How Do Leaders Cultivate Diversity of Thought

The New CISO

Artie Wilkowsky, CISO for Dish Network, joins us on this episode to speak about specialization, leadership skills, and the qualities he looks for in new hires.

Artie’s Background

Artie has been working at Dish for over two years, helping with all their lines of business, such as Sling, Contact, and Wireless. Before that he bounced between consulting and industry, working in financial services and aerospace.

Specialization vs. Generalization

In thinking about advice for his younger self, Artie would tell himself not to worry so much about specializing right away. It’s important to get a broader view of an industry, see how different sectors impact one another, and then decide if you want to specialize. Artie believes that the more you progress in security, the more you end up being a generalist anyway, so it’s good to start there so you have that holistic foundation.

Artie also encourages others to do the same; he helps people on his team shadow others in different areas of a company to have a better understanding of how they work.

Automation and Budgeting

Artie discuss how sometimes security and IT are not necessarily given a budget they need in order to excel in their areas. However, an unintended benefit of this is that CISOs or others who work in security are forced to become creative with their coding. Out of this creativity, you can have CISOs who must automate certain functions, as they can’t afford the staff to maintain them. These automations are not only impressive but strength the security.

Skills You Develop and Ditch

As you progress in security, there are certain skills that you will need to develop, and others you will need to ditch. Artie examines what skills have been helpful to hone or drop in his career and the careers of those around him. He believes that as a leader, you must be able to communicate, translate, and influence. Listen to the episode to hear more about what Artie means by these skills.

Artie emphasizes the importance of learning how to work with others, as well as learning to now delegate and manage. Instead of doing it yourself because its faster, take the time to teach someone else so that they can have that experience

Delegation

In particular, you must learn how and when to delegate. Artie relays that if you don’t delegate, you stifle those around you. You don’t give them an opportunity to grow their skills and their career, and as a result, they may not stay around for as long. Additionally, when you don’t delegate, you signal to your team that you don’t trust them. Listen to the episode to hear more discussions on how behavior in meetings can also affect trust amongst the team.

Responsibility of Growth

When discussing the leadership role, Artie reiterates that you must invest in the individual, letting people come on special projects and allowing them to grow. If not, talent may leave. If you don’t create an environment for growth, you’ll not only lose that talent but struggle to acquire it. You may put forth a reputation of stagnation, which will turn people away.

But whose responsibility is it to grow? The employee or the leader? Artie believes it’s a bit of both. The leader needs to create a space in which the individuals who want to grow can do so. However, the employee still has to advocate for him or herself, asking how they can improve and take on more.

Hiring

When Artie is hiring, he looks for specific skills in interviewees. He looks for people who ask why and who like solving problems. Particularly, people who are naturally curious. In addition, he seeks out those with verbal and written communication skills. Some people can write very well, but they don’t always know how to effectively communicate or express oneself.

Artie discusses how he asks certain questions in the interview that would allow you to see those skills present. Listen to the episode to hear how Artie approaches his interviews so he can better understand the candidates’ thought process.

Influence

As a CISO—or any leader—you need to know how to influence others, as your job includes influencing a team and other members of the organization. Artie believes it comes down to trusting yourself and your abilities. In addition, he stresses understanding yourself, being prepared, and asking for advice from those you admire. As it’s a newer profession, CISOs and those in cybersecurity must be self-reflective and always self improving.

New CISO

For Artie, the new CISO is someone who understands their business, who leads and mentors others, and who gives people the tools that they need to be successful.

Links:

New CISO Podcast

Artie Wilkowsky- LinkedIn