Cybersecurity Talent: The Big Picture

Every organization wants to make a perfect hire. Sometimes the organization convinces itself that the next applicant is a perfect hire because they just need to hire someone and after all anyone could learn this job. Sometimes the perfect hire is someone who can code, or has a degree from a particular 'elite' college. 

In a recent post, Brendan makes this point about "The Ideal IT Leader":

Technologists are not selected for tact or political chops or a persuasive manner. We are selected for our ability to comprehend and apply technology. We are lucky that our field has the "it works / it does not work" binary, which tends to map on to the "you are right / you are wrong" binary which tends to make us quite comfortable telling people that they are wrong, or worse yet, that we told you so. We are unimpressed by your spreadsheet model because reality will soon determine what is actually happening or what actually happened. We are bad at persuading people because we feel that having stated facts, our job is done. If you don't get it, that is your problem. Which works just fine in small technology teams but does not scale up all that well and fails spectacularly in the C Suite. Can technologists be bicultural? Of course we can. Are most of us guided in this direction as our careers progress? Sadly, we are not.

Pro tip: it's one thing as an individual contributor telling a non-techie that they are wrong about tech and we told you so, and it's a different -- and very, very wrong -- thing to do as a manager.

We suggest that the perfect IT leader hire is someone who has the 'big picture' in mind.

Managers are supposed to have many attributes, but one thing they should all share is a higher perspective on the organization compared to individual contributors. Managers are supposed to see the big picture.

It's very easy for anyone with credentials and experience and education to get bratty and defensive when someone without those accomplishments seeks to weigh in on things that we know. (No judgment here.) What's happening in these situations is that we lose sight of what matters and focus down in turf battles, pre-existing claims, and "being right."

Ask yourself this: as a manager, who is someone in a leadership position, are you supposed to be right all the time? Or are you supposed to, you know, lead others to accomplish meaningful goals?

You're not going to be dinged as a manager for being wrong on occasion. But you will be dinged for being hypocritical, rude, or short-sighted.

Thus we come back to the big picture as a leader. It is about organizing and collaborating the work of people who might not otherwise have any reason to work together to accomplish meaningful goals. The right manager hire will understand that and promote it. The wrong hire will focus on being right (self) at the expense of leading the team (others) to get stuff done.

Ask us how we can help you find the right hire who gets the big picture.