Your Technical Skills Got You Here. They Won't Get You There
The World Economic Forum surveyed over 1,000 of the world's leading employers for its 2025 Future of Jobs Report.
The finding that stopped me?
Leadership and social influence is rising on the same curve as AI and cybersecurity skills. Not as a footnote. Not as a nice-to-have. On the same list, driven by the same forces.
And when the WEF looked specifically at cyber, it was even more direct. Collaboration and communication, it said, will be just as critical as technical skills for managing risk in the AI era.
Most cyber leaders I know are exceptional at their craft. They identify threats fast. They know exactly what needs to be done. Their technical judgement is sound.
The gap isn't knowledge. It's translation.
Getting a CFO to approve the budget to fix the root cause requires a completely different conversation than the one that identified the problem. The board needs a business risk story, not a security briefing. The CEO needs to feel the urgency, not just understand it.
Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, was recently asked who the smartest person he'd ever met was.
His answer surprised people. Technical problem-solving, he said, is becoming a commodity — AI handles that part first. ‘My personal definition of smart is someone who sits at that intersection of being technically astute but has human empathy.’
The leaders who will matter are those who can read the room. Sense the unspoken. See around corners.
He was describing the leaders this industry urgently needs.
Imagine being the cyber leader who can identify a threat, mobilise a response, and then walk into the CFO's office and make the business case land. That leader exists. And the difference between them and everyone else isn't technical knowledge. It's communication.
The cyber leaders who will be most sought after in this era are the ones who learn to collaborate across boundaries, who build the influence to move people who don't report to them.
I'm running a small, private session this Friday, 12 people maximum, for senior technology and cyber leaders who want to close that gap.
You'll leave with a practical way to reduce the friction that's slowing your outcomes down.
📅 Friday, 17 April — 10:30 AM AEST
📍 Live on Zoom
🔗 Registration link
When was the moment you realised technical excellence alone wasn't enough?
Best regards, Brian
