What do you do and what is it about your job that gets you out of bed in the morning?
I am the product owner for Identity and Access Management (IDAM) and Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) at the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF). My job sees me working with internal and external stakeholders in military and government, understanding their business needs and deriving from that a living roadmap for the IDAM/PKI capability that ensures the service we deliver meets business needs.
The work itself is interesting and engaging enough to get me out of bed in the morning, but I’ll be honest, the organisation, its purpose, the communities it serves, the complexities and intricacies of the problems we solve, and the people I engage with every day probably rank higher in the reasons of why I get out of bed in the morning.
How did you get to where you are today?
It has been an adventurous journey, a lot of hard work, a lot of work especially around self awareness and leadership. I started in the domain in higher education, over 7 years I grew my understanding of Identity Management and worked on incredibly rewarding projects during that time. Our work there made it to the global stage at Gartner as a case study. Stepping out of higher education I realised that I’m more suited, from a personal drive perspective, to be in the public sector and have that connection to the communities we serve. The NZDF has given me that and more, I get to create capabilities, transform the way we operate, engage with industry and the community, participate in a wide range of activities that leverages my strengths and support others through mentoring and coaching opportunities in our domain.
What is the most important lesson you have learned along the way?
People matter. I learned the hard way that delivery only isn’t the best way to get things done or get ahead. Regardless of which industry we are in, we can’t get things done alone, we need people to support us, and we need to grow people around us too. Grasping the importance of self awareness, resilience, and arming ourselves with a lot of what we call ‘soft skills’ enables us to be the best versions of ourselves, which enables us to be the best at what we do.
What's your pitch to CEOs in the identity space? What do you suggest they START / STOP / CONTINUE doing and why?
Be the role model you wish you had. I think if we reflect on how we are, and what we want to see in someone leading us, and what we would have wanted from our role models, it’ll be easy to flag what we should start doing, stop doing and continue doing. I do however think that everyone should start investing in your people not just technically, but from a self perspective. If they’re already doing it, then continue. And if your training budget is all about technical capability and certification, then stop making it all about that.
In one sentence, why does diversity matter to you?
Diversity matters because without it you lose sight of all the possibilities and create blind spots instead.
What book/film/piece of art would you recommend to your fellow members? Why?
The Outward Mindset from the Arbinger Institute. It looks at changing the way we interact with each other, it encourages us to see others as people who matter like we do; to take into account their needs, challenges, and objectives. And to focus on collective results.
What advice would you give to the teenage 'you'?
Stay authentic, don’t try to change you to fit in, you’re stronger being true to yourself, people will appreciate that way more and you’ll have a greater, more positive impact on others that way.
Where can we find you on social media / the Web?
LinkedIn: Tamara Al-Salim