Mentorship is a big topic in the security industry. There are programs setup to connect a mentor with a mentee. I believe they’re great programs. I also believe mentorship is more than just a program. We can be mentored by people above us, below us, and within our peer group. I once said this to a friend and co-worker of mine. He responded that he saw mentorship as one way. I agreed that it is one way. I mentor him and he mentors me. There was a look of confusion and then a realization.

He’s a director and I’m a manager. At one point he was an analyst fresh out of the military. Within two years he went from analyst to manager to director. I’ve helped him along the way mentoring him on his hiring practices. He’s mentored me by encouraging me to climb the corporate ladder. At the time I wasn’t really interested in going higher than manager. We’ve confirmed each other's beliefs in management and also challenged each other.

I’ve done well for myself in my career. I’ve never really had a designated mentor. I’ve had to pick and choose lessons throughout my career from my managers and peers. I’ve asked mentee questions of several people because I like learning and gathering different perspectives on things.

They’re all ages and experience levels. The new generation has new ideas that could help us be better. The older generation has lessons from their own experiences that can help us avoid pitfalls or holes they fell into. There are peers that help us confirm or challenge our beliefs. They’re all around us. To me mentoring is organic. You can certainly have a designated mentor but don’t overlook the mentors right in front of you.

This blog post first appear on Exploring Information Security