Human Element

Cequence's William Glazier on Building Teams through Operational Connection

The hardest part of security leadership isn't building better detection systems; it's staying connected enough to the daily work that you can still recognize when something doesn't make sense. William Glazier [https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-glazier-3b49b156/], Director of Engineering - Threat Research & Machine Learning at Cequence Security [https://www.cequence.ai/], refuses to detach from the operational reality his team faces. He's still in the on-call rotation, still debugging production issues, still analyzing customer data to understand how real investigations unfold. William discusses why mental agility matters more than formal credentials when building security teams and how protecting space for people to follow their curiosity creates culture that outlasts any individual leader. He shares his framework for building trust through selective transparency about decision-making, why writing everything down during incidents prevents repeating the same mistakes, and how to recognize when you're letting emotions rather than data drive your responses. Stories We’re Telling Today:  * Building SOCs from scratch and scaling them as threat landscapes evolve from simple bot attacks to sophisticated AI agents * The practice of comprehensive documentation during security incidents, turning false positives into trust-building opportunities  * Screening for mental agility over credentials, by testing candidates’ willingness to adjust when given with contradictory evidence * Creating team cultures where people teach each other across disciplines, enabling understanding across security contexts * Maintaining operational connection as a leader by staying in on-call rotations and debugging alongside team members * The strategic use of AI tools for documentation and transcription while avoiding the trap of outsourcing critical thinking * Why customer obsession requires vendors to use their own products exactly as customers do, including friction points, to maintain perspective Too busy; didn’t listen:  * Stay operationally connected with actions like remaining in on-call rotations and debugging alongside engineers to maintain and build trust. * In hiring, screen for people who change their minds when presented with contradictory evidence rather than forcing conclusions to fit initial assumptions. This shows mental agility. * Comprehensive documentation during security incidents transforms potential failures into trust-building opportunities. * The biggest risk of AI tools isn't replacement but outsourcing critical thinking before you've struggled through enough problems to recognize when AI-generated answers don't make sense. Skip to the Highlight of the episode:  [33:30-33:56] “If you have a relationship with someone that's generally based on not being afraid to trade ideas and “Actually I disagree with you here. I disagree with this. What about this? What about that?” And then that stops. That's another red flag. And how do you build it? It's relying on you, again, having some North star that you've got to keep. People have to know some goal they're working towards, some broad vision.” 40:51-51:22 Speaker William Glazier, Director of Engineering - Threat Research & Machine Learning, Cequence Security William Glazier has built, scaled, and managed security operations while developing machine learning models for bot detection. His background includes everything from early threat intelligence work on residential proxy services to current challenges distinguishing good AI agents from malicious ones. Listen to more episodes:  Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/human-element/id1812895529]  Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5OpQqUb1Z5cS1vpB2UB3VG?si=7c23bbe4d8a64614]  YouTube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfRX-xJAc2ywlg_6wwZIzLUWY6MXYo1jN&si=4Uw6pyAJgj1oINGA] Website [https://www.maltego.com/podcast/]

