All in This Together: Erik Decker

While admitting to being a bit scared by every new career opportunity, Erik Decker has nonetheless continued to put himself in challenging situations where success wasn't assured. His advice for other leaders: "Your capacity to achieve is way larger than you think it is."

In this Impactful Leaders episode with WittKieffer Consultant Zach Durst, Decker – currently Chief Information Security Officer with Intermountain Health – reflects upon his journey from a high schooler who just wanted to be a follower to an inquisitive cell biology major in college to someone who was nudged into leadership by others who saw superpowers he wasn't aware of.

Decker has come to understand that leadership is about "releasing your authority" and empowering team members to all be contributors and decision makers. His team-oriented approach translates to his activities in raising cybersecurity resilience for the healthcare industry. As chair of the Health Sector Coordinating Council's Cybersecurity Working Group, he has pushed for tougher standards by which each organization's protections against bad actors supports collective efforts. "Set the system up so you have to beat all of us to beat one of us," he urges.

Decker and Durst also explore how CISOs and their teams can prove value and return on investment as cybersecurity threats increase almost daily. It's a "dirty world," he admits, one that needs everyone – both leaders and followers – working together.