Leadership in Cybersecurity: More Than Just Firewalls and Frameworks

Hi, I’m Liam Crowder.

If you’ve worked in or around cybersecurity long enough, you’ll know it’s not just about the tech. It’s about leadership. It’s about people. It’s about having the backbone to drive change, even when it’s uncomfortable — especially when it’s uncomfortable.

Over the years, I’ve built security functions from the ground up, led small but highly effective teams, and embedded cybersecurity into businesses that never had it on their radar. I’ve sat across from executives who didn’t know what multi-factor authentication was — and by the end of the meeting, they were champions of it. That’s leadership. That’s influence. That’s the job.

Leadership in this space isn’t about sitting behind a dashboard and pointing at alerts. It’s about being visible. It’s about making security part of the conversation in boardrooms, on shop floors, across IT, operations, and beyond. It’s about explaining complex risks in plain English and making people care enough to act.

When I built the cyber security practice at Lincolnshire Co-op, I didn’t just tick boxes. I made sure we owned our security journey — embedding risk into daily operations. I worked shoulder-to-shoulder with analysts, business leads, developers, and decision-makers. I brought clarity, strategy, and a sense of control — not fear.

This blog is where I’ll unpack some of that. Not from a textbook. From the trenches. From real conversations, real problems, and real wins.

If you’re here to talk about security that actually works — not just in policy, but in practice — you’re in the right place.

More soon.

— Liam Crowder