Success in the security industry is made easier by possessing a number of soft skills. Security leaders advise embodying these character traits yourself and looking for these soft skills when hiring.
Sure, roles as a senior leader within the security industry may call for that public agency experience, corporate enterprise security experience, or industry related certifications, but it’s those “soft skills” not necessarily listed on the official job description that can help determine long-term success.
What are soft skills, you ask? Well, they are personal characteristics such as leadership, self-awareness, communication and emotional intelligence. Experts agree that these personal attributes are extremely important to enabling effective communication in the workplace, problem solving and adapting, as well as motivating and building strong teams. In the security industry — where roles, responsibilities, and most importantly, critical issues requiring attention are regularly changing and evolving — certain soft skills are downright imperative to lead a responsive, cohesive, mature security team.