The ability to communicate effectively with a diverse array of stakeholders—from your own security team to C-level executives—is likely the single most important aspect of security leadership. It’s where the technical rubber meets the business road, and getting it wrong usually means failing to get the budget, support, or cultural buy-in you need.

Striking the right balance is an art form. Over the years, I’ve been fortunate enough to hold leadership roles across different organisations, and I’ve had mentors who drilled one lesson into me above all else: when you are talking to the C-suite, stop talking about technology and start talking about risk.

Knowing Your Audience is Everything

Leadership in security involves interacting with wildly different tribes, each with their own language, priorities, and biases. The way you explain a vulnerability to an engineering team should sound completely different from how you explain the same risk to the CFO.

The first step is simply learning the landscape. Before you launch into a strategy, you have to get to know the business properly. Every team and individual you communicate with has a specific set of worries. For IT, it might be system stability; for legal, it’s compliance; for sales, it’s friction in the customer journey.

I find it helpful to keep a dedicated set of notes for each key team. At the top, I list the stakeholders, their specific skills, their current projects, and their biggest headaches. I even note down the specific acronyms they use. It sounds basic, but when you can speak to a team using their own vocabulary and demonstrating that you understand their specific pressures, you stop being “security” and start being a partner.

The Art of Simplifying Complexity

Once you understand who you are talking to, the challenge is conveying complex security concepts without dumbing them down to the point of inaccuracy. This is crucial when dealing with non-technical stakeholders who don’t care about the difference between XSS and CSRF, but care very much about whether the website will go down.

Analogies are your best friend here. Being able to explain a complex technical failure through a simple, relatable story is a superpower. Don’t talk about firewall rule mismanagement; talk about leaving the back door unlocked while you install three locks on the front door.

I also recommend avoiding dense data dumps. Instead of showing raw logs or complex metrics, turn that data into clear, impactful visuals. A simple chart showing a trend line is often far more persuasive than a spreadsheet full of numbers.

Speaking the Language of Business Risk

When you step into a room with C-level executives, the conversation has to shift gears entirely. You need to stop being a technologist and start being a business leader who happens to specialise in risk.

At this level, the discussion is about strategy, growth, and the bottom line. Executives care about business continuity, reputation, customer trust, and regulatory liability. Your job is to translate cybersecurity issues into those terms.

If you start throwing technical jargon around, you create a barrier. Instead, translate the technical detail into business impact. Don’t say “we have unpatched vulnerabilities in our web servers.” Say “our current maintenance schedule leaves our primary sales channel exposed to outages that could cost us £X per hour.”

Quantifying risk is powerful. If a potential breach could result in a specific financial fine or a measurable hit to brand value, state that clearly. It moves the conversation from abstract fear to concrete business decision-making.

Proactive communication builds trust. Don’t wait for a crisis to talk to the board. Regular, concise updates about the threat landscape and how it relates to the business show that you are on top of things. And always be brief—C-suite executives are time-poor. Be prepared to answer questions succinctly and back up your assertions with data if asked.

Fostering Open Dialogue

Good communication isn’t just about broadcasting; it’s about listening. You want to foster an environment where stakeholders feel comfortable voicing their concerns without fear of being shut down by “security says no.”

Actively solicit feedback from other teams. Ask them how security controls are impacting their work. Practice active listening—show empathy for their friction points. When people feel heard, they are far more likely to cooperate when you do have to enforce a hard requirement.

Staying Ahead of the Curve

As a CISO, you need to be the radar for the organisation. I make it a habit to read a collection of security blogs and news sites every morning with my coffee before I even log in. It gives me a sense of the day’s hot topics and wider trends.

This allows you to anticipate questions. If a major breach hits the news, you can bet your CEO will ask “could that happen to us?” Being prepared with an answer before the question is asked builds massive credibility. Provide regular, relevant updates on the evolving landscape, but always tie it back to what it means for your business.

A Final Piece of Advice

I want to share some advice from Derek Brown MBE, who introduced me to the concept of “Apprenticing with the Customer” some 13 years ago on my first government assignment. It has stuck with me ever since:

“Senior leaders generally only want to know if they need to do something now, or may have to do something in the future, or if they don’t need to do anything. They don’t have time to read every briefing. If you can influence their support teams, that is a good route to get your message across. Build trust and rapport with them, and they will heed your advice if or when you need to brief their bosses on key or urgent matters.”

Communication as a CISO is about translation. It’s about taking the complex, noisy world of cybersecurity and turning it into clear, actionable business intelligence. Do that well, and you won’t just be a security monitor—you’ll be a trusted business leader.