The Security Circle

Send us a text🎙️ Episode SummaryInside the Polygraph Room: What the Body Reveals When Words Liewith Alan Sequella“A polygraph isn’t a lie detector — it’s a physiological monitor. The body reacts long before words do.”— Alan SequellaPolygraph tests are often misunderstood — portrayed as simple “lie detectors” with jerking needles and dramatic reveals. In this episode, polygraph examiner and investigator Alan Sequella takes listeners inside the polygraph room to explain what really happens when someone is questioned under pressure.Alan breaks down the science behind polygraph testing, explaining why it doesn’t detect lies, but rather measures physiological responses driven by the autonomic nervous system — the body’s fight-or-flight response. Together, we explore how stress, fear, deception, and even half-truths manifest in the body, and what skilled examiners look for beyond the machine itself.The conversation goes far deeper than technology. Alan shares real investigative stories, including cases where minor details uncovered major crimes, how trained individuals have attempted to defeat polygraphs, and why human judgment and preparation still matter as much as the data. We also examine the critical role of rapport-building, interview room dynamics, and modern interrogation techniques — especially where coercion must be avoided.The episode expands into insider threat, behavioural indicators organisations often miss, and how decades of investigative experience inform early warning signs. Looking ahead, Alan discusses how AI, biometrics, and behavioural analytics are shaping the future of truth verification — not as replacements for investigators, but as force multipliers.This is a grounded, experience-rich conversation about deception, human behaviour, and the responsibility that comes with seeking the truth — essential listening for security professionals, investigators, leaders, and anyone working at the intersection of risk and people.https://www.linkedin.com/in/alan-saquella-cpp/Security Circle ⭕️ is an IFPOD production for IFPO the International Foundation of Protection Officers

Send us a text🎙️ Episode SummaryA Continent in Motion: Eva Noelle on Security, Risk, and the Future of Security Risk in AfricaIn this powerful year-end conversation, Eva Noelle brings rare depth, context, and realism to what it truly means to operate in security, intelligence, and risk across the African continent.Drawing on extensive experience working across more than 50 African countries, Eva challenges Western-centric approaches to risk assessment and explains why security cannot be understood without local context, cultural intelligence, and human insight. She explores the realities of intelligence and investigations in environments where digitised records may be limited, political conditions vary widely, and assumptions can quickly become liabilities.The discussion spans geopolitical risk, ESG and supply-chain compliance, due diligence, fraud investigations, and country risk assessments — highlighting why ESG has shifted from a “nice to have” to a compliance and investment imperative. Eva also unpacks how climate change, displacement, and geopolitical instability are increasingly interconnected, reshaping the global security landscape.Beyond strategy, the episode offers thoughtful reflections on leadership, professional networks, and the importance of collaboration in security. Eva speaks candidly about her journey as a woman in a traditionally male-dominated field, the value of volunteering and professional service, and why security is fundamentally a team sport.This episode is not about headlines or stereotypes. It is about nuance, realism, and understanding risk as it actually exists — across borders, cultures, and contexts.A fitting close to 2025, this conversation invites security leaders to think bigger, listen harder, and reassess how they view Africa’s role in the future of global risk.BIO“Eva Nolle is the co-founder and Director of Operations for Ceravoid (Pty) Ltd, a commercial intelligence firm based in Cape Town, South Africa. Amongst others, the company provides due diligence enquiries, background screenings, country risk assessments, market entry analysis as well as commercial and fraud investigations. Throughout her career, Eva has not only worked in business intelligence but also provided crisis management training, travel security and conducts security audits of both private and commercial spaces on a regular basis. With a European background but having lived and worked on the African continent for several years, Eva is well-positioned to build a bridge for businesses wanting to operate in Africa. Drawing on her own practical experience, she assists clients in gaining a better understanding of the potential risks when operating on the continent and how to avoid, mitigate, transfer, accept or exploit them. Eva is a Certified Fraud Examiner as well as a Certified Protection Professional (CPP) and Professional Certified Investigator (PCI).” https://www.linkedin.com/in/eva-n-7a8a9796/Security Circle ⭕️ is an IFPOD production for IFPO the International Foundation of Protection Officers

