Perspective Shift - SME to Advisor

Early in my cybersecurity journey, I believed my value lay in finding vulnerabilities, maintaining detection capabilities, and keeping adversaries at bay. The work was enjoyable, and it let me focus on technical skills while building a strong foundation for problem solving and analytical thinking.

I was effective in those roles, but while studying for my CISSP exam I realized I wasn't thinking broadly enough. My aspirations weren't just to be another SME in cybersecurity, I wanted to lead teams and mentor others. To do that, I had to develop more than the technical skills alone.

The moment that solidified this shift came during a Teams meeting with executive leadership, when I was asked not just where our defenses were strong, but why our overall approach made sense for the organization.

I've come to realize the following - Leadership demands wearing two hats:

1. Cybersecurity expert
2. Business advisor

Defending an organization isn't just about patches, identity management, or firewall rules (each of which continues to be vital).

It's about guiding teams and senior leaders through decisions where security and business are not at odds but are intertwined.

It's the ability to translate risk, resilience, and opportunity into terms that matter to each stakeholder. In short, it's seeing beyond the technical and building the whole puzzle.

A simple practice I've adopted and has helped me: when speaking with non-technical stakeholders, answer why this matters first, then explain how it works. That small shift makes conversations less uncomfortable and more productive.

That's when security leaders make the biggest impact, and it's something I keep in mind each day.