Cybersecurity Mentors Podcast · Cybersecurity Mentors

Unlocking the Power of Soft Skills in Cybersecurity

·1 hr 2 min·4 clips

John connects emotional intelligence to body language, rapport, and the DISC profile’s dominance, influence, steadiness, and conscientiousness.

1. Cybersecurity Mentors Podcast season four opens with Steve Higuretta and John Hoyt on soft skills in cybersecurity. 2. Steve Higuretta is the host, John Hoyt is the co-host, and both frame the topic as something they have seen make a huge difference in cybersecurity work. 3. The episode asks whether soft skills matter, what they are, how they apply to different roles, and how listeners can improve them. 4. John says technical training is common, but the industry still needs communication, empathy, adaptability, teamwork, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, time management, conflict resolution, and leadership. 5. Steve says hard skills help you do the job, while soft skills help you grow in the job and thrive within a team. 6. John uses a hiring example of 150 resumes to explain that interviewers look for technical ability and also for humility, teamwork, and openness to feedback. 7. Steve says communication matters when a person is the first set of eyes on something suspicious and has to report it up the chain. 8. John points to the earlier storytelling episode with Matthew Dix and says technical work has to be translated into business speak for others. 9. Steve says communication is important for people trying to move up the corporate ladder and step into leadership roles. 10. Steve describes empathy through repeated phishing mistakes, patient support for users, and the need to work with people who do not see things the same way. 11. John compares that to help desk and desktop support work, where frustrated users call because their day is ruined and the IT person has to respond without getting defensive. 12. John says adaptability is essential because cybersecurity faces new threats, new tools, new regulations, and leadership changes. 13. Steve says critical thinking matters when analysts are reviewing logs, looking for patterns, and making decisions under pressure. 14. John describes decision-making under stress as getting as much information as possible, making the first logical next step, and moving the response forward. 15. Steve says teamwork and collaboration matter because no cybersecurity team should work in a vacuum. 16. John says “relationships are currency,” and that burned bridges can come back when a team needs help later. 17. John says written and verbal communication are both skills that improve with practice, and he recommends recording yourself explaining cybersecurity topics. 18. The episode also mentions AI writing tools like ChatGPT and Grammarly, plus the risk of letting AI write reports without understanding them. 19. The tone is practical, conversational, and training-focused, with the hosts giving examples from hiring, incidents, and team management. 20. Listeners interested in cybersecurity careers and leadership will get the most from it, while people only looking for technical deep dives may skip it.

As heard by us

Cybersecurity soft skills get a practical, no-frills treatment, with communication and repetition taking the lead.

This episode keeps the focus on soft skills and makes a plain case for them. Steve Higuretta and John Hoyt stay with the basics: speaking up, building working relationships, and putting technical ideas into words without losing the room.

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Why you'd press play

Build the soft skills that make cybersecurity easier to explain, and turn networking into part of your career momentum.

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