Clarity and candor are the cornerstones of any great conversation, but for the CIA they are the critical link between information and policymakers. This week Jennifer Ewbank shares how her role in Digital Innovation at the CIA helps carry technical conversations for stakeholders across the agency, breaking down barriers and building trust at all levels. In this conversation Laura and Jennifer discuss understanding the pressure stakeholders are under, getting out of your way to create change, and the role of cybersecurity in leadership.
Here are a few things you’ll learn during this conversation:
- How to be an authentic leader and develop trust within a team
- Why imposter syndrome is a leadership issue among women and men
- How proving yourself can cause barriers instead of partnerships
- Strategies for assessing and conveying the risks of a message
- Jennifer’s best advice for learning a new language
During the 24-Hour Influence Challenge, Jennifer encourages you to create allies by sharing information. You can do this by choosing a busy day on your calendar and taking a moment after each engagement to think about what you learned and who could benefit from that information.
About Jennifer Ewbank:
Jennifer Ewbank is the Deputy Director of CIA for Digital Innovation, responsible for accelerating the development and integration of digital and cyber capabilities across all of CIA’s mission areas, to include enterprise information technology, cyber security, cyber operations and analysis, data strategy and artificial intelligence, open source collection, and reporting, as well as building the digital acumen of the CIA workforce through training and education. As the Agency’s de facto Chief Digital Officer, Ms. Ewbank oversees the Digital C-Suite roles of Chief Information Officer, Chief Information Security Officer, and Chief Data Officer.
A career federal government official, Ms. Ewbank has 35 years of experience, initially as a Foreign Service Officer with the State Department, and more recently with the CIA, primarily in the Directorate of Operations, where she has held key leadership positions and served the bulk of her career abroad, to include four tours as Chief of Station. In one of Ms. Ewbank’s previous leadership roles, she was responsible for leading CIA’s engagement with the US private sector and academia.
You can connect with Jennifer in the following ways:
Jennifer's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-ewbank
The CIA's LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/central-intelligence-agency
You can listen to The Langley Files here: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-langley-files-a-cia-podcast/id1645885248
To learn more about Dr. Laura Sicola and how mastering influence can impact your success go to https://www.speakingtoinfluence.com/quickstart and download the quick start guide for mastering the three C’s of influence.
You can connect with Laura in the following ways:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlaurasicola
LinkedIn Business Page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vocal-impact-productions/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VocalImpactProductions
Facebook: Vocal Impact Productions
Twitter: @Laura Sicola
Instagram: @VocalImpactProductions
