What are some ways to build strong relationships with your Cybersecurity colleagues?

As a newbie, seek out mentors in your organization. Many tech people love to share knowledge with their peers. Finding good people who have goals similar to your own but are further along is a great way to build relationships. If you are already an expert well on your path, mentoring people can help you further hone your soft skills. This helps you prepare to advance even further. Soft skills get pushed really hard as most people in the industry are technical by nature, not necessarily as good on the soft skills side. At my org we have optional group meetings of people with our job title who chat about whats been going on and trying to learn from one another. It has been very nice, and is 100% optional, I skip often when too busy.

Building strong relationships in cybersecurity isn't just about skill exchange; it's a multifaceted endeavor. Key to this is a robust sharing culture—where insights, experiences, and tools are freely exchanged. Engaging in communities, offering support through challenges, and celebrating achievements together fosters a collaborative spirit. Beyond that, embracing diversity, equity, and inclusion is vital. It enriches perspectives and solutions, which is crucial in a field where innovation thrives on varied viewpoints. Remember, the value you bring isn't just in what you know, but in how you uplift others.

Engage in open and respectful communication, actively listen to their perspectives, and offer support when needed. Collaborate on projects and share knowledge, fostering a culture of learning and growth. Attend cybersecurity events or conferences together to network and bond. Establish trust by maintaining confidentiality and demonstrating reliability. Recognize and appreciate the contributions of your colleagues, and be willing to help and share resources when necessary. Ultimately, cultivating a supportive and collaborative environment will help build strong relationships with cybersecurity colleagues.

Aside from sharing knowledge as a leader i also ask my team about their view, opinions and suggestions on what they see in their day-to-day operations to deeply understands where the idea is coming from. Collaboration is part of sharing knowledge, regular brain storming with the team and mentor them to reach their goals in career.

Being open for criticism from your team could help you improve. it is crucial when building relationships with your colleagues. This is helps them feel that they are part of an organizations success by taking their inputs that they see can help the organization growth. and as the leader i should explain to them if their idea is feasible to implement or what are the hindrance if we implement any ideas. this will help them think wider and out-of-the-box. All problem can be resolve and there is always a work around.

Online Communities is a great place to learn from each other its not just expanding your network but also learning from different people from their experience is more effective which you can relate. This could also help you hire potential talents and the same time help the community for awareness campaign.

As a security leader, I expect my team members to demonstrate technical, theoretical, operational, soft skills, and people management abilities, especially if they have certifications. I also encourage them to communicate their goals and challenges, both for their own development and for the organization's benefit. This way, they can assess their strengths and weaknesses, work at their own pace, and seek support when needed. I believe that recognizing their aspirations and contributions is essential for our success and growth. and we can all celebrate success and support our team challenges.

1. Explore Work and Side Projects: Casual discussions about ongoing projects, home experiments, or intriguing courses provide insights into individual passions beyond technical aspects. 2. Problem-Solving Fun: Organize trivia nights, escape room outings, Capture The Flag (CTF) challenges, or hackathons to tap into the shared love for problem-solving and enhance team dynamics. 3. Coffee and Casual Catch-ups: Who doesn't love to chat over coffee?! Embrace the fun side of cybersecurity to build lasting connections with your infosec techies. Beyond the lines of code and firewalls, we are individuals with hobbies, interests, and a good sense of humor. Let's celebrate the human side of cybersecurity and create a positive team dynamic.

Social Activities is important specially in cybersecurity field. Our domain is stressful to begin with, giving your team a time to engage with social activities can help them relief the stress and away from work. Social Activities can be both work (learning) and having fun at the same time. By knowing their interest, hobby, likes and dislikes can help you as a leader to create a program for them. Capture-The-flag games, Coffee Time, Team Building, Town-hall, Attending cybersecurity Conferences.

Convene with your digital defense allies at the local bar and decode the complex challenges of relationship building over a few rounds of trust-building cocktails.

Respect for diversity goes beyond tolerance and understanding to actively acknowledge and promote the equal worth of peoples without condescension. The true value of Diversity and Inclusion goes beyond strategic advantages and business outcomes, and is an ethical imperative rooted in principles of dignity, fairness, and empathy, which supports us to build stronger communities, and leave a legacy for future generations.