Sean Berg

President, Global Governments & Critical Infrastructure, Forcepoint

The COVID-19 pandemic served as a testing function for leaders, said Sean Berg. It tests not only what kind of leader you are during a crisis, but also the work you’ve done in preparing for such a moment, he said. “The true leadership has already taken place to get you to where you are. So your people are going to function based on what you built before that.” Berg said Forcepoint was fortunate during the pandemic because of “the culture of our organization that we built up over years.” One of the biggest things he has learned from leading in a pandemic has been to communicate as thoroughly as possible. “It’s not just sending out more emails, it’s not just having town halls or all-hands meetings over video. It’s recognizing that people are starved for information, they want to know what’s going on both from a business perspective, from a pandemic and what we’re thinking about around the workforce, and you have to convey that in many different ways, from large groups all the way to small groups.”