Security LeadHER 2025: Add S.P.I.C.E. to Your Career Success Equation 

Struggling to find a path to authenticity at work? You’re hardly alone.

This week at the Security LeadHER conference in Detroit, Michigan, 450 security professionals discussed how authenticity leads to greater trust and confidence in the workplace and among teams.

But authenticity doesn’t mean total transparency. Instead, effective authenticity at work means alignment, said Shayla Atkins, an organizational development strategist, certified change practitioner, and the closing keynote speaker at Security LeadHER.

Many professionals—especially women—make the mistake of trying to conform to preexisting norms and stereotypes in the workplace. For instance, wearing basic black suits like everyone else, picking up golf even though you prefer hiking, or maybe altering your input in meetings to align with what you think is wanted.

“What values have you given up for the sake of success and climbing the ladder?” Atkins asked.

Women are hit with these perceived expectations particularly hard. Atkins said that women suppress their authentic selves at work up to 65 percent of the time, and women of color adjust their input and presence up to 90 percent.

But is maintaining that façade necessary or even effective? Atkins asked what people would do with 65-90 percent more brainpower on any given day—what would that do to organizational effectiveness? To innovation and profitability? To career potential or talent pipelines?

Beyond the potential benefits of reallocating all that effort, there’s a serious drawback to hiding your authentic self—it erodes trust. When you present a façade, even a very good one, it’s challenging for others to know where you stand, what your brand is, and what your beliefs or values are, Atkins said.

“The most difficult thing to do is to wake up and choose authenticity, daily,” she added.

Authenticity at work means living and leading in alignment to your beliefs. Over time, that enables coworkers and executives to understand how and why you make decisions.

A New Formula for Success

Professionals seeking career advancement have often relied on an old formula—P.I.E.: performance, image, and exposure.

The Harvey Coleman developed theory emphasizes that while performance plays a vital role in career progress, it only accounts for 10 percent of your overall growth potential. Instead, you need to invest in image—how others perceive you and your potential—and exposure—how you have showcased your abilities to succeed and contribute to the organization. Image and exposure count for 30 and 60 percent in this equation, respectively.

But Atkins said this is too simplified for today’s senior leaders. The old formula does not account for the barriers and challenges that women often face, and it does not account for cultural nuances. So, she expanded the equation to S.P.I.C.E. instead: savvy, performance, image, communication, and exposure.

Business savvy: 10 percent. This knowledge has to go beyond security, Atkins said. It must be about the business as a whole. Do you know how the organization operates? Are you reading analyst reports and 10-K filings? How do you as an individual and as part of a department help make or save your organization money? This knowledge helps you craft more authentic business cases and demonstrate exactly what you bring to the table.

“Here’s the thing about business acumen—it is one of the best cures for imposter syndrome,” Atkins said. By carefully analyzing and documenting your value, and where you fit into the organization’s success, business savvy instills confidence.

Strategic performance: 10 percent. This builds off of business savvy.

“When you know how you make your company money, your roles change and shift,” Atkins said.

The strategic element to performance shows up in the difference between overworking and overperforming. If you look at your week’s work and your takeaway is “I was so busy this week” instead of “I accomplished these two things that helped achieve the organization’s goals,” then you might be overworking and focusing on the wrong tasks.

In addition, if you are one of the many people who say “yes” to every request for assistance or more work, reconsider. Try using “yes, if”—if you meet these criteria (deadlines, related to a strategic goal, appropriately resourced), I can do that extra work. If not, I cannot. This both helps you set boundaries while ensuring that any tasks that land on your desk are already well thought out and strategic, rather than busy work.

Authentic image: 30 percent. Your personal brand makes you unique and memorable in the organization. Doing your job effectively is not as memorable as you think—something else has to make you stand out.

The World Economic Forum’s 2025 Future of Jobs report found that core skills in the workforce right now are centered primarily around soft or executive skills. More than half of employers surveyed for the report cited heavy interest in analytical thinking; resilience, flexibility, and agility; leadership and social influence; creative thinking; and motivation and self-awareness.

Consider how you can demonstrate your talents in these spaces to make a memorable impression on a future executive who can push the organization forward, Atkins said.

Communication: 10 percent. Is your communication style compelling, influential, and advocating? Are you clear and concise with your communication—which instills confidence in your message—or do you meander around the point? Do you use filler words like “uh” and “um” that undercut your brand as a competent and prepared professional?

Intentional exposure: 40 percent. You don’t have to take up golf to network. Instead, position yourself within your organization to be visible—both as a professional and a human being. This may involve stepping outside your comfort zone and sharing some personal detail about your life, but that helps people understand, remember, and trust you, Atkins said.

The intentional aspect of exposure is key. Find and connect with people who can serve as your personal board of directors, a cross-functional champion, or a sponsor. When there’s a conversation about talent, you should have enough rapport with these individuals so they are willing to put their influence on the line to support you.

“When your team knows who you are and where you stand… that is how you both authentically and strategically accelerate your career,” Atkins added.

Learn more about Security LeadHER 2025 here. For more takeaways from the conference, stay tuned for the executive summary from ASIS International and SIA later this month.