When you think about collaboration what comes to mind? Have you ever given much thought to the importance of collaboration for your cybersecurity team, or how collaboration creates high performance teams? If you haven’t given much thought to the topic of collaboration that’s OK you are going to explore the importance of collaboration today.
Collaboration is the fourth pillar in the EPICC model for high performance teams and is incredibly important for your security team. If you have tuned in to the entire series on EPICC High Performance Teams you are on pillar four. If you are just joining us now you can catch up on the series and read about Engagement, Productivity, and Integrity; the first three pillars for a high performance team.
Since no single person on a security team can stay current on all the technologies, know all the current vulnerabilities, be versed on all the most recent hacks, or know all the possible solutions; collaboration is key to your security teams ultimate success. Collaboration is where engagement, productivity, and integrity come together and your security team spends time working together to come up with innovative new ideas.
Ideas build upon ideas when a group gets together to collaborate. New ideas, solutions, and innovation that no single person can come up with alone are born during collaboration
One of the biggest and often missing pieces of collaboration is discussing progress, what’s working and what’s not working? When a team knows where the project is they can collaborate on ideas to move it forward or maybe even change direction. This is how you remove the number of fires that need to be put out at the last minute and you reduce stress and cost. When something is not working, it quickly becomes the topic of conversation, but what about discussing what is working? That is often a missed, but critical conversation.
When things are running smoothly most people don’t stop to discuss why, but it is essential to recognize why things are working so you can do more of it. Plus, what is working for one person may not be obvious to their peers, so this is an opportunity to teach each other and refine their skills.
Of course I’m not saying you ignore the conversation on what’s not working, that is critical to course correction and you can’t always prevent or find all roadblocks ahead of time. But as soon as something starts to go south the conversation must include what’s not working. But remember, it can’t be about laying blame or pointing fingers, it’s about discussion, collaboration, and then cooperation and integrity to change things around.
The more your team collaborates the more they can identify the possible roadblocks ahead of time. This means you don’t have a group of firefighters running around always trying to put out the fire, you have a group of park rangers who are able to stop the fire before it ever ignites because only you can prevent forest fires.
The great part is collaboration can happen with or without you, the leader, as long as you set the tone, the expectations, and the example. If someone comes to you with a problem you can ask, “Did you work with the team to find a solution yet?” That could be the first step before involving you unless it is critical and needs escalation.
Remember you never know where the best idea will come from. You want to make sure that everyone on the team has a voice and that they know they can share ideas regardless of how crazy it may sound. That is because you built the team community around integrity, everyone should know that there are no bad ideas and that no one is ever ridiculed or judged.
For your next team meeting start a new conversation on the topic of collaboration, why it’s important, what it should look like, and how to accomplish it. Empower your team to work together, communicate openly, and share ideas. Build on the ideas of community and watch your team thrive.
If you have questions or comments about this article or the series you can reach out to me at sharon@c-suiteresults.com to discuss this topic, security teams, or security strategy. If you enjoy podcasts you can listen to C-Suite Success Radio to tap into the wisdom of other successful business people who know the path you’re traveling.
Because you are responsible for the strategy and success of your organization you are losing sleep over the continual reports of security breaches, stolen data, and ransomware. It appears that no one is safe anymore.
But all the terminology and acronyms (i.e., cloud, IoT, BOD, APT, IAM, IDS, Pen Test, malware, ransomware, identity access management, patch management, change management...not to mention all the compliance regulations) is overwhelming. And that makes sense because security is not in your wheelhouse, but it’s in mine! And I can help you!
WHAT I DO
As a 12-year veteran of the information security, audit, and compliance industry, I understand the technology your organization works with and the challenges you face.
I translate cyber security into business terms for executives who want to implement security but don’t know how. I help create the proper internal messaging, education, and shape the organizational culture needed for sustainable success in security.
Too many people believe that security is an IT problem and and that simply throwing budget at the IT department equals security. Instead, I help you paint a full picture of your security posture, the risks associated with it, and the most effective strategy to help close the gaps.
Security is not insurance - it is force protection (think of the armed guards in front of a military base). Isn’t it time for you to put the proper protection in place for the long term health of your organization?
WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT
It is rare to find someone with a background that includes in-depth information security knowledge and hands-on experience who has a business degree, and is a Certified Coach. This mix of education and experience equips me to best serve you in creating a long term sustainable security culture.
NEXT STEPS
Email me at sharon@c-suiteresults.com or message me via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithsharonj/|You are a successful CEO, passionate about the continued growth and health of your organization.
Because you are responsible for the strategy and success of your organization you are losing sleep over the continual reports of security breaches, stolen data, and ransomware. It appears that no one is safe anymore.
But all the terminology and acronyms (i.e., cloud, IoT, BOD, APT, IAM, IDS, Pen Test, malware, ransomware, identity access management, patch management, change management...not to mention all the compliance regulations) is overwhelming. And that makes sense because security is not in your wheelhouse, but it’s in mine! And I can help you!
WHAT I DO
As a 12-year veteran of the information security, audit, and compliance industry, I understand the technology your organization works with and the challenges you face.
I translate cyber security into business terms for executives who want to implement security but don’t know how. I help create the proper internal messaging, education, and shape the organizational culture needed for sustainable success in security.
Too many people believe that security is an IT problem and and that simply throwing budget at the IT department equals security. Instead, I help you paint a full picture of your security posture, the risks associated with it, and the most effective strategy to help close the gaps.
Security is not insurance - it is force protection (think of the armed guards in front of a military base). Isn’t it time for you to put the proper protection in place for the long term health of your organization?
WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT
It is rare to find someone with a background that includes in-depth information security knowledge and hands-on experience who has a business degree, and is a Certified Coach. This mix of education and experience equips me to best serve you in creating a long term sustainable security culture.
NEXT STEPS
Email me at sharon@c-suiteresults.com or message me via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithsharonj/|You are a successful CEO, passionate about the continued growth and health of your organization.
Because you are responsible for the strategy and success of your organization you are losing sleep over the continual reports of security breaches, stolen data, and ransomware. It appears that no one is safe anymore.
But all the terminology and acronyms (i.e., cloud, IoT, BOD, APT, IAM, IDS, Pen Test, malware, ransomware, identity access management, patch management, change management...not to mention all the compliance regulations) is overwhelming. And that makes sense because security is not in your wheelhouse, but it’s in mine! And I can help you!
WHAT I DO
As a 12-year veteran of the information security, audit, and compliance industry, I understand the technology your organization works with and the challenges you face.
I translate cyber security into business terms for executives who want to implement security but don’t know how. I help create the proper internal messaging, education, and shape the organizational culture needed for sustainable success in security.
Too many people believe that security is an IT problem and and that simply throwing budget at the IT department equals security. Instead, I help you paint a full picture of your security posture, the risks associated with it, and the most effective strategy to help close the gaps.
Security is not insurance - it is force protection (think of the armed guards in front of a military base). Isn’t it time for you to put the proper protection in place for the long term health of your organization?
WHAT MAKES ME DIFFERENT
It is rare to find someone with a background that includes in-depth information security knowledge and hands-on experience who has a business degree, and is a Certified Coach. This mix of education and experience equips me to best serve you in creating a long term sustainable security culture.
NEXT STEPS
Email me at sharon@c-suiteresults.com or message me via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithsharonj/
- Using the Golden Rule to be a Better Leader - July 2, 2018
- Arming the Cyber Defender – Your Employees - May 8, 2018
- The Secret to Hiring Cybersecurity Professionals - May 3, 2018