In order to learn and grow in the information security field, one must be honest with themselves about their current knowledge. In a field where you cannot master all subject areas, it is common to encounter someone junior or senior who may have more expertise in a particular subject area. When this occurs, there are two ways to handle the situation: Get upset that someone disagrees or corrects you, or learn from what they are suggesting. Personally, I prefer the latter. In my experience, too many people are hurt that someone would correct them than thankful for the learning experience.
Often times, we hear more stories of a bad boss rather than a good one, but I will incorporate this idea of learning with what I considered a great boss. In my previous position, I arrived onsite to work on a specific system and quickly realized it was in poor shape. This was not due to the lack of intelligence but simply due to the fact that this software was very new and people were still figuring out its kinks. After some initial miscommunications as my boss and I learned about each other, he made a wise decision. Even though he could wipe the floor clean with me in many subject areas, this specific software was not one of them. He wanted to know everything I did and would want to be told he was wrong.
This came as a relief until I realized that this wasn’t going to be so simple. I couldn’t say “Hey boss, you’re wrong” and just move on with my day. He wanted to learn why, and for me to prove why a method I had come up with would work better. What followed was what I consider the best working relationship I have ever had with a supervisor. Throughout the year we spent working together, we both enjoyed being proved wrong, showing each other a new and better way to accomplish a task, and would sometimes even debate for hours until one had convinced the other of the best solution to a problem.
I will leave you with this: Many people in higher level positions may not have arrived in their role because of their knowledge or expertise. This is very clear when you work with someone who you are constantly mentally shaking your head at their level of incompetence. The flip side of this is there are many managers and senior leaders with a technical background, who make great decisions. In order to survive in this field, we must do our best to train those in positions of authority and let go of the things we cannot control. The strongest teams are the ones where the supervisor understands the problems and works with the team to ensure they are fixed properly.
Chippewa Security 