Christie Brungart

I honestly attribute my success to a rough childhood. I'm probably one of those people who beat the statistics. I had an alcoholic father who couldn't keep a job, and I saw the struggle - we had to ration food, the lights would be cut. I just saw that and kept telling myself, I will not do this, I will not be this. When I was young, either 6 or 7, I asked for the office Barbie, and she came with a briefcase and a suit, and I was just so excited about her. I kept telling myself, I'm going to be her one day. I worked hard to be that and to make sure my children didn't have to live like that. It's one thing we were talking about this morning - when you're raised poor, how appreciative you are for everything. Now, financially, I don't hurt for anything, but I still live very conservatively. I just want to make sure I can take care of my children, or if they need anything, I got them. My childhood drove me because I fought against it to be anything other than how I was raised.

The best advice I ever received was to never be afraid to take positions that are lateral. It was great advice at the time because I think a lot of people look to positions for improvement in monetary value or a different skill set, but I learned that's how I moved up so quickly - I was willing to take lateral positions. When I got there, I would learn that role, and then I would move again. Over time, you just get promoted because you have so much knowledge and you become a subject matter expert in fields because you were willing to do that at that level. I think sometimes ego and pride get a hold of people. I'm the opposite - I'm like, oh, teach me more, teach me more. I believe I'm where I'm at because of that advice. You are the one that's going to gain the knowledge. The money will come, you just gotta lock that in. You're already locked and loaded with the information when the promotion comes - they don't even have to train you, you've done it. That's when you negotiate, when you get that offer. But you gotta be willing to show and do things a little above what you're being asked just so you can get there and get that opportunity.

My advice to anyone coming into my industry would be learn as much as you can. Be very diverse with your portfolio as far as what positions you're taking, and be open to take those lateral moves because they eventually will pay off. Don't box yourself into one field of the industry. There are so many things - I have done so many different jobs. I've done government contracts, I've done personal security, I've done special access program stuff. I've done so many different things, and that's because if they ask and they are looking for volunteers, I'm always raising my hand. It doesn't matter what it's for. One time I was sitting in front of a door for 8 hours because the power was out, and I said I'll do it. Always just be open to do whatever it takes for you to get where you see yourself, because you're the only one - you're driving your career. Your manager's not driving your career, your coworker's not, nobody, it is you. And if you don't drive that bus, it's gonna be idle. You gotta put the work in. Advocate for yourself.

One of the biggest challenges I've faced recently was managing an employee going through a transition for the first time in my career. I realized that as easy as it is for me to be open and understanding of the person, my team had very strong feelings about it. Some were very heavily conservative and religious, saying I don't believe in that, I don't want to be associated with this person, while others were on the other end of the spectrum saying they can live their life however they want. I really had to learn how to navigate managing that so everyone felt welcome in the room and everyone felt safe. That took a lot of patience and understanding, trying to respect each and every person even though sometimes I might hear something I don't agree with personally. I had to meet them where they were at and manage them in a way that kept us focused on the mission. We're all a team, and everyone in this room is paid to get us to that end goal. Personally, I don't care if someone has this, that, or the other, or wants to wear piercings all up and down their face or tattoos - judgment is not necessary. I navigated that and got through it, and evidently I did really well because the enterprise reached out and asked me to train other managers in this situation since it's becoming more predominant. As far as opportunities, I'm lucky to work for a company that is very big on education - I could take any course I want at any university, even Harvard if I wanted, and they will pay for continued education. My next level of advancement would be senior manager, and then director and executive. I've had two senior people this year tell me they believe I'll be the next executive based on how I am with people and my people focus, because that's something you can't teach.

Trust is number one for me - that's huge. I do my best to give people the benefit of the doubt, whether in my personal life or professionally, until they show me otherwise. I'm big on accountability. I'm pretty people-focused because I give a damn, so I want people around me to give a damn too. I'm also very open to understanding that maybe some people are less trusting. I'm kind of one of those people who trusts first, and then if you show me it's wrong, then I'm done. But some people just aren't as trusting, so I try to meet people in the middle in a sense. A lot of my values are about meeting people where they're at and taking them where I believe we can get them to go, but I have to meet them where they're at first.