The Pros and Cons of Security Guard Storytelling
The Pros
Building Team Cohesion: Stories are one of the oldest tools for bonding. When guards share experiences; whether humorous, tense, or bizarre it forges a sense of shared identity. New recruits learn unspoken norms, veterans feel valued, and the team develops a collective culture. A guard who knows their colleagues' stories trusts them more on the job.
Practical Knowledge Transfer: Not everything makes it into the training manual. Storytelling fills in the gaps. A veteran describing how they once spotted a shoplifter using a particular distraction technique passes on situational awareness that no formal training session could replicate. These "war stories" are often the most memorable and actionable lessons a new guard will receive.
Keeping Vigilance During Long Shifts: Security work involves long stretches of routine punctuated by rare moments of urgency. Storytelling whether swapping tales during a break or mentally rehearsing past incidents keeps guards mentally engaged and primed for action. It sustains alertness in a role where boredom is a genuine occupational hazard.
Stress Relief and Emotional Processing: Witnessing accidents, confronting aggressive individuals, or being first on scene in an emergency takes a psychological toll. Storytelling can serve as an informal debrief, a way to process difficult experiences, normalize stress, and maintain mental resilience. Laughter and shared pains are surprisingly effective coping tools.
The Cons
Confidentiality and Security Risks: This is the most serious concern. Stories about facility layouts, access control weaknesses, patrol schedules, or specific incidents can inadvertently expose sensitive information. Even well-intentioned anecdotes shared outside work or with the wrong audience can become intelligence for bad actors. Gossip can also damage relationships with clients and employers.
Exaggeration and Myth-Building: Stories grow in the telling. A minor altercation becomes a harrowing standoff. Over time, exaggerated tales can distort a team's perception of risk, inflate egos, or create unrealistic expectations among newer guards, none of which serve professional judgment well.
Reinforcing Bad Habits: Not all old-timers learned the right lessons. Storytelling that glorifies rule-bending, cowboy behavior, or "how I handled it without calling it in" can quietly normalize practices that violate protocol, create liability, or put people in danger. Bad institutional habits often travel by word of mouth.
Undermining Professionalism: In the presence of clients, the public, or colleagues outside the security team, excessive storytelling, especially about embarrassing incidents or internal conflicts can undermine the professional image of the guard and the firm. It can come across as indiscreet, boastful, or simply unprofessional.
Finding the Balance
Storytelling in security work isn't going away, nor should it. The key is knowing what to share, with whom, and in what context. Encouraging guards to debrief through proper channels, recognizing stories as informal training opportunities, and setting clear expectations around confidentiality can preserve the benefits while limiting the risks. Like most things in security, it comes down to judgment.