In the final part of this three-part mentorship series for Cybersecurity Awareness Month we are discussing the advantages and challenges of reverse mentorship. Hear from two members who dared to embark on the complex world of reverse mentorship and shared their experiences with us.
Read more about becoming a mentor and mentee in our part 1 and part 2 of this blog series.
Chinatu Uzuegbu, CISSP, CEO/Managing Cyber Security Consultant at RoseTech CyberCrime Solutions Ltd.
How would you describe reverse mentorship?
Reverse mentorship is a process of being trained or mentored by a younger or junior position as a more experienced or senior member of the team. It is a knowledge transfer session from let us say, a college graduate to a CEO or from a subordinate to a boss.
What were some of the greatest challenges?
There was not much of a challenge, but I noticed I would always feel humbled seeing such an established and well-educated elder attending to my sessions so promptly to the extent of asking questions.
Lorenzo Leonelli, CISSP, Owner at theinfosecvault.com
How do you find common ground?
Senior professionals should be humble enough to approach work knowing that there is always something to learn, and that every person in a company regardless of level may be a great source of knowledge. At the same time juniors shouldn't be afraid of becoming mentors, they need the self-awareness and self-confidence to approach senior managers as peers. What a senior manager can give in terms of experience for communication and work environments a junior can give in terms of new technologies available on the market and in making the learning curve in approaching them less steep.
How and when did you find time to communicate/meet?
As with any relationship, any chance of communicating should be taken. But quality matters much more than quantity. It is fundamental that communication, while always being polite, is spontaneous and direct and not circumstantial. When the conversation is made only of what the counterpart wants to hear it is not constructive for both parts.
Would you recommend reverse mentorship to other organizations?
Definitely! Reverse mentorship is an approach that I'd recommend to any company. It is not easy in the beginning but for sure is the best way to make a company grow with a generational balance sharing with all stakeholders the vision that future wealth of a company matters as much as the present or even more.
Collaborate with others on creating a reverse mentorship program at your organization and discuss it on the Career Discussions Board on the (ISC)² Community here.