Leadership Learning and Leadership Coaching in U.S. Governmental Cybersecurity Organizations and Departments

Abstract

The cyberattack called SolarWinds carried out against the United States government has been characterized as a collective leadership failure. The United States Federal Government is confronted with the brutal reality of an understaffed or under-skilled cybersecurity workforce and a need for more competent leaders. The focus of federal organizations is increasingly shifting toward management and organizational efficiency. As a result, more and more of these companies are turning to executive coaching to strengthen the leadership abilities of government supervisors. Executive coaching has emerged as a prominent trend in recent years, becoming increasingly popular in pursuing organizational performance, business capacity, and leadership development. This study uses a qualitative research approach to explore the value and benefit of executive leadership coaching as a tool for developing technical managers.