How to Manage a High-Performing Cybersecurity Team
The past year of remote work has made managing your employees challenging. No longer could managers have face-to-face interaction. Nuances picked up over an eight-hour workday can hint at the emotions people are feeling towards their job and situation. Casual talks were replaced with planned and scheduled video conferences.
Cipher went remote when the lockdowns started. The leaders at the company have learned a lot of new things as a result. David Tudino is the Director of Managed Security Services for Latin America at Cipher. He leads a team of around 80 cybersecurity professionals, who collectively work 24×7 365 days a year to stop cyber attacks.
He recently shared insights on how to manage his successful team with SEGS Magazine.
David said that managing a team during the pandemic requires a collective goal and solid communication. “It is necessary to come to an agreement as a team on the goals to have and the values to maintain.” In addition, paying attention to each employee is important. “I pay attention to employees and see where they excel and where they need to develop more,” David says.
Motivation
He sets aggressive, but attainable goals, for his team. Reaching goals motivates employees to succeed. “The role of the leader is to keep a pulse on the attitude and mood of his team. I need to know when to relieve this pressure on the team. This can be through praise, social activities, financial recognition, or opportunities for professional growth. An aggressive goal that cannot be achieved can demotivate the team. If a goal is too aggressive, the result will be employee frustration rather than motivation. At the same time, without challenges, a high-performance team does not feel motivated enough to deliver a good job,” David explains.
Communication
For David, the pandemic produced a new way to communicate. “Before the pandemic, I would often casually go to have a coffee with an employee. When the lock-downs first started, it was difficult to replicate that way of communicating. Today I realize that although communication has become virtual, we can still talk informally. I like to get to know my team and understand their concerns. The workplace changes caused by the pandemic have also had a positive effect. There is more collaboration at Cipher. ” he explains.
Expectations for work are also important. “The leader needs to make it clear what, when, why, where, and how much they need to do. And when the employee carries out activities, they need to do so without fear of making mistakes. Only those who don’t do not make mistakes,” David says.
Tips
In closing, David shared these tips for high-performing teams:
- Define clear goals
- Explain why the goals are important
- Promote continuous training
- Encourage feedback as a motivation tool
- Discourage competition that generates conflict
- Keep track of activities
- Encourage contact between teams
Send us a message to learn how to use Cipher’s cybersecurity team to protect your company.
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