Today I’m thankful for a new career performance coaching client who is coming on board with Jeff Snyder Coaching. She is one of many rising Information Security / Cyber Security stars I’ve been fortunate to work with. She is a leader of the future. What better contribution can I possibly make than to help to prepare future leaders?
I’m excited because I believe the future of Information Security / Cyber Security is now in the hands of millennial aged security professionals more than any other group. Millennial security professionals who apply themselves and who strive for greatness in their performance have so much possibility ahead of them.
Millennial Talent…Coming Soon!
One of my millennial aged coaching clients is a true rising star in the information security / cyber security profession. He has a Math and Computer Science degree with a Master’s in Information Assurance. His scores on common certification exams in the security, risk, compliance and privacy realms are some of the highest recorded scores on the planet. His unique leading strengths include Strategic, Futuristic, Competition, Activator and Ideation. He is wicked smart and he is doing what is necessary to prepare him to be a future CISO despite that fact that he is still in his late 20s. It has been an honor, pleasure and an energizing blast for me to have the privilege of coaching this rising star.
Another one of my millennial aged female coaching clients is currently positioned in an information security management role in one of the world’s most widely known high-tech brands. She too is a rising star. Her leading strengths include Achiever, Futuristic, Focus, Input and Competition. She came to me after having had lunch with senior executives in this global company. They told her that they wanted her on their team and asked her to write a job description she’d be willing to sign up for. I helped her to write her job description. We wrote it around her natural strengths. There is a 100% chance that she can hit a grand slam when working in a job that taps into all of her top strengths.
The Common Threads They Share
What these two future CISOs have in common is that they are rocket science smart. They’re ultra-competitive. They grew up with technology. They can’t stand the “because we’ve always done it this way” answers. They are gifted with deep analytical skills. Not only are they highly intelligent, they’re built to create new innovations and to get new innovations off the ground. They’ll always find ways to win. They both came to me to fine-tune their performance and they’ll come back again in the future when they reach the next opportunity to stretch and grow beyond their peers.
Can you understand why I’m so excited to coach these kinds of rock stars? If your company is in a hiring mode, these kinds of people do exist but they’re gainfully employed and they’re handsomely rewarded. You need an outside the box strategy to get to this kind of talent.
I was wrong
When I first launched my career coaching and executive coaching services several years ago, I was sure that my client base would be current CISOs and CSOs who are already in place. I was sure that like me, the current CISOs and CSOs would all want to learn of ways they could improve their performance. This theory of mine worked in some cases but not as often as I thought it would.
My Futuristic Strength
My futuristic thought process envisioned a world where CISOs and CSOs were all invited to the board room table. While this is happening in some places, it isn’t happening as frequently as I would like to see it happening and I’m afraid that it isn’t happening as frequently as current CISOs and CSOs would like for it to happen.
I still see a future where CISOs and CSOs are a regular part of the board room package. What I’ve had to change in my vision is the timing and the actual people who will have this experience. What I didn’t see coming for my coaching practice was millennial aged security professionals coming to me for coaching and mentoring more often than their current bosses.
Great News If You’re a Millennial
Here’s the great news for millennial aged security professionals who step up right now for coaching and personal development assistance. My strengths coaching doesn’t put you in a box or a quadrant. You get to be 1 in 33,000,000 unique. We’ll figure out what you have the potential to be great at and we’ll build a strategic plan to move you in that direction.
When it comes to emotional intelligence, emotional intelligence coaching and behavioral change coaching will come much easier to younger people. Behavioral change is one of the most difficult endeavors a grown adult can face. Statistically, emotional intelligence is naturally already on the rise for people in their 20s, 30s and 40s. When we work together to improve your emotional intelligence, we’re ultimately working together to improve your behavior. Behavior is much more important as your career progresses than your IQ alone.
