Cybersecurity is still a relatively new profession that has battled to be heard and respected, she says, driving some cyber pros to feel insecure and overcompensate with arrogant, “messiah complex” antics. She says security is often viewed within the business as “a tax”, which chips away at the morale of cyber teams and their leaders.

In addition, she says cybersecurity teams are much smaller than those in other fields, and therefore work more closely with their leaders, so they bear the brunt of their CISO’s frustrations more directly and immediately. “And in cybersecurity,” Budge adds, “emotional literacy is not something that we prioritize. Leadership skills are not something we prioritize. Technical skills, sure. But people [skills]? What’s that?”

Toxic leadership alienates and discourages talent

The ultimate price of inappropriate behavior in a leader is to discourage talent and reduce efficiency, experts say.

Various studies have documented the negative impact of workplace incivility on productivity, recruitment, and retention. In a 2022 survey of 1,027 cybersecurity pros in the US and Europe, just over 60% said their stress levels had risen over the previous year and that their poor mental health affected their ability to get work done.

Another 2022 study by MIT Sloan (on several industries, not cyber specifically) concluded that “a toxic culture is the strongest predictor of a negative Glassdoor review [and] … the best predictor of a company experiencing higher employee attrition than its industry overall.”

Keith eventually became a casualty. The behavior of his boss, which he found at times “deceitful” and “scary,” ground him down: “It was belittling. As much effort and time as you put into all the work, it was never enough.”