Leading in Cybersecurity
Unlock the leadership skills required for the cyber security industry
In the high growth cybersecurity industry, new challenges invariably arise, such as skills and talent shortages, issues with employee retention, highly skilled technical individual contributors being promoted to leadership roles without the requisite skillset or management training. Solving these challenges requires leaders with a different skill set.
The Leading in Cybersecurity course, from Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet and the Irish Management Institute (IMI) and supported by Cyber Ireland, will help you build a critical awareness of your leadership style, allow you to become an effective and influential communicator, develop your emotional intelligence and ability to cultivate engagement and wellbeing within your team.
The objective of this programme is to broaden the focus of learners from technical and/or operational leadership to people leadership, providing them with the skills and mindset to become strong leaders in the cybersecurity sector.
Who is this programme for?
This programme is aimed at mid-level and high-potential cybersecurity managers. It focuses on broadening their leadership capabilities and equipping them with the knowledge and people management skills they need to become more confident and competent cybersecurity leaders.
This programme is designed for professionals at a key career inflection point who want to transition from a purely technical role to becoming a strategic leader
What will you learn?
Develop the key skills leaders need to succeed and thrive in the cybersecurity sector. This programme will focus on sharpening these skills, building confidence and empowering you to take your leadership to the next level.
- Power Skills: Expand behavioural and thinking skills, with a specific focus on emotional intelligence and interpersonal skills.
- People Management: Learn how to manage people and teams more effectively to cultivate a culture of engagement and wellbeing for strong performance and retention.
- Growth Mindset: Understand the importance of continuous learning, to include both technical and power skills.
- Enterprise Mindset: Think bigger to understand organisational purpose and goals, and the strategic positioning of cybersecurity now and into the future.
The course begins with a virtual induction and launch event, followed by 5x in-person learning days, and then a Capstone event.
Every learning day is underpinned by an exploration of the real life challenges and dilemmas faced by cybersecurity professionals and their teams.
Class Breakdown
Virtual Induction: 9th Dec ’25 / 1hr
Virtual Launch: 13th Jan ’26 / 3hrs
Module 1 – Me As A Leader: 5th Feb ‘26, 9.30am-5pm
Gain self-awareness of your management style and become a more emotionally intelligent cybersecurity leader. Shift your mindset from technical leadership to people leadership.
Module 2 – Leading People: 25th Feb ‘26, 9.30am-5pm
Learn tips, techniques and communication skills to lead others effectively, gain an understanding of individual personality types and communication preferences and learn how to manage, nurture and grow cybersecurity professionals.
Module 3 – Leading Teams: 26th Feb ‘26, 9.30am-5pm
Learn how to build trust, engage and motivate teams and foster a positive team culture to improve performance and increase retention. This module will address wellness and eliminating burn out.
Module 4 – Building Relationships: 26th March ‘26, 9.30am-5pm
Improve ability and confidence to communicate, collaborate and influence others both within the cybersecurity industry and with senior external and internal stakeholders at all levels.
Module 5 – Managing in a Crisis: 15th April ‘26, 9.30am-5pm
Develop the mindset and thinking skills for better decision making when leading in a crisis. Learn how to build team unity for an effective response.
Capstone Event: 23rd April ‘26, 9.30am-1pm
Facilitated by the Programme Director, this session provides a space for participants to present their project, reflect on their journey, and network with peers. They’ll also identify areas of opportunity for further growth and learn how to apply insights into their work.
- Contextualised content for the cybersecurity industry: All programme content is embedded in the cybersecurity industry’s context, needs and values and acknowledges the role cybersecurity plays as a core service to all organisations. It is supported by guest speakers from within the industry.
- Expert guidance: Support and feedback from the Programme Director, who is an experienced cybersecurity industry professional.
- Personal development plan: Each participant will be supported in creating their own Personal Development Plan. This will personalise their journey and enable them to frame what they learn in the context of their own experience and objectives so they can easily apply it to their own organisation.
- Peer group project: Build collaboration, communication and teamwork skills, through a group project that applies the learning in a practical way, working towards solutions to key challenges facing the industry. There will be a capstone review of the project to cement learnings.
- Peer learning circles: Connect with other cybersecurity leaders to strengthen relationships across the industry, building a community of practice, learning and support to raise the leadership standards across the cyber security industry.
- On-going progression path: Participants are encouraged to set goals for future progress and apply what they have learned in their own organisations, paving the way for on-going growth and future success.
- Real life scenarios and cases: Real scenarios such as incident management and security breaches will be explored as we delve into the challenging operating environment of these professional’s success.
A team of IMI senior expert associates and thought leaders will contribute to this programme ensuring that participants get the very latest insights from a diverse panel of experts within the ICT industry.
Programme Director: Kevin Quigley
Kevin specialises in leadership practice and leading change. He is IMI’s Programme Director for our Leadership in Technology programme. Prior to joining IMI’s faculty, Kevin spent a career working as a European Director of Learning at Intel and leading Organisational Development at General Electric. His experience in identifying and supporting the career pathway of high potentials is significant. He has a particular focus on team development.
Anna Connelly
Anna is a Chartered Organisational psychologist, who supports people leadership in their communications through story-telling, decision-making and role-modelling behaviours. Anna is also a Coach and supports teams in their aim to deliver high performance. Previously, Anna held several senior management positions in Ericsson, a global ICT service provider. Her clients span national and international entities with a particular focus on international technology.
Dr. Jay Chopra PhD.
Jay is a former Fortune 100 executive, specialising in leadership development, teaming, innovation and culture change. Jay holds a PhD in science. As an organisational development consultant he has worked in 20+ countries. Previously, Jay served on the Innovation Leadership Team for Pfizer Global Supply in New York. Jay is one of only a handful of master certified Whole Brain® facilitators globally.
Course Fees
The fees for this programme are part-funded by Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet. Part-funded fees are only available to eligible* applicants.
Full course fee: €3,750
Technology Ireland ICT Skillnet grant: €1,575
Subsidised course fee: €2,175*
Subsidised fees are only available to eligible applicants*.
*Funding Eligibility
Applicants must be working in a private or commercial semi-state organisation registered in the Republic of Ireland (Business, Consultant, Freelancer) to avail of the grant-aided fees. As a government-funded training network, we can only support those meeting these criteria with funding towards courses.
Public sector employees, non-profits, or charitable organisations that do not meet our funding criteria may apply privately for the full course fee once places are available.
Once you have received your offer of a place on the programme, please be aware that we have a limited number of subsidised places available. Due to high demand, we cannot hold places without payment. To ensure fairness, priority for these places will be granted to those who have both completed full payment of the subsidised fee and are deemed eligible by the college or training provider.
Do you have any questions?
Please complete the enquiry form on this page and our programme team will respond to any query you may have on the course, whether it’s about course delivery, funding eligibility or anything about the course you are unsure of.
Make a booking
If you are ready to book your place on the course, simply click on the ‘Book Now’ button on this page and complete the form using your preferred payment method.
Note: The course will close once capacity is reached. We strongly advise taking prompt action to confirm your place. The IMI is the final arbitrator regarding acceptance onto the programme.
