Talent Contexts Matter

If it floats like a duck, and looks like a duck...is it a duck? What if it wears overalls, um, er, not like a duck?

One size does not fit all from a talent perspective. People perform within context. Talent matters, within context. The context of the organization matters a lot. Some organizations require a high work tempo, while others may require managing vendors in a medium- or low-tempo environment. Sometimes a cybersecurity engineer is a great fit when there is a highly heterogeneous team v. being the lone engineer.

The fit of role to context, and talent to role, requires careful integration. Some organizations are not focused on building a cadre based on cybersecurity talent; they are focused on managing vendors, or have leadership teams that do not integrate risk management into cyber-defense. Other organizations pay careful attention to building through talent. Sometimes even those organizations focus on the wrong level of analysis -- minimum qualifications, usually -- and do not reap the benefits of a talent focus.

To get the most value from talented cybersecurity defenders, your cybersecurity leadership team needs to build performance plans around their people. Fitting people to standard performance plans only makes sense when staff is undifferentiated, as in anyone can do this job. When the cybersecurity leadership team flexes plans around talented employees, there is maximum alignment of talent to task and maximum benefit from people.

Immediately after reading that there will be managers who cry out that hey wait a minute I have to treat everyone the same. We at Pythia Cyber very much agree that everyone should be treated with the same level of dignity and respect that all employees deserve. And, that means setting employees up for success. Here is how to think out of that everyone-is-the-same box: determine what tasks must be performed, and put the right talent to the tasks where they will thrive -- then the team wins.

The talent context you're in is about cybersecurity, not HR. 

Your job as a cybersecurity leader is to win this cybersecurity context through having the right talent/context alignment.

Pythia Cyber is expert at creating this alignment in terms of talent, fit, and systems analysis. The outcome is the right talent for the right role in the right context.

Ask us how we can help you assess your talent culture.