Send us a textIn this episode of the Security Circle Podcast, Host Yolanda “Yoyo” Hamblen is joined by Chris Stitt, a highly respected security and leadership practitioner whose career spans crisis management, international security operations, and complex bureaucratic environments.Chris brings rare credibility to the leadership conversation — not from theory, but from lived experience in high-pressure, high-stakes security roles where decisions are made with imperfect information and real consequences. Drawing on his book Scaling Pyramids, Chris explores where leadership actually happens: in the messy middle between strategy and execution, authority and influence, risk and responsibility.Together, they unpack why middle leaders carry the greatest burden in security organisations, how toxic leadership quietly erodes mission effectiveness, and why power often sits far away from org charts. Chris shares candid stories from his career — including moments of pressure, constraint, and reflection — and explains how effective leaders translate chaos into clarity, protect their teams, and influence upwards without positional power.Key themes include servant leadership in reality (not rhetoric), decision-making in the fog, navigating bureaucracy without losing integrity, and why organisations fail when silos overpower shared purpose. This is a thoughtful, honest conversation for security professionals who operate in complex environments and want leadership guidance that reflects the real world — not the textbook.A must-listen for anyone leading from the middle, carrying risk, or trying to make meaningful change inside large, layered organisations.Buy this awesome book here!!!https://a.co/d/2jCCuTlhttps://www.linkedin.com/in/christopherstittcem/Security Circle ⭕️ is an IFPOD production for IFPO the International Foundation of Protection Officers

Send us a textIt’s Not in the Manual: Michael Gips on Writing the Leadership Book Security NeededIn this powerful and deeply human episode of The Security Circle Podcast, host Yolanda “Yoyo” Hamblen is joined by one of the most respected voices in global security leadership, Michael Gips, to explore why the security profession needed this leadership book—and why it needed it now.Michael shares the story behind It’s Not in the Manual, a book built not on abstract frameworks or academic theory, but on real experiences, real people, and real leadership moments from across the security and risk profession. Drawing on decades of work in security, risk, and leadership, he explains why traditional leadership literature often fails security professionals—and how elevating authentic stories from the field creates something far more meaningful and practical.The conversation ranges widely and candidly: from leadership in a world of permanent crisis and convergence, to the hidden emotional toll of security work, to why mental health is not a “soft issue” but a core leadership responsibility. Michael speaks openly about vulnerability, limits, and the leadership mistakes that shaped his thinking, offering rare honesty from someone at the top of the profession.Together, Yoyo and Michael unpack mentorship, thought leadership, interviewing as a leadership skill, and why the future of security leadership will depend less on titles and tools—and more on curiosity, humility, humanity, and judgment. Along the way, they explore how stories, humour, and cultural references can make leadership lessons stick, even in the most complex and high-risk environments.This episode is a masterclass in real-world leadership for security and risk professionals—for those navigating complexity, carrying responsibility, and leading when there is no playbook to follow.If you’ve ever felt that leadership in security isn’t taught, isn’t written down, or simply isn’t in the manual—this conversation is for you.https://www.linkedin.com/in/michaelgips/Security Circle ⭕️ is an IFPOD production for IFPO the International Foundation of Protection Officers

Send us a textPodcast SummaryIn this standout episode of The Security Circle, security legend Jeff Slotnick returns for his second appearance, bringing extraordinary depth, wisdom, and vulnerability. Fresh from a life-changing battle with cancer — which he faced with discipline, positivity, and what he jokingly calls “giving cancer a healthy body” — Jeff reflects on resilience not as a buzzword but as a daily practice grounded in body, mind, and mindset.He shares how Hapkido, begun during his military service in Korea, shaped his entire leadership philosophy: centered thinking, controlled energy, redirecting force, and treating setbacks as fuel for future success. Jeff dives into the beauty and resilience of Korean culture, lessons from military engineering, and the strategic mindset that distinguishes good security leaders from great ones.From enterprise risk and convergence, to the future of AI, insider threat, board-level communication, and the shift from tactical to strategic leadership, Jeff offers a masterclass in what modern security leadership truly looks like. His message is simple but profound: be kind, be collaborative, be a futurist, and always understand that security is fundamentally a business function.This episode is rich with wisdom, humility, humour, and hard-won insight — a must-listen for anyone serious about the future of security.https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffrey-a-slotnick%E2%80%8F-cpp-psp-08a54a6/Security Circle ⭕️ is an IFPOD production for IFPO the International Foundation of Protection Officers