Mastering the 6 Skills Essential for Successful GRC Leadership

You know the saying, “Jack of all trades, master of none”? It refers to an individual who has a wide scope of skills but fails to “go deep” in any of them.

In GRC, we have an ever-so-slightly different saying: “Jack of all trades, and you better be master of all if you want to keep your job.”

Did you catch the subtle difference there?

It’s common knowledge that a GRC leader, whether a manager, director, or team lead, needs to have impeccable technical skills. But, perhaps contrary to popular belief, GRC leadership takes far more than just technical expertise. Whatever a GRC leader’s official title may be, it’s a complex role that balances a wide range of soft and hard skills.

Suffice it to say if you prefer to be a “master of none,” GRC might not be your dream job.

But since you’re here, let’s assume you do crave challenges. You love pushing your abilities. You want to totally rock your role as a GRC leader. What are the key leadership soft skills you need in your toolkit?

In my 20+ years in the field, I've seen a lot of different types heading up GRC teams. But becoming a manager, director, or team lead did not necessarily mean that someone would be successful in their role.

In this post, I’ll take you through the most important soft skills needed to be a successful GRC leader — someone who inspires those around them and elevates the reputation of risk and compliance as a source of organizational growth and maturity.

Skill 1: Effective communication

GRC leaders have a complex job. They need to skillfully manage multiple personalities, business silos, and technical concerns consistently and constantly. A major part of their responsibility is to make sure everyone across the company sees the big picture when it comes to GRC: why it matters, where they fit into it, and why their actions are essential to maintaining a compliant business structure.

Leaders with well-developed communication skills can reduce frustration across each and every department by understanding their pain points and how to resolve them without compromising the company. A strong GRC leader creates an atmosphere that sees GRC as an enabler, constantly driving the business forward.

Skill 2: A continuous learning mindset

Between evolving regulations, contractual obligations, and security threats, constant change is one of the only certainties of the GRC ecosystem. GRC is not a place where a stuck-in-the-mud, “but I have always done it this way” attitude will thrive.

. As essential players within the business, leaders need to stay on top of industry changes, security updates, regulatory updates, and so much more—and they must be capable of taking all these changes and applying them to the business. Thus, GRC leaders must cultivate a continuous learning mindset. A true leader keeps pace with the rate of market and innovation changes and is open to exploring new tools and methodologies that can help them do their jobs better than previously.

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Skill 3: Ability to motivate others

It’s not enough to be a team player who listens and pays attention; GRC leadership roles require the ability to motivate people across various levels of the organization. It’s up to the GRC leader to inspire everyone to see GRC as a business driver and encourage them to respect its impact on the overall business.

GRC leaders will often need buy-in from people who are more senior and who may take quite a bit of persuasion to understand the value of security, the importance of compliance, and the need to follow rigid restrictions and guidelines. The successful GRC leader can win over people who don't typically answer to them.

Skill 4: Strong attention to detail

In GRC, details matter. Even minor oversights can wind up costing big bucks. GRC leaders need to be ready to examine every fine detail, unpacking every overlooked issue and finding every forgotten crevice within the GRC strategy to prevent being caught off-guard by the unexpected.

This means rolling up those proverbial sleeves and plumbing the depths of everything — from control structures to potential policy gaps to the nuances of each framework. 

Skill 5: Cross-organizational intelligence and understanding

To be successful in this role, leaders need to speak the languages of marketing, R&D, product, IT, engineering, and GTM. Every department has its own pain points and pressures — and they’ll often only understand GRC within their own context.

Just as a chameleon blends seamlessly into its background, an adept GRC leader changes tone and message on demand to get the right message across to the right people. A successful leader deftly demonstrates to every function how GRC matters in their world and how this affects the rest of the business. They can respect the different perspectives of teams across the company while giving each one the tools and context to manage their responsibilities effectively.

Skill 6: Ability to make bold (yet calculated) moves

They say that perfection is the enemy of progress. This is often the case in GRC, where waiting for the perfect solution can be as dangerous as it is tempting. A successful leader knows when to hold their cards and wait for a more optimal situation, and they also know when it’s okay to make a fast, though perhaps less “perfect,” move. 

This skill can be especially relevant when it comes to deciding which controls to implement over others, how to deal with swiftly evolving industry requirements, and managing siloed departments.

Think you have what it takes?

Success in GRC leadership requires a self-empowered and agile mindset with a focus on continuous growth and learning. It’s about being eager to adapt, willing to delegate, quick to respond, open to engagement, and, above all, committed to putting GRC at the heart of the business.

The successful GRC leader is that true “master of all” with a unique blend of skills that can shift the perception of GRC from an organization-wide  burden into a cross-organization business driver.