Problem-solving leadership in security¶

Problem Solving Leadership (PSL), developed by Gerald and Daniel Weinberg primarily in “Becoming a Technical Leader” and the workshop of the same name, is not a framework with certification badges. It is a way of thinking about leadership grounded in how people actually solve problems: messily, emotionally, and often irrationally.

Leadership in the PSL sense is not about authority. It is about helping a group solve problems effectively, especially when those problems are unclear, changing, or deeply human. Weinberg identifies three dimensions that must all be addressed: the rational (facts, data, analysis, tools), the emotional (motivation, fear, trust, ego, psychological safety), and the political (influence, authority, incentives, hidden agendas). Most failed problem solving over-invests in the rational dimension while the real blockage sits in the other two.

In security this plays out constantly. A technically sound finding may produce no change because the fear structure around acting on it was never addressed. A well-designed control may be quietly bypassed because solving it inconvenienced someone important. If you are stuck, you are probably solving the wrong part of the problem.