Leaving your job on good terms involves many tasks, but nothing is more important than priming your replacement for success. Despite your reasons for moving on, helping the new CISO acquire the knowledge and skills needed to excel is crucial for ensuring a smooth transition, as well as burnishing your reputation for being a responsible executive and team player.
Incoming CISOs face a daunting assignment, notes Brandon Hoffman, CISO at IT and cybersecurity intelligence platform provider NetEnrich. “This task goes beyond technical issues, but expands to people and the business itself,” he says. “Any information that can help quickly onboard the new CISO betters their chance of being successful.”
Here are seven ways departing CISOs can successfully help onboard their replacements:
1. Be open, candid, and positive
Mike Gruen, CISO at cybersecurity training firm Cybrary, urges outgoing CISOs to fully support their successor and to resist any urge to undermine the newcomer’s authority. “Throughout the transition period, the two of you should have regular one-on-one conversations behind closed doors where each feels comfortable being open and candid,” he says. “This is where each of you can disagree and come together with the goal of presenting a unified team, even when your approaches don’t necessarily 100% align.”
