Beyond the Firewall: Part 4 – From Peer to Lead in Cybersecurity Teams
Introduction
Moving from a technical peer to a team lead isn’t just a title change—it’s a mindset shift.
In Part 4 of the Beyond the Firewall series, we explore what it means to take on leadership in cybersecurity environments. Delegation, escalation, and cross-functional communication aren’t covered on a CompTIA exam—but they’re crucial to a team’s success.
Leading from the Trenches
Most new leads are promoted from within. That means yesterday’s peer becomes today’s decision-maker.
Without preparation, this creates friction:
- Former peers may resist direction
- New leads struggle to delegate without micromanaging
- Escalation paths get blurred, causing missteps during incidents
Leadership in security isn’t about telling people what to do—it’s about keeping your team aligned when pressure is high.
Key Responsibilities That Change
As you grow from analyst to lead, your responsibilities expand:
- Delegation: Knowing who should do what—and trusting them to do it
- Escalation: Recognizing when to raise the flag and communicate up
- Prioritization: Balancing security posture with business operations
- Coaching: Supporting team members through both technical and soft skill development
These aren’t innate. They need practice, feedback, and reflection.
Business Value
Organizations suffer when technical leaders lack soft leadership skills. Poor delegation leads to burnout. Mismanaged escalation causes delays. Undefined leadership creates confusion in crisis.
Training your future leads today saves incident hours tomorrow.
“Apply This Week” — Soft Skill Mini-Lesson
Scenario: You’ve recently been made lead of a blue team. During a DDoS simulation, two team members disagree about next steps. One insists on blocking traffic at the firewall; the other wants to preserve traffic for analysis.
Your task:
- De-escalate the situation.
- Make a timely decision and delegate roles.
- Explain your decision upward to a non-technical director.
Example Implementation
- Internal team message:
“Thanks for jumping in. Let’s take a breath: we need both response and visibility. Alex—please start blocking at the edge and coordinate with IT. Jamie—capture traffic for the next 15 minutes so we can analyze attack patterns. We’ll regroup at 10:20 to assess impact.”
- Leadership email:
“Subject: Coordinated Response to Simulated DDoS Attack
Hi [Director],
We’re actively responding to a simulated DDoS on our perimeter. Initial actions include temporary blocks on malicious IPs and short-term packet capture for forensic review. No production impact so far. I’ll send an update after our post-incident review.”
Tips for New Leads
- Clarify escalation procedures before you need them.
- Don’t try to do everything. Lead by enabling others.
- Ask for feedback regularly from both team and leadership.
- Know when to pause a disagreement and set expectations clearly.
What’s Next
In Part 5, we’ll explore how to assess soft skills over time—from journaling and peer reviews to roleplay and simulated exercises.
Because skill growth requires measurement, not just intention.
Stay grounded. Stay growing. Stay aligned.