From Burnout to Resilience: Executive Coaching as a Strategic Intervention in Cybersecurity Workforces

The pace of technology adoption and the growing demands on cybersecurity professionals have been steady in the past 25 years. Though this workforce has generally advanced through a multitude of opportunities in education, training (on-the-job and institutional), and certifications, there is a critical area requiring more exploration: the myriad psychological, cognitive, and emotional challenges that, if neglected, has the potential to create far-reaching risks to individuals and the organizations they serve. Burnout is on the rise in this profession. Although there are well-documented theoretical models of burnout and the risks associated with high-stress professions, cybersecurity professionals (our corporate defenders) often remain under-served in support of their well-being. Burned out workforces put organizations at risk. This research investigates the role executive coaching can play as an intervention to help mitigate burnout in the cybersecurity profession. The study examines the cybersecurity work environment, organizational cultures, self-perceptions, and workplace relationships, and explores how executive coaching impacts emotional intelligence and adaptability among this critical group of organizational defenders. The research highlights the role of executive coaching can play as a potential intervention to address the rise in reported burnout in the cybersecurity profession. Executive coaching has the potential to increase mindfulness, promote equanimity and resilience, and arm individuals with strategies to navigate highly stressful and complex work environments. Thus, by extension, executive coaching may help to reduce errored and faulty thinking that can result from a burned out workforce. In addition, organizations prioritizing executive coaching as a component of a talent management strategy for cybersecurity professionals may benefit from a more stable, resilient, and high-performing workforce, who are better prepared to adapt to evolving threats. The future of this research opens the opportunity for longitudinal studies examining the long-term benefits of coaching, as well as group and team coaching for cybersecurity professionals, and the broader implications for organizational risk management and leadership development. Keywords: cybersecurity, executive coaching, resilience, emotional intelligence, burnout.

Author dc:creator

• DuPont, Kathryn, A

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Cowan Sahadath, Kathy

• School of executive education

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Identifier URI

https://doi.org/10.25316/IR-20384

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:null:10613/28818