Leadership is one's capacity to set and achieve goals, take fast and decisive action, and inspire others to perform at the highest level possible.  In a more traditional sense, managers lead their staff to organizational and professional success.  Though, it is important to note, that a title or position does not necessarily make someone a leader.  There are also lots less traditional situations where the opportunity to lead presents itself.  You can be a peer leader.  You can, and should, be a cybersecurity leader in your organization.  

There are endless characteristics that make one a great leader.  Some of the more important ones are:

• Trustworthiness
• Positive attitude
• Humility
• Empathy
• Decision-making
• Delegation

Purpose

No matter whether your goal is be a leader on the org chart like CISO or CIO or you want stay in a more technical or engineering role, cybersecurity needs people who can lead.  Some situations where leadership skills are important are:

• Running a project team
• Representing cybersecurity in a cross functional group
• Setting strategy and direction for the cybersecurity for your business
• Mentoring and training new technical staff