The best CISOs are expert communicators. They articulate their strategy efficiently and effectively, and they tailor it for each stakeholder audience. In this regard a CISO is a lot like a professional basketball coach. A basketball coach communicates differently to players, coaches and owners. With players, the coach communicates the importance of fundamentals and preparation for the next game. With assistant coaches, the coach stresses strategy and consistency in the program. With owners, the coach articulates the philosophy behind the strategy and how it sets the team up for long-term success. As you can see, it’s different strokes for different folks. From this perspective, a CISO is a lot like a basketball coach. With staff, a CISO communicates departmental goals and reinforces the connection between execution and success. With senior management, the CISO demonstrates her department’s alignment with company goals. With the board of directors, she communicates her cybersecurity strategy and educates them on how her strategy mitigates risk. Ultimately, a CISO must be able to communicate effectively if she hopes to convince senior managers and the board of directors that she’s got the right strategy in place.
Prior to the coronavirus outbreak, CISO Street sat down with Dave Hanighen, the CISO for Logix Federal Credit Union, to discuss some of the lessons he’s learned in his career. In this video, Dave shares some valuable advice for communicating with senior management teams and boards of directors and ultimately getting what you want for your security organization.
