Framing Roles & Responsibilities for Emerging Cyber Leaders

As a leader, one of my primary responsibilities is to develop future leaders in my organization.

When I’m transitioning a new leader into their first leadership role, it important they clear a clear picture of their roles and responsibilities.

Often times, the written version of this can be pretty daunting and detailed. I’ve found a simple analogy that works well helping to establish a context for their new duties.

The visualization I like to use is that of the Captain of a ship.

To help it be memorable, I refer to it as the “Cyber Captain”

Before getting underway, the Captain determines the DESTINATION of the ship, and eventually approves the COURSE the ship will take. But the Captain never PLOTS the course or MEASURES the ship’s progress once underway. Other crew members do that.

Once underway, the Captain

• Is responsible for everything that happens on the ship, at all times;
• Delegates responsibilities to other members of the crew, but always retains ultimate accountability;
• Ensures every crew member is properly trained to perform their duties;
• Spends most of their time supervising the crew’s performance (i.e. sailing the ship);
• Ensures the crew follows all standard operating procedures;
• Conducts periodic drills, tests, and inspections to reinforce standards of performance and quality and to prepare for unexpected emergencies;
• Ensures the health and welfare of the crew; including adequate balance of work, rest, and relaxation;
• Ensures the ship and all systems are properly maintained;

And finally, the Captain ensures the ship arrives at the destination according to plan.

I like this context because almost everyone is able to visualize a ship’s captain, the crew, and how they work together to operate a ship at sea.