Welcome to Audience 1st. A podcast for tech marketers looking to break out of the echo chamber to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers. Every week, Dani Woolf is having brutally honest conversations with busy tech buyers about what really motivates them, the things they hate that vendors do, and what you can do about it. You’ll get access to practical information on how to build authentic relationships with your audience, listen to and talk with your buyers, and apply real customer insights to your strategies and tactics. You owe it to the world to unmute your mic. Are you ready?
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Welcome to Audience 1st. A podcast for tech marketers looking to break out of the echo chamber to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers. Every week, Dani Woolf is having brutally honest conversations with busy tech buyers about what really motivates them, the things they hate that vendors do, and what you can do about it. You’ll get access to practical information on how to build authentic relationships with your audience, listen to and talk with your buyers, and apply real customer insights to your strategies and tactics. You owe it to the world to unmute your mic. Are you ready?
Cognitive Risk, Neurodivergence, and the Unspoken Realities of Security Leadership
Audience 1st
36 minutes 19 seconds
5 months ago
Cognitive Risk, Neurodivergence, and the Unspoken Realities of Security Leadership
In this episode of Audience 1st Podcast, Dani Woolf sits down with Val Popke to explore the unspoken human dimensions of cybersecurity leadership.
Val, a veteran, assurance leader, and self-described “Wandering Cyber Vulva,” challenges the industry’s prevailing narratives around hiring, communication, inclusion, and resilience. The discussion goes beyond traditional security frameworks to uncover the cognitive and cultural risks impacting practitioners at all levels.
Listeners will walk away with a deeper understanding of why burnout, disconnect, and distrust are systemic, not personal, and how security leaders must evolve to lead in environments of increasing complexity, diversity, and psychological strain.
Key Themes:
Why psychological safety and cognitive clarity are prerequisites for functional security operations.
How the industry’s hidden majority is misaligned with traditional corporate norms and what needs to change.
The mismatch between capability and visibility in how cyber professionals are evaluated and excluded.
A linguistic and philosophical reframe that emphasizes collaborative understanding over performative inclusion.
Why many security professionals are forced to protect their organizations from internal dysfunction while defending against external threats.
Trust, mission, and why so many veterans find a natural home in cyber until corporate incentives erode that foundation.
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Audience 1st
Welcome to Audience 1st. A podcast for tech marketers looking to break out of the echo chamber to better understand their audience and turn them into loyal customers. Every week, Dani Woolf is having brutally honest conversations with busy tech buyers about what really motivates them, the things they hate that vendors do, and what you can do about it. You’ll get access to practical information on how to build authentic relationships with your audience, listen to and talk with your buyers, and apply real customer insights to your strategies and tactics. You owe it to the world to unmute your mic. Are you ready?
