Cyber Security Leadership

Fear is one of the seven universal emotions experienced by everyone around the world. Fear arises with the threat of harm, either physical, emotional, or psychological, real or imagined. Do we have too much fear in business and in the cyber security practice?

Being authentic means that you act in ways that show your true self and how you feel. Rather than showing people only a particular side of yourself, you express your whole self genuinely. That means to succeed in being authentic, you first have to know who your true self actually is. In this episode we discuss what does it mean to for a leader to be authentic? Can you be authentic and still play the organizational political game? And does authenticity help or hurts a security leader?

Almost every CISO was asked during the job interview or right when they started, what will you do in your first 90 days? Many CISOs are ready to jump headfirst and tell the organization what needs to be done! Is that wise? Is there a better way? In this episode we are joined by David Lam, the author of the book: "The New IQ: Leading Up, Down, and Across Using Innovative Questions" who shared his advise about how security leaders should ask innovative questions.

We’ve all been in situations at work where we secretly wish we could tell someone exactly what we think about them, or worse we had to fight an urge to go across the table and smack them over the head. While this type of reaction would have satisfied us in the moment, the long terms affects may be severe. Where impulses are coming from, how do we control them, and why it is almost always better to respond than react.

An emotionally intelligent individual is both highly conscious of his or her own emotional states as well as others, and is able to identify and manage them. What does it mean to have emotional intelligence in practice? Can it be thought? And why security professionals need it?

The Peter principle states that people in a hierarchy tend to rise to their "level of incompetence". What makes a good leader, what do people expect from their leaders, and what qualities does a security leader need to have?

Setting goals, whether personal or professional, is something that many people struggle with. How do your strengths impact your goals, and why are goals important for a security leader?

What does it feel like when you do something you absolutely love? What if that was your life’s mission? And in the constant rat race we all live in, why should you stop and reflect about what you should do instead of what you can do. In this episode, Jeff is sharing his life changing events that led him to embark on a mission to help others discover their true purpose!

Do you really know exactly who you are?  What are you passionate about? What do you truly value? Are you doing what you can, or are you doing what you should? And what does it have to do with Security Leadership?

With everything going on this year there is a lot of fear and anxiety, and if there is one thing we learned in 2020 is that we all need more empathy. What is Empathy? How do we practice empathy with our team, family, community? Do we do it all the time or only during times of crisis?

The way we motivate people is predominantly using fear! People are doing or not doing something because they are afraid of the consequences. What if, as leaders, we motivate people using courage and positivity instead of fear? How do you positively motivate someone? How, as a leader, do you move from motivating to inspiring?

The key to success in a CISO role is Relationship Building.  This week we discuss the importance of relationships building and why CISOs should aspire to become trusted advisors to the business. To be a successful security leader, you need to be curious about others, you need to care about what they care about, and you need to understand and care about what matters to them!

Businesses are looking for specific leadership skills from their CISOs.  In this episode we are talking about some of the traits that Jeff has identified in his research of thousands C-Level job descriptions, and by interviewing hiring managers.

When people operate out of their strengths or talents they are energized, successful, fulfilled and happy. However when they are not using their top talents, over time they become stressed, drained, frustrated and eventually burnout. Stress and burnout have disastrous mental and physical health consequences, not only to the individual but also to those around them. We believe in empowering security leaders to maximize their strengths, equip them with the skills needed for the top security job and inspire them to become the leaders that their organizations and teams require and deserve. In this episode we are introducing the method of how to get there!