be real, and let others see the true you. Realness is not the same as telling people everything about you, as you’re allowed to keep some thoughts and experiences private. People relate to leaders who are real, and real people are flawed. Being able to show those flaws is key to having influence.
3. Be credible to authentically earn trust. When your actions and values align, and you walk the talk in all you do, others trust and rely on you.
4. Be of service to have lasting impact. Being of service to others takes the focus off yourself and onto who you serve and what they need from you.
5. Be inclusive of others wherever and however they are. Someone with influence brings others in, listens to them, learns from them and knows where their own expertise and others’ overlaps and where it diverges.
6. Be consistent in who and how you are. Influence is not about perfection, but it is about consistently showing up as the same person with the same values and passions (both online and in person).
7. Be agile to learn and grow. To have influence means having a learning and agile mindset and being open to changing markets, new needs, new audiences and new technologies where your influence must live to thrive.
8. Be a storyteller to share your “why.” Storytelling enables you to connect your history and vision to others by highlighting shared values, goals and experiences and showing your humanity in ways that inspire others to act.
9. Be visible to stand out. It’s time to get in front of the room, come out from the shadows, speak your mind, share your ideas and confidently assert your voice.
10. Be a brand to make lasting impact. Building your sense of identity with intention means you’re driving how others experience you. Building and living your personal brand gives you the platform and criteria for leveraging your voice and influence in more meaningful and impactful ways.

“Women today must create powerful and strong personal brands that are influential and impactful, honoring their gifts, authenticity and talents to become recognized and perceived the way they desire,” said Citroën.

See more highlights from Security LeadHER here.

Security LeadHER 2025 will be held June 9-10 in Detroit, Michigan. For more information and updates on Security LeadHER, please visit https://securityleadher.org.