Jacqueline Holmes

I attribute my success to having people who were there to help me understand the value that I have at a young age, and helping me to grow and nurture that interest I had in learning. Because of that, I think that has really been very helpful for me in my career, because I never get comfortable. I'm always trying to learn. And anywhere I go, no matter the situation, I feel like I can learn from everyone, including my team, so I think that is part of what helped me to be successful.

The best career advice I've ever received is to fail forward. I think, being a woman sometimes, especially in male-dominated fields, especially starting with the Navy and then what I do, you kind of feel like you have to carry that on your shoulder, and you always have to do it right, but if it doesn't work out, you just understand that's part of the journey.

I would advise young women entering this field to really be detail-oriented and to really understand the world that they're stepping into. Get certifications and move forward with things that are challenging. Don't always just take things that you think, okay, I can do well at this, but always be looking for that challenge, and if you are, then you'll be prepared for anything that comes along. This career has taken me places I never even thought about, coming from where I came from and how I grew up. I've traveled all over the world because of this type of role. It's really a niche role that every corporation needs. Most people might think IT audit is boring, but it's not. Most people want the sexy role - they want to be a developer, they want to build servers. But having this opportunity not only helps you become more technically sound, it also helps you understand how to navigate the business world, which will help you become a leader. You could be very proficient and an expert in the IT space, but when you can take that information from the technical side and transform that into business language, then you really become someone to reckon with.

I think the biggest challenge is that it's all about influencing and giving the right message. When you come in and you have to tell someone who's spent a lot of time and effort in building what they have that they're doing something wrong, some of those challenges is making sure that you're giving the right message and trying to influence them on what they need to do and why, because most of the time it's going to be a cost that they did not foresee. It's something they have to have, but not necessarily something they want.

High integrity is most important to me, especially with what I do. Being a good listener is also critical, as well as leading people where they are and understanding people from their perspective. When I join corporations, I do look for them to fit into my personal values as well as my work values. High integrity is one of them. How they value their employees is another, and then the other thing that I look for is being able to grow - do they have those opportunities, and do they have a plan for people when they come in, so that they can know and help them develop a plan that will make them successful? And the number one thing is always do what you say you're going to do.