The cybersecurity industry has been growing at an enormous rate over the past few decades (it has existed for far longer, but has matured over this time period). It is estimated to grow from $218.98 billion in 2025 to $562.77 billion by 2032, and is arguably one of the fastest-growing industries that exists, and for good reason. Every second, systems are hammered by nefarious actors, both state-sponsored and criminal syndicates, to exploit vulnerabilities and either wreak havoc, steal data or money, or, as is often the case, all of the above.

Governments and corporations trying to defend themselves against this onslaught need to hire smart individuals with the skillsets able to stop incoming attacks proactively, and to rapidly repair any damage reactively.

In this article, we explore some of the primary decision-making skills that can elevate the cybersecurity department of any business and ensure it remains agile and able to intercept and counteract the threats that will inevitably come its way.

The Role of Soft Skills in Cybersecurity Decision-Making

When one thinks of something as complex as cybersecurity, it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that it’s only hard skills that will make any difference. While your team undoubtedly needs to know what it’s doing technically, soft skills are still required for these teams to make a genuine difference.

From requiring a high level of emotional intelligence to deal with incoming threats that can appear from nowhere, to the ability to collaborate with various departments in order to find a fix and keep critical systems online, cybersecurity is about more than merely lines of code. Moreover, soft skills ensure that when new systems are put in place, it’s possible to get them up and running with minimal, if any, downtime. Consider how SSE supports digital transformation by consolidating multiple cloud-based solutions, all of which must not only work flawlessly with existing systems (and with one another) but also without overcomplicating and affecting existing workflows for other employees within the organization.

This takes far more effort and involves an innate ability to explain to those who may not be au fait with such systems how they work and why you’ve opted to implement them. Although we’ve briefly mentioned a couple of these “soft skills”, let’s dig a little deeper into the five primary ones that can make a real difference.

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Critical Thinking

The ability to be able to think critically is a skill valued in all departments, regardless of what they do. However, for cybersecurity experts, critical thinking enables a more holistic and objective analysis of threats, both current and potential. Some of the key components of this include:

• Questioning current assumptions: This can mean having the ability to ask the “why” and “how” and how they might connect.

• Evaluating options systematically: By having the ability to see all options on the table and analyzing them until you come to the most reasonable decision, a team can grow by learning what it takes to come to a conclusion based on numerous variables.

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Emotional Intelligence

There should be no doubt that this role is fraught with high levels of stress. Having the emotional intelligence to remain calm and produce usable solutions is critical to remain in control of a situation. This skill can drive team growth by fostering trust that those in the role are capable of keeping their heads about them. This is something that can be learnt on the job, but in practice, it should be something that you check for when recruiting new talent. Emotional intelligence can mean many things to many people, but in the remit of this article, it generally refers to:

• Self-awareness

• Empathy

• Self-regulation

• Motivation to remain proactive

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Effective Communication

Being an effective communicator is about far more than merely saying what’s happened. To help a team grow, you need to be able to reason and elucidate complex problems to those without the requisite understanding of a situation. It’s not uncommon to be in a situation where you need to present a situation to those in a position to greenlight a course of action.

Having team members capable of delivering highly complicated information in a way that’s simple enough for a layperson to understand without diluting the urgency is a key component of having a well-developed cyber team. Effective communication takes clarity of thought, the capacity to explain complex subjects concisely, and the capability to create reports using various tools that assist in visualizing a situation.

Collaboration

Understanding that no man is an island will help teams to grow, and strong collaboration skills are part and parcel of this. There may be situations where you will need another department to implement a fix, or possibly even be in a position where you must implement new company-wide procedures to reduce the likelihood of a new and impending attack. Working with different teams (some of which may be completely disparate) will nurture a strong team ethos. The best ways to foster a collaborative environment include:

• Inclusive ideation (even with less senior members of staff)

• Conflict resolution

• Forging an environment of shared wins and shared accountability

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Adaptability

Nothing remains static, and that statement is even more true in the world of cybercrime, where things can change in an instant. It’s only possible for a team to grow when they include members with an innate capability to move and adapt to new threats as they arrive (or to counter old threats that have taken on a different bent). The threats of yesterday are dramatically different from those of today, and instead of remaining proactive in your approach, teams must take a reactive stance and remain aware of the changing scenery. This approach will foster a culture of adaptability and make it possible to approach any threat as it comes with little fanfare. It takes a certain open-mindedness to develop team resilience to recover from any setbacks and generate new solutions on the fly.

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Conclusion

The threats that businesses are seeing daily are not disappearing any time soon and will only increase as the world becomes even more digitally connected and reliant on online systems. By opting to hire candidates with both the hard and soft skills needed, and creating an environment where they can flex their intellectual muscles, you will help the team to flourish and, as a result, reduce the likelihood of your business becoming yet another statistic.

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