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@mgoblue93wrote:

 

Everyone in DoD Cyber has an ego a mile wide.  There's zero team work at my office -- just a bunch of high-speed know-it-alls crapping all over each personally and professionally.

 

However, the OP has written more of a rant than a roadmap of "how to become a more effective security practitioner".  Which is understandable as I'm venting too.

 

> They were not problem solvers only roadblocks to solutions.

> They lacked in people skills

> (often called soft skills). 

 

Problem #1... considering communication and collaboration a "soft skill". 

 

Hiring authorities -- if your interviewS aren't tailored to see how a candidate truly communicates and plays with others (more than the unquantifiable bullets on their resume about how awesome they rate themselves at communication and collaboration) then that's a problem.  Your problem.  Culture begins at hiring.  Period.

 

> They were labeled "hard to work with", "Dr. No", the

> place where ideas go to die, etc..

 

My experience on Air Force projects is people who think outside the box (hate that cliche BTW) and are the true innovators are the ones labeled as roadblocks -- because the rest of the process people (who really aren't technicians) don't understand the industry and current practices.

 

> Understand that there is a difference between management

> and leadership. Your local libraries are often a good source

> of free information. Doing these things will help get more

> of your solutions accepted and help you be more promotable

 

Unfortunately, a book isn't going to help the people which are the target of your post out.  This is lost upon the people you're fussing about; they don't know when they are the problem.  Complicating matters is like minds hire like people -- that's how dysfunctional empires not only get built but thrive and reproduce.

 

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OP here. Just so you know I have over 25 years of federal service, at least 15 years with DoD. This is a roadmap because it tells people how to succeed. I followed this formula and rose in the ranks, yes even in DoD.  Don't be that know-it-all jerk. IF you recognize yourself as that person then here is how to change it. IF you are not yet that person, don't follow in their footsteps. I agree that most of the people you and I am seeing that are that way, are not going to change. This post isn't designed to get them to change. It is targeted to, and designed to help others not become those people.

The reason communications is considered a soft skill is because it's methods are not set in stone. Hard skills are like programming a computer, If this, then that. Place this here and that there and you should get result X. Repeatable, easy to teach, and not a lot of variation in technique. You cannot be that rigid in communications, hence the categorization of the skill as being soft, i.e. malleable. You have to change your technique based on the situation.

Many books have helped me not become that person, that is why I recommended them. Not just books on IT stuff, but books on management, communications, organizational culture, etc. Expand your horizons.  My  post was not designed to just complain about or try to change others around you (i.e a rant) but to help you see where others, that I passed by on the way up the ladder, were failing. IF you can learn from the mistakes of others, you will not have to suffer the same fate as them. My post was not complaining about others, but showing where the landmines were and trying to help others avoid them. Using these techniques I was able to rise from computer operator to IT Specialist to Deputy CIO to CIO. I also served as a Cyber Security Division Director and now I am a CISO. Being malleable and nice to people, while being able to solve problems helped me move up the ladder rather quickly (14 years). I was also able to move where the job opportunities were, and that is big in advancement in the DoD/federal government.

Another thing that I would offer to help you out is to look at your words. When I see phrases like "Everyone in DoD has an ego a mile wide...", "..zero team work...." Those words, Everyone and zero, are absolutes. If you use absolutes to describe things a lot in your work, you will lose people's respect quickly. I was in DoD and I did not have an ego a mile wide, so I have already disproved your first comment. Now, is it true that there may be a higher percentage of ego maniacs in DoD, yes, but you cannot say everyone. When you use absolutes, people usually become psychologically defensive. All they have to do is have one situation that it was not true in, and they subconsciously begin to distrust you. I share this with you not to start a flame war but to help you understand what good upper management sees when they start hearing those words. I want you to succeed. I want to help you.

I agree with you about the government hiring process, it is a joke. "Here, fill out this questionnaire and self rate yourself on these questions. If you rate yourself high enough we will pass your name on for consideration." It is a system that penalizes honesty or people without huge egos (most people do not like to brag about themselves when applying for jobs). Perhaps that is why DoD has a higher percentage of ego maniacs, because the hiring system is set up to reward people with huge egos, people willing to lie because they know how to play the system or people who know how the system works and plays by the rules they are given. I have had more than my share of secretaries and grave diggers apply for IT positions and they rated themselves highly on the IT questionnaires without having the requisite IT experience in their resumes to back it up. I did part-time federal resumes on the side for a few years and helped people "play the game the way the government wanted to play it". It is a lousy system.