HUMAN Security's Lindsay Kaye on Why Empathy Is Non-negotiable

Lindsay Kaye [https://www.linkedin.com/in/lindsaymkaye/]'s career turned on a single decision: someone taught her reverse engineering despite her lack of experience, shaping her leadership philosophy around giving others similar opportunities. As VP of Threat Intelligence at HUMAN Security [https://www.humansecurity.com/], she maintains hands-on technical work not as a compromise but as a strategic choice that builds credibility, prevents over-promising on timelines, and ensures she understands what her distributed team confronts daily tackling sophisticated ad fraud campaigns. Lindsay also discusses her evolution from firm-deadline enforcement to empathy-driven management, her trust bucket framework that evaluates patterns rather than individual mistakes, and how she actively prevents hub-and-spoke isolation by encouraging peer-to-peer collaboration across six time zones.  Stories We’re Telling Today:  * Maintaining hands-on technical work as a leader to build credibility, prevent over-promising, and understand team challenges firsthand * Trying on different leadership styles early in your career creates authentic leadership rather than forcing predetermined molds * Building trust across globally distributed teams through peer-to-peer one-on-ones and rotating collaboration partners * The trust bucket framework for evaluating team performance over time rather than making judgments based on individual missed deadlines * Why saying "I don't know" and asking for help demonstrate leadership strength rather than weakness in technical security environments * How the evolution from firm deadline enforcement to empathy-driven management improves team performance and psychological safety * Managing complex investigations across six time zones by time-boxing days for meetings versus deep technical work * Creating real-world impact narratives that motivate teams beyond just internal company benefits * Mentoring junior analysts into reverse engineering by emphasizing that repeated failure is the learning path rather than something to avoid Too busy; didn’t listen:  * Maintain hands-on reverse engineering work as a leader because technical credibility prevents over-promising timelines and builds authentic leadership. * Empathy-driven management recognizes that transparency and understanding life circumstances improve team performance. * Distributed teams can avoid hub-and-spoke isolation by encouraging peer-to-peer one-on-ones, rotating collaboration partners, and time-boxing days for meetings. * A trust bucket framework treats team performance as cumulative rather than judging individuals on single missed deadlines. Skip to the Highlight of the episode:  [17:12-17:22] “I think that making sure that they get to do work that they enjoy that benefits the company and then helping them understand how the things that they do actually benefit the company is really important.”  Speaker Lindsay Kaye, VP of Threat Intelligence, HUMAN Security Lindsay Kaye is an expert malware analyst and reverse engineer who loves taking on technical challenges of all kinds. She speaks regularly at international conferences such as REcon, Disobey, SEC-T, FIRST, and numerous BSides events. In addition to speaking, she leads training sessions and workshops that help others develop skills in the technical aspects of cybersecurity. Lindsay currently leads the Threat Intelligence team at HUMAN, building on her career from software engineer to reverse engineer to technical team leadership. A New York City native, Lindsay obtained her BS in Engineering from Olin College of Engineering before receiving her MBA from Babson College. She is also the author of Dissecting the Dark Web [https://nostarch.com/dissecting-dark-web].   Listen to more episodes:  Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/human-element/id1812895529]  Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5OpQqUb1Z5cS1vpB2UB3VG?si=7c23bbe4d8a64614]  YouTube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfRX-xJAc2ywlg_6wwZIzLUWY6MXYo1jN&si=4Uw6pyAJgj1oINGA] Website [https://www.maltego.com/podcast/]

LastPass's Alex Cox on Turning Vulnerability Into Leadership Strength

The best security leaders don't pretend to know everything; they build teams where admitting knowledge gaps becomes a competitive advantage. Alex Cox [https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexjcox/], Lead of Artificial Intelligence Working Group at LastPass [https://www.lastpass.com/], has spent two decades proving that vulnerability creates stronger security organizations than technical heroics ever could. His approach to leadership, forged through military service and high-stakes security incidents, prioritizes trust and psychological safety over individual expertise. Ben and Alex discuss how commander's intent from military planning translates to empowering security teams, why hiring for stress management capabilities matters more than technical credentials, and how AI is blurring the lines between individual contributor and management skills. Alex also shares his framework for spot feedback, his philosophy on when to lean on others' expertise, and why the transition from IC to manager remains one of the hardest career shifts in security. Stories We’re Telling Today:  * Applying military commander's intent principles to security team management by defining mission outcomes * Why hiring veterans and former law enforcement provides natural stress management capabilities * The strategic value of deep IT backgrounds for security roles: natural pattern recognition for detecting anomalies and suspicious activity * How AI is transforming individual contributor work to require management-level strategic thinking * Building psychological safety by modeling that voicing disagreement or admitting overwhelm won't result in retaliation * Implementing spot feedback rather than formal mentorship structures, rather than waiting for scheduled reviews or structured programs * Using tone calibration in text-based communication through emoji and message structure to prevent misunderstandings in abbreviated high-pressure exchanges across Slack and similar platforms * Evaluating security technology decisions by understanding industry trajectory rather than just current needs Too busy; didn’t listen:  * Build security teams around admitting knowledge gaps and leaning on others' expertise, making vulnerability a leadership strength. * There is value in prioritizing hiring veterans and former law enforcement for stress management capabilities over technical credentials. * Using commander's intent to create space for unexpected approaches and building trust through autonomy. * AI is making management skills essential for individual contributors, as effective prompting requires the same strategic thinking and problem decomposition traditionally reserved for leading teams. * Psychological safety matters more than technical expertise; teams that can voice disagreement or admit being underwater solve problems faster than those protecting leadership egos. Skip to the Highlight of the episode:  [14.47-15:07] “That's another favorite part of the job is to have a task and have one of my posts come back and go, “Hey, look at this!” And I'm like, “Man, I never thought of it that way. Or that's a really unique approach.” And showing it off to some of the other managers, seeing if you can apply the approaches in different places. That's a really fun part of managing a security team in general, because, like I said, it tends to produce people that think outside the box.”  Listen to more episodes:  Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/human-element/id1812895529]  Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5OpQqUb1Z5cS1vpB2UB3VG?si=7c23bbe4d8a64614]  YouTube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfRX-xJAc2ywlg_6wwZIzLUWY6MXYo1jN&si=4Uw6pyAJgj1oINGA] Website [https://www.maltego.com/podcast/]

