Slicing Your Way to Cybersecurity Success: The P.I.E. Theory

Do you need something MORE to get ahead in cybersecurity?

For context, this blog post is mainly for professionals already in cybersecurity. If you are still trying to break into the field, please look into my blog, So You Want to Get in Cybersecurity? Now, let’s proceed to explain the P.I.E theory.

Throughout school and college, we were told the same mantra: “To be successful, you must work hard and keep your head down!” According to Harvey J. Coleman, author of “Empowering Yourself, The Organizational Game Revealed,” that may not be enough to get that next promotion. It appears that performance is only 10% of the consideration for promotion. Image and Exposure make up the remaining 90%. Here is how the P.I.E. concept applies specifically to cybersecurity professionals:

Performance (10%) – The Foundation of Success

To excel in cybersecurity—technically speaking, you must be at the top of your game. As knowledge workers, we tend to dedicate too much time to shallow work (i.e., tasks almost anyone with minimum training could accomplish). Scrolling through social media and replying to e-mail is empty work. As Dr. Cal Newport argues, “We need to spend more time engaged in deep work—cognitively demanding activities that leverage our training to generate rare valuable results, and that push our abilities to continually improve.”

Knowing this, ensure you have a performance plan you work through with your manager. This plan should contain specific, measurable objectives directly tied to your organization’s bottom line. Your performance should be outstanding, consistent, and beyond day-to-day expectations—totally against the ‘Quiet Quitting’ movement picking up steam. Cybersecurity is a field of constant learning; this means mastering the latest tools, staying ahead of threats, and continuously improving your technical skills.

Image (30%) – Perception is Powerful

Yes, pristine performance can get you a ticket for admission to the Promotion Meeting, but you are not there yet. As a cybersecurity professional, managing your image (online and in-person) includes communicating verbally and non-verbally, how you dress, your teamwork, and your attitude. Sidebar: If you are a remote employee, it may be harder to be seen compared to onsite roles. One controversial tip in the IT/Cyber field is this: turn on your camera in meetings. Your facial expressions, gestures, posture, and tone of voice are powerful communication tools, according to Kendra Cherry, MSEd, in her Facial Expression article.

You must look and act as part of your next promotion. Demonstrate professionalism, ethical behavior, and a strong understanding of both technical and business aspects. Seek out mentors who can help you refine your image and provide feedback.

Lastly, soft skills in this industry get downplayed A LOT. I won’t cover it due to it being a vast subject within itself, but here are some crucial skills that can help with soft skills in cybersecurity:

The ability to explain complex concepts: You must communicate what is happening or what needs to happen.

Empathy: Understand and empathize with management, clients, or others dealing with the repercussions of an attack.

Patience: Handle demanding clients or managers with patience and professionalism.

Active listening: Listen to the customer's needs and desires and translate them into a technical design from which to work.

Humility: Admit when you don't know something or could be wrong.

Discretion: Keep your opinions to yourself when not asked for, especially if you think the client is unreasonable.

Compromise: The best technical solution (XYZ) may not always align with the customer's budget or workflow preferences.

Exposure (60%) – Showcasing Your Abilities

Have you ever heard of the saying: “It’s About Who Knows You . . . Not Who You Know”? This is why Exposure forms the most significant slice of the P.I.E. theory, accounting for 60% of your career progress. As Anand Tamboli mentions in the article linked above, “Your champions [influential people] are either the decision-makers themselves (the people who decide who gets promoted) or powerful people who the decision-makers will listen to.” This means ensuring the right people know about your contributions and capabilities in cybersecurity. For example, my YouTube channel, videos on BTLO, LinkedIn, and blogs on SBT are all ways to showcase my abilities; plus, this does not cover the amount of self-marketing I do within the internal chats (e.g., Slack, Teams) for the employers I work for.

It won’t hurt to learn the art of the brag. As my mentor Antoine Wade always says, “Toot your horn!” If you don’t talk yourself up, who will? Sometimes, you have to play the office politics game. You can be a great worker, keeping your head down, becoming the cog on a machine (the 10% remember), but if you are invisible, they (your champions) will not notice you—for promotions/opportunities. This is not always the case; you will always have that exception to the rule. As I always say in my talks, “Eat the meat, spit out the bone.”

Remember this: showcase your abilities. Internally, I try to lead and manage cybersecurity initiatives, organize training sessions, write blogs, and contribute to the company newsletter. Externally, I try to join professional organizations, speak at conferences, and publish articles. Your goal is to be seen as a go-to expert in your field.

Summary

In summary, the P.I.E. theory highlights the multifaceted nature of career progress. While performance sets the foundation, image, and exposure play pivotal roles in shaping your advancement. By focusing on all three components, you can maximize your career potential and open doors to new opportunities—especially in your cybersecurity career.