We often talk to security professionals who are seeking to improve their value and overcome challenges within their organizations at the same time as they are working to advance their careers. It is not unusual during these conversations to spend considerable time on security issues companies will face in the future. 

Security leaders have the desire to plan for issues and obtain leadership support for their initiatives. This often means putting revised or innovative programs in place which in turn requires anticipation of resources required for these plans to succeed. 

If you are actively seeking career growth outside of your current role, having the ability to discuss topics that are beyond the traditional set of security program expectations will allow you to stand out from most candidates. 

The long-term impact surrounding people’s behavior patterns are what we are hearing the most about right now. Security practitioners who want to be viewed as subject matter experts should invest time in understanding the following future challenges: 

• Change in societal norms dealing with stress and conflicts. 
• Influence of social and highly targeted media. 
• Expansion of the types of insider threat issues. 
• Management of traditional security risks facing both organizations and their employees due to continued growth of remote and hybrid work models. 
• Appropriate utilization and validation of AI in fact finding and decision-making. 
• Enhanced intellectual property protection programs due to growing public and private AI utilization. 

Each one of these areas has a direct impact on employee behaviors and can lead to security-related risks. 

One example is the increased challenge of “civility” in the workplace. HR departments have either put assessment and training programs in place to deal with this or are planning to do so. From a security risk perspective, a look beyond surface behaviors is warranted, as is an analysis of the underlying triggers. Will your organization’s people and assets become a target of individual or group anger? 

These motivating factors are a catalyst for many of the security-related issues you have been managing today. They will continue to be issues in the future. Leaders place a high value on security practitioners having the skills to deal with these trends. 

The other change that is needed is your ability to expand your internal participation throughout the organization. This will further enable cross functional understanding of opportunities to support business objectives. It provides a better understanding of the security risk challenges management is facing in the workplace. 

As a security executive, you will be successful in your career if you focus on incorporation of intelligence analysis and risk assessment surrounding impacts of ever-shifting societal behavior patterns. Understanding your customers, suppliers — and your candidate pool — will have a positive effect on the success of your organization. And your security career.