{"id":52508,"date":"2025-11-14T20:29:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-14T20:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/test.excelmedias.com\/Security\/2025\/11\/14\/the-power-of-mentorship-in-shaping-security\/"},"modified":"2025-11-14T20:29:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-14T20:29:18","slug":"the-power-of-mentorship-in-shaping-security","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/test.excelmedias.com\/Security\/2025\/11\/14\/the-power-of-mentorship-in-shaping-security\/","title":{"rendered":"The Power of Mentorship in Shaping Security"},"content":{"rendered":"

Article Originally Published Here<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Top security leaders share how mentorship shaped their paths to success.<\/p>\n

Here are what some of them say on the role of mentorship in developing security careers.<\/p>\n

\u201cObserving and learning from these inspirational leaders has shaped who I am today,\u201d says\u00a0Michael Lashlee<\/a>, Chief Security Officer at Mastercard. \u201cI\u2019m where I am today because I stand on the shoulders of those who came before me, and I strongly believe in paying it forward. A good mentor listens, provides honest feedback, and helps you see opportunities beyond your current path. In security, mentorship is especially vital because so much of the profession is shaped by experience, judgment, and context. Mentorship accelerates development, fosters resilience, and builds a strong culture of trust. A good mentor doesn\u2019t have all the answers \u2014 they help others find their own.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be effective in a mentor role, there has to be a genuine interest in helping other people thrive and see people grow,\u201d says Former Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer at James Hardie,\u00a0Jay Gonzales<\/a>. \u201cYou choose someone to mentor when you see something in someone and you know if they just had more guidance, just a little bit more structure, they can be and do so much more. I see more within them than they\u2019re demonstrating to others, and I really try to pull that person out, bring them up a level, because I truly want people to believe in themselves and be successful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Joella Dun-Bernstein<\/a>, Head of Security at JetZero says a key part of a successful security career is knowing what you don\u2019t know and when to ask for help.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m really fortunate to have mentors and friends in different parts of the security industry who have decades of experience,\u201d she says. \u201cIf I can\u2019t find an effective and creative solution to a problem, I have a very small handful of trusted people who have likely encountered a similar issue and we help each other figure things out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whether it is his own career development, or that of those around him,\u00a0Jeff Mieseler<\/a>, Vice President, Protective Services at Nationwide highlights the importance of surrounding yourself with quality mentors who can be a sounding board. One concept he\u2019s found valuable is establishing your own personals \u201cboard of directors\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt allows me access to a group of complementary views and perspectives that don\u2019t necessarily mirror my own,\u201d he says. \u201cIt makes me think and challenges me to look at a situation from all angles. I\u2019ve always enjoyed setting up this personal board of directors for myself as a way for me to challenge myself and make sure that I\u2019m at my best.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that I wouldn\u2019t be where I am now if I didn\u2019t have a really good mentor,\u201d says\u00a0Avril Eklund<\/a>, Director of Security at Microsoft (dedicated to GitHub). \u201cIt was the first time I\u2019d really had somebody like that build my confidence up and keep encouraging me and pushing me to do things that were outside of my comfort zone.\u201d<\/p>\n

She credits the mentorship as giving her the courage to transition from the public sector to private sector.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think I would have been too risk averse and too scared to do it if I hadn\u2019t had that sort of mentor in my life to support me and keep pushing me forward,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n\n

The post The Power of Mentorship in Shaping Security<\/a> appeared first on Security Guard Services Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

\u200b<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Article Originally Published Here Top security leaders share how mentorship shaped their paths to success. Here are what some of them say on the role of mentorship in developing security careers. \u201cObserving and learning from these inspirational leaders has shaped who I am today,\u201d says\u00a0Michael Lashlee, Chief Security Officer at Mastercard. \u201cI\u2019m where I am today because I stand on the shoulders of those who came before me, and I strongly believe in paying it forward. A good mentor listens, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":1971,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-52508","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-security-guard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.excelmedias.com\/Security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52508","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.excelmedias.com\/Security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.excelmedias.com\/Security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.excelmedias.com\/Security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52508"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/test.excelmedias.com\/Security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52508\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.excelmedias.com\/Security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1971"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/test.excelmedias.com\/Security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52508"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.excelmedias.com\/Security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52508"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/test.excelmedias.com\/Security\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52508"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}