ISC2 announced the
ISC2 Cyber Leadership Program, a series of 8-week virtual cybersecurity leadership workshops throughout 2025. In collaboration with the
Cybersecurity Leadership Institute,
the ISC2 Cyber Leadership Program will enable attendees to develop
strategic thinking, business acumen and communication skills essential
for becoming more effective cybersecurity leaders.
In alignment with the focus of the new leadership workshops, ISC2 today released the findings of its Cybersecurity Leadership Survey,
highlighting the top qualities of effective cybersecurity leaders.
According to the survey, 85% of all respondents identified communication
as the most important leadership quality, followed by strategic
thinking (41%), open-mindedness (37%), technical expertise (33%) and
decisiveness (21%).
Survey participants most frequently said the skills they need to
strengthen on their path to a leadership role are "communication" and
"business acumen." However, the findings reveal that formal leadership
training remains largely inaccessible for most respondents, with less
than 63% reporting they have received such formal training. Instead, 81%
said they primarily developed leadership skills through on-the-job
experiences with supervisors and managers.
"As cybersecurity matures as a profession, it is vital that employers
provide opportunities for both formal and informal leadership
development," said ISC2 CISO Jon France, CISSP, ChCSP. "A well-rounded
cybersecurity leader benefits from structured, proven training pathways
as well as practical experience. While informal knowledge-sharing
remains valuable, the rapid pace of advancement in the field calls for a
stronger emphasis on formal development to prepare today's leaders and
nurture the next generation. That is why ISC2 is launching a series of
leadership workshops to help current and future cyber leaders maximize
their teams' potential and strengthen our collective defense."
"The ISC2 Cyber Leadership Program aligns with our shared commitment
to empower cybersecurity professionals worldwide with the skills they
need to lead their teams in very challenging times," said CLI CEO and
Co-Founder, Phillimon Zongo. "We believe that transforming cyber
leadership is an imperative for a safe and secure cyber world, and this
program advances that vision."
Become a Stronger Cyber Leader
Registration is open for the ISC2 Cyber Leadership Program with a
workshop series scheduled to start on January 13, April 7, June 23 and
September 8, 2025. The workshops provide formal and informal
cybersecurity leaders with training sessions, resources and an
opportunity to share experiences with a cohort of professionals
committed to cybersecurity leadership. The 8-week workshop content will
be broken up into the following themes:
- Week 1: The Role of a CISO
- Week 2: Developing a High-Value Cyber Resilience Strategy
- Week 3: Leading an Enterprise-Wide Cyber Risk Aware Culture
- Week 4: Building and Leading a World-Class Cyber Function
- Week 5: Stakeholder Management
- Week 6: Embedding Agile Cyber Governance
- Week 7: Mock Cyber Crisis Exercise / Tabletop Exercise
- Week 8: Capstone Presentations and Course Review
ISC2 members earn up to 35 CPE credits for completion of the entire program. Register for the virtual Cyber Leadership Program here.
Learn more about the ISC2 Cybersecurity Leadership survey at https://www.isc2.org/Insights/2024/12/ISC2-Survey-Cybersecurity-Leadership.