In this piece, we're highlighting findings from our annual State of the CISO Report around executive development and leadership
training.
The underlying survey, which served as the source for this benchmark data, was jointly fielded with Artico Search. It featured objective data from over 581 CISOs on job satisfaction, career development, the scope
of their role and benchmarking data on soft-skill development and mentorships.
CISOs Take Executive Development Seriously
Increasingly, CISOs are given opportunities for executive development to enhance their personal brand and their stature as a brand ambassador for their company security program. Of the CISOs in our survey, 36% of respondents have completed or are currently
engaged in a leadership development program with a certification. A third has or is currently engaged in a 1-on-1 executive coaching program (see Figure 1).
Figure 1
Most CISOs work on soft skill development through training and coaching. Besides the technical prowess that CISOs build during their formative years, most also work on building non tech competencies like communication skills, culture building skills and
leadership skills—must-have skills for any business
leader, irrespective of function.
Matt Comyns, co-founder and president at Artico Search, explains why CISOs invest in their soft skills:
“As the CISO role continues to evolve from tech role to business risk leadership role, CISOs are more aware of the importance of leadership skills. CISOs must collaborate cross-functionally, present to senior leadership teams and boards, and are
often expected to serve as externally facing customer trust executives. This increase in visibility provides a great opportunity for CISOs to develop their own personal brand— something leadership training and executive coaching can help develop”.
Benefits of CISO Certifications & Training
Executive training certification programs are valuable assets for CISOs to enhance both leadership skills and promote career development. To be effective, certification programs should focus on practical skills and technical aptitude and fit participants'
professional goals. Research from our Executive Competencies for InfoSec Leaders Report found that CISOs who had
undergone extensive leadership training, developed skill sets that solidly plugged them into the business.
Ways to Boost CISO Job Satisfaction
Our study found that higher levels of job satisfaction coincide with lower attrition risk. Among the criteria that drive overall satisfaction, CISOs consistently indicated organizational support for career development as a key satisfaction driver. Career
development satisfaction is higher overall for CISOs who engage in or have completed leadership training with certification or one-on-one executive coaching.
Based on our sample, career development satisfaction is low for roughly half of CISOs. Leadership development programs with a certification, as well as one-on-one executive coaching, are tools to help boost satisfaction for career development.
Executive Development for CISOs
To positively influence satisfaction levels and mitigate against attrition, organizations are encouraged to expand CISO leadership development and certification opportunities.
For CISO’s, you can use the data in this report as a guide to better inform executive leadership about the importance of executive development and its effect on job satisfaction levels.
IANS offers an Executive Competencies program rooted in research, created for CISOs and aspiring security leaders to develop and strengthen your leadership competencies, operate
within the C-Suite and earn valuable CPE credits towards your CISSP certification.
Get in touch to learn more about IANS professional development options for you or for members of your team.
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connection with such information, opinions, or advice.