When faced with the decision to share or hold knowledge about security, successful professionals learn to teach what they know…
Early in my career, I realized that security often supported three common situations:
- People who always seek help addressing security concerns
- People who rarely seek help because they were capable and experienced enough in systems and technology (not always in security)
- People on the fence; uncertain if they need help or not, but when presented with credible, understandable information are able to make the right choice for their situation
15 years ago, the best way to handle this was hotly debated. It boiled down to two approaches:
- Share what you know to the benefit of all the groups – including the people who have the aptitude, but perhaps lack the experience
- Keep the knowledge to yourself and hope everyone comes to you
The debate centered around the risk of sharing. After all, if we share our knowledge, people might actually practice security… without us. To some, that was a nightmare. Especially if they got it wrong. It also was and is myopic.
Considering the rapid growth of the industry and myriad of changes, the three basic situations and two approaches are still valid.
Except the debate of approach is over. To be successful in security, share your knowledge. The more effective at sharing, the more successful you’ll be.
When faced with the choice in my career, I opted to share. Sometimes that was a scary decision. Along the way, I learned that sharing and teaching others is the best way to learn.
Keep reading to find out what happens when you share with people who know more: Share your knowledge to be more successful in security
By learning to share more openly and effectively, we enjoy more success. Ultimately, we learn more about the challenges we need to focus on. We free up the time and focus to address new and complex challenges.
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