Stop Hiring Based on Diversity, Start Hiring Based on Courage

In the modern security workplace, courage has quietly been replaced by compliance. Institutions no longer seek individuals who will defend standards, enforce rules, or challenge dysfunction. Instead, they hire to tick boxes, gender, race, sexuality, and ideology, under the banner of “diversity.” But when a crisis hits, when leadership falters, and when safety hangs in the balance, it isn’t diversity that answers the call. It’s courage. And increasingly, it's nowhere to be found.

Courage is not cosmetic. It doesn’t wear a lanyard, hold an inclusion seminar, or tweet hashtags. It confronts problems directly, defends truth under pressure, and says “no” when “yes” would be easier. In security, law enforcement, and leadership roles, courage is the single most important qualification. Without it, everything collapses, safety, trust, authority, and order.

Yet across institutions, corporate, governmental, educational, candidates are elevated for who they are, not what they can withstand. The premise is that representation itself is a strength. But representation without merit is window dressing. Diversity without resilience is decoration. And leadership without backbone is dangerous.

When hiring is driven by optics, the most qualified candidates are sidelined in favour of the most compliant. Applicants are rewarded not for integrity, competence, or proven judgement, but for fitting a demographic narrative. And so, mediocrity is institutionalised. Worse, cowardice is incentivized.

The consequences are visible. In security and policing, hesitation in the face of aggression is increasingly common, not because officers are untrained, but because they’re afraid of the political fallout of decisive action. In public agencies, whistleblowers are punished while dysfunction is protected, so long as it wears the right identity badge. In corporate environments, performance is secondary to “lived experience.” The result? Weak institutions, demoralized teams, and environments where the loudest activist trumps the most skilled contributor.

Statistical evidence confirms the folly. Teams built on competence, cohesion, and shared mission outperform those built on artificial diversity quotas. Yet the obsession with representation persists, not as a tool of inclusion, but as a shield against accountability. It’s easier to promote based on race or gender than to explain why courage, conviction, or results matter more.

Psychologically, courage is not equally distributed. Some individuals are wired to confront threat, absorb pressure, and make hard decisions. Others are conditioned to avoid conflict and seek external validation. The job of any serious institution is to distinguish between the two, not pretend they’re interchangeable.

The marketplace doesn’t care about your pronouns. A violent offender doesn’t pause for your DEI credentials. A fire, a fight, or a failure of policy doesn’t ask how many boxes your hiring team ticked. It demands competence and character. And too often, we’ve traded both for cosmetics.

It’s time to stop hiring for traits people were born with, and start hiring for what they choose, integrity, fortitude, accountability. Because when the crisis comes, and it always does, it won’t be diversity that saves the day.

It’ll be courage. And right now, that’s what we’re missing most. From the author.

The opinions and statements are those of Sam Wilks and do not necessarily represent whom Sam Consults or contracts to. Sam Wilks is a skilled and experienced Security and Risk Consultant with 3 decades of expertise in the fields of Real estate, Security, and the hospitality/gaming industry. Sam has trained over 1,000 entry level security personnel, taught defensive tactics, weapons training and handcuffs to policing personnel and the public. His knowledge and practical experience have made him a valuable asset to many organisations looking to enhance their security measures and provide a safe and secure environment for their clients and staff.