She Was “Just”

I am so excited to speak on the topic of “Pathways into Cyber” next week. I am taking the stage with some talented and passionate colleagues, and we will get to share our unique paths that led us into our cybersecurity careers.

I have been thinking quite a bit about my career journey this year and recently learned that a colleague of mine, who I have known for decades, commented to someone who was talking about me as a CISO, “Well, at that company she was a trainer.”?This statement is true, but the connotation seemed to intentionally place me as “just” a trainer overall, and not someone who is currently an experienced?cyber professional. Decades ago, this was true, but I've worked for years since then to be able to proudly call myself a CISO. At some points in my life, I was also “just” a ballerina, “just” in recruiting, “just" in new business development, “just" the person who educated our potential clients on our data center (where I fell in love with security), and “just"?a Global Training Manager over 4 different teams in 4 countries, among many other positions I assumed in Corporate America.

There are a lot of “justs” that I have been in my career that became steppingstones to my title as Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). In my career journey, I have discovered that, often because my path doesn’t look anything like anyone else’s, others have assumed that I am not as qualified as I should be to do what I do. This unconscious (or possibly conscious) prejudice could be a root cause that's making the entrance into cybersecurity difficult, whether you're a person just coming out of a training program, college program, or someone wanting to transition into cyber with decades of other experience.

The Good Corporate Citizen

Back in the day, folks worked for companies their whole careers until they retired with the watch, clock, trip, or whatever it was. In that tenure, they often performed different jobs, had a ton of bosses, and even more teams. When I joined Perotsystems from EDS I was just over a year out of being a professional ballerina and?adjusting to?the strange and very new world of tech (mid-1990s). Many have heard my entire career story and all of my many positions I held in the last, almost 30 years in tech. I was young and didn’t know a lick about hard drives, viruses, or Unix (all words I learned on day 2). I started in the recruiting department and participated in college recruiting sessions on campuses. My leadership noticed I could stand up on stage and speak without getting nervous and decided I would do well as a trainer. The next thing I knew, I was practicing my course delivery in front of two small children, staring at me with glassy eyes and cookie crumbs in their laps (incentive to participate).

I learned that I was going to assume positions where I was told to go because it was where I was needed, and that is what being a “Good Corporate Citizen” was all about; it meant?working for the good of the whole and not for the one. This went on for decades until I got the experience, opportunity, and support to transition into cybersecurity. Ironically, I have continued to lead security awareness training sessions, so my job as a “Trainer” has continued to support my mission as a CISO.

Being a “lifer” and “Good Corporate Citizen” used to be a great thing, but sadly, it is rare these days. What is also sad is that many folks who are looking to transition into cybersecurity are struggling, even after being in the IT industry for decades.

“Welcome, please feel free to check your bias at the door.”

In my last article, I spoke about advocacy. A very important point of becoming a great advocate is intentionally shedding your bias regarding a person’s background and looking more closely at their capabilities, flexibility, and adaptability. Don’t get me wrong, experience and credentials are important, but they shouldn’t limit a person from changing disciplines.

For twenty years, I did my very best to not talk about being a ballerina for fear of coworkers assuming I wasn’t qualified to work at a tech company. It wasn’t until one of my greatest advocates and mentors encouraged me to speak about it that I changed my perspective. Now, I am often introduced as “The Ballerina Turned CISO,” and that is JUST one of the exciting accomplishments in my life.

May each “Just” be another great step in your journey!

#careerjourney #cybersecuritycareers #jobopportunities #corporateamerica #cisos #womenintech #womenincyber #DEI