The most stressful job in the corporate world may be an influence problem

Few roles carry as much stress as the chief information security officer's, and a recent ACS Information Age feature makes the case, with evidence that is hard to refute.

In Heidrick & Struggles' 2023 global CISO survey, 71% of security leaders named stress as one of the most significant personal risks of the role, and 54% named burnout. Both had risen sharply on the year before.

It would be natural to read this as a wellbeing problem, something resilience training and better boundaries could ease. They help, but may not reach the cause.

As John Taylor, a former CISO now field CTO for APAC at Mimecast, notes, CISOs are promoted for technical mastery, then the job shifts to influence, board communication, crisis leadership and enterprise risk. They carry accountability across the organisation with little authority to match.

The same survey hints at what that looks like. While 91% of CISOs present to their board, over half say the board lacks the expertise to respond effectively. The hardest part of the role is often being understood, which is an influence challenge as much as a technical one.

Seen this way, the gap may have less to do with technical capability and more about a transition few leaders are prepared for: the move from technical expert to leader, where the work becomes bringing people along with you.

That ability rarely comes with much support, and most cyber leaders develop it alone, if at all. The pressure may say less about their competence than about a role that has outpaced the development meant to match it.

Still, this ability can be learned. The stress is real, but the deeper answer may be less about enduring the role and more about developing that capability.

If that resonates, join me for a free introductory session on Transactional Intelligence™, a practical way to skilfully navigate the exchanges between people. Tuesday 7 July at 10:30am AEST. You are welcome to register, whether you lead in cyber or anywhere people skills matter.

In your experience, what has helped most in making the shift from technical expert to leader?