19. March 2026

IWD 2026 Give to Gain: Why is Mentorship Your Most Vital Risk Management Strategy?

The transition from a technical leader to a leader of leaders is more than a title change; it is a fundamental shift in how one perceives and protects legacy. In this senior position, my journey has shown me that mentorship is a profound form of teaching that we are often too quiet about, one that has evolved from a structured process into a genuine act of creation.

On this International Women’s Day (IWD), I’ve been reflecting on how the very architecture of this relationship has shifted. We have moved far beyond the traditional, almost hollow definition of a “master” handing down knowledge for an apprentice to simply imitate. In the current UK and European landscape, mentorship is no longer just an act of kindness; it is an essential risk management strategy.

Finding a North Star

For a long time, I moved through my career without a formal mentor. I didn’t find one until three years ago because I struggled to find someone whose value system I truly respected. At that time, I was battling imposter syndrome and felt I had lost my way.

It was never about finding someone exactly like me; it was about finding someone who stood for something. We have all seen leaders who appear to compromise their values the moment things get difficult. Whether for financial gain, self-preservation, or just to keep their seat at the table, we’ve watched them make choices that betray their claimed principles.

The Liability of Leadership

In the UK and Europe, that compromise is no longer just a moral failure: it is a personal liability. Senior leaders are now being held personally responsible for their teams’ actions. You may not be making every individual decision, but you will certainly be held accountable for them.

This is why it is vital to surround yourself with people who live their values so deeply that they refuse to compromise under pressure. Finding that commitment in a mentor provides a safe space to replace outdated fears with the courage to stand your ground.

Mentorship in Action: A Peer-to-Peer Shift

This week, I saw this shift in action while on a panel at an Anderson Quigley’s Women in Tech (WIT) event for IWD 2026 with Sarah Oyet. We sat there as peers, yet the audience saw mentorship happening live on screen. Sarah explained why she chose me as her mentor, but more importantly, she demonstrated the results of the mentoring by being on that panel as my equal.

One of her major achievements is that she is now passing it forward to others. In the past, I might have muddled through her praise with a feeling of embarrassment and the response “it was nothing”. But this time, I felt an overwhelming pride. There she was, sharing her passion to help others reach their own “North Star”.

In return, I shared what I’ve learned from her. Sarah gave me the confidence to stay anchored in my own values and lead with kindness and authenticity. I wouldn’t be the “leader of leaders” I am today without this partnership.

The Reciprocal Shield

I often compare the mentorship bond to parenthood. You spend a lifetime preparing a child for the road, but the road changes the parent, too. While we provide the structural integrity for the journey, the next generation forces us to dismantle our outdated maps. They demand that we grow alongside them.

Just as a parent provides the boundaries for a child to test their wings, as leaders, we must provide the unwavering logic and safe space for teams to thrive. In mentorship, just as a child’s choices reflect on the parent, a team member’s actions define the leader’s legacy. It is a reciprocal shield of trust.

In return, mentees and team members must behave with integrity to protect the leaders who are ultimately held accountable for their actions. This is a Sovereign Partnership: the mentee or team member becomes an active protector of the leader’s legacy, shielding that professional exposure through autonomous, logic-based decisions.

Give to Gain: Sharing the Architecture of Logic

Sarah made a beautiful observation about “Passive Mentorship”, that “one-way street” where we are shaped by the books, podcasts, or articles we consume. By choosing to follow certain creators, we are mentored by their content long before a formal mentoring meeting ever happens. This places a responsibility on us to curate our “digital diet”; our growth is dictated by the inputs we choose to consume.

This brings us to this year’s theme: Give to Gain.

For many, this is maybe just a theme for IWD 2026, but I believe it is a legacy we should adopt as a permanent philosophy. To truly “give”, we must do more than offer a quick solution. It is easy to tell someone what action to take. It is much harder, and more vital, to unpick why you made that choice.

When I mentor, I don’t just share the idea; I share the driving principles and the logic I used to get there. This requires a different level of honesty. It forces a “logic audit”; when you have to explain the why to someone else, you are forced to confront whether your own driving principles are as deliberate as you believe them to be. By committing to this transparency, you move from simply having an idea to mastering the architecture of your own leadership.

When we share our “intellectual property” in its rawest form, we aren’t just helping someone build a path. We are gaining a more authentic and diverse future because we have given them the tools to evolve the knowledge and wisdom we have uncovered, rather than just repeating our actions.

The Next Step

As I always tell my son when we are on the brink of change, it is not what we do in the heat of the moment that defines us. It is what we do next:

So, as you look at your own leadership journey today, I ask you to consider the “Give to Gain” philosophy:

• As a mentor: Are you willing to move beyond giving answers to perform the logic audit required to share the transparency of your intellectual property and logic?
• As a mentee: Are you looking for a transactional fix, or are you ready to curate the voices that challenge you to understand the “why” so you can build your own path tomorrow?