Jennifer Franks

Director of Information Technology and Cybersecurity, Government Accountability Office

The three most important qualities of a good leader are being able to listen, being able to empower staff to do their jobs and delegating as necessary, according to Franks. “These three qualities are interwoven—listening effectively means I am equipped to empower my staff; by empowering my staff, I can tap into their strengths and delegate effectively; and by delegating effectively, I strengthen communication and deliverables, for which listening serves as a key component,” she told FedScoop. Her top IT priorities are finding small manageable improvements that can be made across agencies to improve their security, embracing the challenge of connecting personnel, software and hardware vulnerabilities to improve risk posture across government and helping federal agencies to develop a holistic approach to tackling the cyberthreats they face.