The role of leadership in security has fundamentally evolved. The environments we operate in are far more complex, our teams more diverse, and the scope of our accountability increasingly aligned with enterprise outcomes. In this landscape, leadership cannot be defined by authority or subject matter expertise alone. It is defined by a leader's ability to multiply the capability, confidence, and judgment of the people around them.
For years, leadership in security was built on decisiveness, technical prowess, and operational control. These qualities remain essential. But as risk becomes more interconnected and organizations more globally distributed, leadership must adapt to new realities.
Today's most effective leaders are not the people with all the answers. They create environments where others can develop solutions. They ask questions that guide thinking rather than dictate outcomes. They build teams capable of solving problems they themselves may never encounter. That is the multiplier effect, and it changes everything about how security organizations perform, adapt, and succeed.
Regardless of industry, one of the most consistent traits among exceptional leaders is that they all have mentors. Mentorship is not a one-way exchange. It is a cycle. Leaders learn through others, digest those lessons, bring them forward, and in turn become conduits through which judgment and perspective are passed on.
This is where intentional mentorship matters. We often frame mentorship as something we do when schedules allow, and circumstances align. But in reality, providing mentorship is one of the most strategic leadership tools available. Mentorship builds resilience, accelerates development, and shapes the long-term health of our teams, organizations, and professions.
At its core, mentorship serves as a mechanism of structured feedback. When done well, it creates an environment where assumptions are tested, blind spots are exposed, and thinking is sharpened. Leaders who actively seek and provide mentorship gain a powerful advantage that is often underappreciated. They build stronger teams, develop better judgment, and create cultures where capability compounds across generations of professionals.
For senior security leaders, mentorship is more than professional goodwill. It is a responsibility. We are living in an era defined by succession risk, talent scarcity, and increasingly complex operating environments. Developing future leaders is a form of enterprise risk management, ensuring continuity, judgment, and resilience beyond individual tenures.
For example, ASIS International currently has more than 600 mentors and 1,000 mentees from across the globe registered in its Mentoring Program and has made nearly 1,000 matches, to date. That’s what impact looks like.
Throughout my own journey, mentors have challenged my assumptions, expanded how I think, and guided me to see opportunities I could not yet see for myself. In turn, mentoring others through formal programs, volunteer opportunities, and everyday conversations and connections has become central to how I define leadership. Experience has limited value if it stays locked away in your head.
Leaders who embrace mentorship as both responsibility and privilege are multiplier leaders. Multiplier leaders do not create followers. They create other leaders. In practice, this manifests in four consistent ways:
They create visibility. Not for themselves, but for their people.
They create space. They remove friction, provide narrative, and open doors.
They create voice. They invite challenge, dialogue, and contribution.
They create opportunity. They stretch people into roles they may not yet feel ready for, understanding that growth happens at the edge of comfort zones.
These behaviors are not coincidental. They are intentional acts of leadership.
Our industry has always been mission driven, and rightly so. But the longevity of that mission is not determined by controls, technology, or strategies alone. It is determined by the leaders we develop. ASIS plays a critical role here, fostering communities where leaders invest time with membership, where perspectives are shared openly. Where authority ends, influence begins. And where influence grows, legacy takes shape.
The next generation of security professionals is already here. They are globally minded, technically fluent, and ready to make an impact. They do not need every step mapped out for them. What they need is space, perspective, challenge, and leaders willing to open doors.
Leading differently means making a conscious choice to lift up others. It means understanding that our greatest impact comes not from what we build, but from who we empower. In a field defined by complexity, crisis, and change, this is the kind of leadership that endures.
To learn more about the ASIS Mentoring Program, please click here.
About the Author: Michael Brzozowski, MBA, CPP, PSP, CISSP, brings extensive experience in critical infrastructure security and governance. His contributions to the security profession were acknowledged in 2022 with ASIS International’s Don Walker CSO Executive Award.
