The Best CISOs Make Themselves Redundant.
Why true success is measured by the ability to build a program that runs without you.
Dean Kastelic
Principal Consultant
The ultimate yardstick for any true CISO is whether, and to what extent, they have made themselves redundant.
Unlike Heads of Security or Security Managers focused on operations, a CISO role should be strategic in nature. The ultimate strategic objective is to effect permanent cultural change within an organisation, driving it to operate at a level of security maturity where the program becomes self-optimizing.
“At this point, the CISO’s key strategic goal has been achieved – the security uplift is successful.”
The program can then be handed over to a manager responsible for ensuring compliance with policies, controls, standards, and their continued refinement.
The Redundancy Curve
The Transformative Role
A CISO is not meant to be caught up in operational details and assurance and oversight activities indefinitely. Their role is transformative – to elevate the organization’s cybersecurity posture through strategic initiatives.
Strategic Initiatives Include:
- ✓ Establishing effective risk management.
- ✓ Building self-optimising controls.
- ✓ Creating a secure-by-design infrastructure.
- ✓ Secure application development.
- ✓ Developing a robust security-aware culture.
Once that foundational work is complete and the program is on autopilot, the CISO can move on, having made their position redundant in the best possible way.
Defining Success
True CISO success is measured not just by technical prowess, but by the ability to enable an organisation to sustain its own security program with little to no oversight required from strategic leadership.
It’s about building something bigger than oneself that can run autonomously at the highest levels of performance. If we want to be taken seriously by boards, and justify our salaries, this is the goal we should aspire to.
Build a Self-Sustaining Program
Ready to move from firefighting to strategy? Let’s chart the path.