Adopting a growth mindset to achieve the extraordinary

I have been with the IBM Security in the Middle East and Africa for the past seven years and it has been a wonderful experience!

Recently, I have been appointed as the IBM Security Leader of Gulf, Levant & Pakistan. After 3 months in this role, I can't described how fulfilled I am engaging with Clients, Business Partners and leading an A-Security Team.

My work is more than just a regular job, and that’s what makes me so passionate about the work that I do. I constantly ask myself and the team "How can we protect our Clients from cyber threats?", "How can we partner with our clients to strengthen their security defences while reducing cost and complexity?", "How can we better sharpen our Business Partners' skills with the IBM Security robust portfolio?", and "How could we innovate and do things differently?"

I’ve been in the information security field for 22 years with expertise in a variety of security domains. Like any other career it comes with challenges, and I’ve encountered a few challenges along the way but these never stopped me from fulfilling my dreams.

With the great support of my mentors and leaders, I’ve had the opportunity to achieve the extraordinary at IBM. My aim is to enable positive change and address difficult issues within the security space. I truly enjoy and value working with extremely talented, multi-skilled and diverse security experts from across the globe. As a team, we’re able to solution and protect the world’s cyber infrastructure and transform the security industry.

To be able to shift myself from the ordinary to extraordinary, I’m always on the lookout for opportunities to grow and develop in my career, while still maintaining work life balance. Adopting a growth mindset makes my work and career more fun! I’ve made the active choice to be extraordinary in all that I do. What is important to me is to take the time and energy to challenge myself and force myself to think from outside the box. Dream BIG – that’s the motto I live by. If you don’t visualise and work towards your dreams, your dreams will never be valid. Believe in your talents and continuously work on sharpening your skills, whether its studying further, learning from your peers and mentors.

As a career mom, my motive is to keep pushing forward. It takes a lot of hard work and positive energy but it is all worth it!

I’m able to work smarter and execute on business priorities and objectives and simultaneously carry out my personal responsibilities as a mother.

Written by Kawther Haciane, IBM Security Leader - Gulf, Levant & Pakistan