Our Best Advice Q&A series keeps rolling on with Alyssa Wilson, senior vice president of marketing at Protos Security. She shares the best advice she’s ever gotten, offers advice for security industry professionals on the rise and names the traits that make for an impeccable mentor.
Security Sales & Integration: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
Alyssa Wilson: The best advice I’ve received is that, at the leadership level, alignment is your job, even when authority isn’t.
That stuck with me because in cross-functional environments, it’s easy to wait for direction or assume someone else is going to own the outcome. But real progress happens when you take responsibility for connecting the dots across teams, priorities and perspectives, even when no one has formally handed you that role.
For me, that’s meant creating clarity when there isn’t any, building trust before you need it and translating work into the language different leaders and teams need to move forward together. It’s not about control and it’s not about trying to own every outcome. It’s about influence. It’s about leading upward, downward and outward.
That lesson first took shape earlier in my career when I worked in a product-based business. When you’re launching a physical product, alignment becomes very tangible. Every detail matters and every function must move in sync.
Since then, I’ve carried that idea with me and pushed it further. It’s become one of the most important ways I think about leadership.
SSI: What advice would you give to those looking to achieve success in the security industry?
Wilson: My advice is simple: don’t accept the status quo as the standard.
The security industry has a reputation for being slow to evolve, but that creates real opportunity for people who are willing to challenge it. Success comes from asking better questions. Why do we do things this way? Is there a smarter, more effective approach? How can we use data to improve the client experience? How can teams collaborate better to deliver stronger outcomes?
That mindset matters because progress in this industry doesn’t come from repeating what’s always been done. It comes from being willing to push beyond it.
For anyone entering the industry, or trying to grow within it, the opportunity isn’t just to succeed within the space as it exists today. It’s to help redefine what’s possible and move the industry forward.
SSI: If you could point to one person in the security industry and tell up-and-comers, “Make sure to listen to what they have to say,” whom would you pick and why?
Wilson: I wouldn’t point to just one person. I’m more interested in the traits and perspectives that make someone worth listening to.
I’m especially drawn to leaders who are pushing the industry forward instead of simply operating within it. The people I pay attention to are the ones who challenge traditional models, prioritize data and experience and aren’t afraid to rethink how security is delivered. They tend to work cross-functionally and bridge operations including technology and strategy, rather than staying confined to one function.
I also admire leaders who look beyond security to shape their thinking. Some of the most valuable ideas come from adjacent industries like high tech or supply chain, where innovation, data and operational efficiency are constantly being redefined. Those outside perspectives can help push security forward in ways traditional models often don’t.
More broadly, I encourage up-and-comers to look for perspective, not just titles. Some of the most valuable insights come from people who know how to operate both in the business and on the business, those who stay close enough to the day-to-day work to understand how it gets done, while also stepping back to shape strategy, direction and how the business evolves.
That distinction is something I talk about often with my team and it’s a mindset influenced in part by Patty Azzarello, whose books Rise: 3 Practical Steps for Advancing Your Career, Standing Out as a Leader AND Liking Your Life and MOVE: How Decisive Leaders Execute Strategy Despite Obstacles, Setbacks and Stalls have shaped how I think about impact and growth.
Her own career trajectory — becoming the youngest general manager at HP at 33, running a $1 billion software business by 35 and stepping into a CEO role at 38 — reinforces that mentality in a very real way.
The industry doesn’t need more people reinforcing how things have always been done. It needs more people questioning it and, more importantly, building what comes next. The future of security will be shaped by people who are collaborative, forward-thinking and willing to challenge established practices.
Click here to check out all entries in SSI’s Best Advice series!
