I feel like it takes a lot of emotional maturity to handle the personal relationship aspects of working in any profession. For me, working in technology and working in cybersecurity, and just developing leadership qualities, I feel it requires a self-awareness, and I feel like it took me a long time. … What I’m least proud of is perhaps some of the emotional responses I had.
We talk about burnout. But back in the early days we didn’t talk about burnout. I think it’s important to talk about that, and to make sure that you don’t do more harm than good when you’re moving and pushing yourself as hard as you can. And sometimes that means really figuring out ways to depersonalize in terms of how you respond to difficult situations, but also to remember that the people aspect and the relationships are more important than anything else in the long term and really helps everybody succeed.
I feel that earlier in my career I lagged in that emotional intelligence, and it took me a long time to build that. And any bridges burned along the way, I think, is something that you really pay for later. And I feel like I’ve grown in leaps and bounds in that area, and that really contributes to my ability to lead.
Do you have any book recommendations for fellow cyber leaders you’d like to share?
