Facepalm Files: Tales from identity dummy moments

Where identity experts share the “a-ha”s behind the “uh-oh”s

Everyone has a facepalm‑worthy story—yes, even the pros. In our new Facepalm Files series, identity practitioners and experts share the cringeworthy, laugh‑out‑loud, and occasionally disastrous identity security missteps they’ve experienced or witnessed. Each story comes with a dose of humility, a touch of humor, and a practical takeaway you can use to strengthen your own program. Because sometimes, the best way to learn what to do is by hearing what not to do.

The risk of not having the right decision makers in the room

Have you ever heard a coworker or manager say, “Make sure you have all of the right people in the room for this decision”? This is commonplace for most organizations, especially when it comes to driving large strategic decisions. Unfortunately, more often than not, someone gets left out in the decision-making process. This causes additional churn, re-work, or even the dreaded “meeting after the meeting.” Let me tell you a story about how missing this one critical question can waste six months.

The setup

I was leading an identity program at the time, and we were specifically focused on changes to the joiner process. Now, I’ve always been the type of person to understand what the current process looks like to determine if it is broken before adding any sort of technology to it. (Cue the “don’t add a tool on top of a broken process” phrase that you’ve surely heard on your identity journey.) As a result, I identified part of our process that needed a fix: new hires needed to be onboarded earlier so we could provision access in time for IT to build and ship their computers before day one. Sounds like a simple change, right? Well, nothing could be further from the truth. As I dug into the process, I realized several teams across the organization were going to be impacted. This “small” change started to look like an unachievable, monster-sized project.

I knew this change required getting the right people in the room, so I started, naturally, with the Human Resources team. We discussed, debated, and outlined all potential issues that could occur as a result of this change. This went on for several months. The recap after each meeting was always to follow up with another team – “the meeting after the meeting.” What was I missing? I kept scratching my head, feeling like I was on a hamster wheel with no end in sight.

The facepalm moment

What I was missing was that I forgot to ask the critical question: “Do we have ALL of the right people here to make this decision?”

When I realized my oversight, I reached out to the teams I had met with over the last several months and asked them exactly that. Suddenly, it was like the floodgates opened! Instantly I was getting visibility into critical teams who needed to be at the table to make this change happen. The next step? Booking a meeting, which should have happened six months prior, where we finally came to a decision to adjust the onboarding process. No more “follow up with another team” or hamster wheel adventures, just a solid, move-forward decision.

The lesson

As you move through the steps of your identity journey, make sure to continually ask yourself if all the right people are in the room to make a decision. Alternatively, you can form a cross-functional steering committee who weighs in on these impactful, strategic conversations and ensures that you have the right resources to assist with the change right from the start.

Was this a facepalm moment? Absolutely! Am I thankful I went through it? Yes, because now I can share these words of wisdom, so you don’t make the same mistake I did.

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That’s it for this round of Facepalm Files. Grab your copy of Modern Identity Security for Dummies, SailPoint Special Edition, and don’t wait for your next “uh-oh” to find your “a-ha.”