In 2012 and 2011, her company was recognized by Diversity Business as one of the “Top 500 African American Owned Businesses” and one of the “Top 100 Diversity Owned Businesses in the USA.”

Magana has also been published in the Defense Information Systems Agency IA Newsletter and interviewed on Federal News Radio's “Mark Amtower Show.” She has more than 10 years of experience providing security risk management services and security engineering/architecture support in the public and private sectors. IA is published by the Department of Defense's Cyber Security and Information Assurance. 

A recipient of the Army’s Achievement Medal for Civilian Service, Magana now sits on the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association Technology Committee. The AFCEA, which was established in 1946, is a non-profit organization serving its members by providing a forum for the ethical exchange of information, and dedicated to increasing knowledge through the exploration of issues relevant to its members in information technology, communications and electronics for the defense, homeland security and intelligence communities.

Magana earned a bachelor's in engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In 2001, she received the Black Engineer of the Year “Most Promising Engineer in Government” Award. She is a certified information systems security professional (CISSP) in the global information security arena. Magana shared her thoughts on women in STEM leadership and innovation via e-mail with USBE Online.

USBE Online: As president and CEO of your own firm you provide a road map on where your company is going and how it would get there. What would you say are the fundamentals of executive leadership?

Danyetta Fleming Magana: Clarity of vision and ability to communicate it to others and aligning them to the vision. The key part is to excite the other to participate by harnessing their needs and dreams. The more willingness one can solicit the more potential for possibility and productivity. The clearer you are of your vision the easier it is for everyone to share in the responsibilities required toward its success.

USBE Online: What would you say are the 5 most critical skills of leadership?

Danyetta Fleming Mangana: Communication. The backbone of everything is your ability to listen, hear, understand and relate information. The better you are at understanding and receiving information; communicating information, the easier it is to move toward success. Engagement and partnering create growth.

Vision.   If you don’t know where you are going, how can you lead anyone? Often we get a goal and confuse it with vision. Vision is having the gift of clarity to see the possibilities of what can be or what will be and then being able to define it well enough for people to follow you there.

Creativity and Innovation.  In leadership you are constantly in the creative process. You can use what has been as a guide, but in true creation you define how it can be better or, even better, wipe the slate clean and devise a new way altogether. Including finding new ways of dissolving cultural boundaries and psychological boundaries to build trust and to access powerful people resources we bring into our organization.

Understanding core values.  In order to lead, I’ve learned the clearer I am on where my internal values, and the articulation of them in all that I do, the more the situations and people around those values appear in my life. In leadership, we have to know when to join the show and when to walk away.  Values help you and your organization understand the difference between what you are willing to give up or when that goal is not even an option because it takes you all out of your core values. Leadership lies in the constant choice one has to make between that which we seek and that which we try to avoid.

Intuition in business is often overlooked, but in any successful venture you understand it is immensely valuable to just “know when you  know.” 

I find that in many environments, we are taught to rely on hard facts when in reality any report you obtain, regardless of how much research, is only giving you a prediction of the future based on past events. This is, sometimes, not always accurate, and often fails to take into account the intangibles such as what is going on people’s lives, their ability to cope with change and other factors that cannot be handled in a pure data vantage point.

I believe as women leaders we often shy away from embracing the “Inner wisdom” we have that brings tremendous clarity and insight into situations . The intuition or “inner wisdom” we have can take these data points and then bring a sense of clarity to them by viewing the emotional side that is very critical to true success in  any organization embracing the future. 

With that comes the fundamental shift from having to do it right every time to believing life is about continually learning to do it better.

USBE Online: What’s been your greatest challenge and how did you overcome it?

Danyetta Fleming Mangana: Wanting more and not knowing what it is.  Not knowing how to be in ambiguity, uncertainty and discomfort and find[ing] my way towards being effective as a leader.  How I overcame this is by developing skills,  tools and competencies associated with navigating uncertainty and being vulnerable. risks. Be[ing] in discomfort has significantly contributed to my resilience, transformation and insights. One key learning in this has come from the ability to express myself in a larger context of expansion rather than from conflict which empowers everyone from my staff to clients.

USBE Online: What tips would you give to a young female graduate starting out in Cybersecurity?

Danyetta Fleming Magana: The sky is the limit. Focus on creating incredible unity, collaboration and innovation.  Stay open to challenge and learning. The most successful people in cybersecurity are those willing to keep pushing themselves and willing to learn.  Technology and how we use technology is changing all the time and to be successful you need to stay connected and open to learning something new continuously.  The field is truly in its infancy and we need young creative women to challenge us to be better. Two guiding questions to ask one another is 'If we could wish for the impossible, what would we do? If we had unlimited resources, what would we do?' And get started in whatever small way towards creating it.