Evershed Sutherland's Patrick Gilman on How Revenue Follows Purpose Instead of Driving It

Patrick Gilman [https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-gilman/], Lawyer, Partner, & Co-Head of National Security Practice at Eversheds Sutherland [https://www.eversheds-sutherland.com/en/global], points to a disconnect between how professional services firms measure success and what actually drives sustainable team performance. Instead of P&L and billable hours, Patrick focuses on whether his team receives diverse, challenging work that develops broad problem-solving capabilities across multiple legal domains rather than creating narrow subject matter experts. Patrick discusses the structural reasons lawyers fail at leadership. They transition from team member to team leader without formal training, law schools provide no leadership curriculum, and revenue pressure makes team development secondary to billing. He also explains his framework for difficult decisions through second- and third-order effects analysis, why he stopped reactive management behaviors after recognizing they produced no useful outcomes, and how he empowers junior associates to screen and approve hiring candidates before they join the team. Stories We’re Telling Today:  * Why competitive professional environments create poor leaders by teaching individual performance without transition frameworks * Defining success through team utilization, skill diversity, and sense of purpose to create sustainable performance * The framework for evaluating difficult decisions by mapping second- and third-order effects rather than optimizing for immediate outcomes  * Why empowering junior team members to screen, interview, and approve hiring candidates creates stronger team cohesion * How removing misaligned team members prevents ripple effects that destroy team dynamics * Building trust through radical transparency and honest communication even when it's uncomfortable  * Why crisis-focused practices make daily routines ineffective and demand different operational frameworks * Formal mentorship programs vs. mentorship through regular feedback, honest assessment, and helping individuals understand their failures Too busy; didn’t listen:  * Law and other professional programs don't teach team management, leaving professionals to transition from individual contributor to team leader without understanding the fundamental shift in roles. * Defining success by team utilization, skill diversity, and sense of purpose rather than billable hours or P&L; when those elements align properly, traditional metrics become trailing indicators. * Mapping second- and third-order effects for decisions, empowering junior staff to control hiring decisions, and immediately removing misaligned team members to protect cohesion. * Preparation prevents disaster, and the distinction between difficult and easy decisions compresses with experience. Skip to the Highlight of the episode:  [4:15-4:40] “But the difference between the two is lawyers, when they're operating, they're not brought up to operate a team. They're brought up to be a part, as a junior lawyer, to be part of a team. And as you grow through the ranks, you go from being a part of a team to leading a team without really understanding the transition and the roles and responsibilities of doing that.”  Listen to more episodes:  Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/human-element/id1812895529]  Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5OpQqUb1Z5cS1vpB2UB3VG?si=7c23bbe4d8a64614]  YouTube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfRX-xJAc2ywlg_6wwZIzLUWY6MXYo1jN&si=4Uw6pyAJgj1oINGA] Website [https://www.maltego.com/podcast/]

ConnectWise's Bryson Medlock on Leading without a Universal Playbook

Bryson Medlock [https://www.linkedin.com/in/bamed/]'s path to Threat Intelligence Evangelism Director, CW Research Unit at ConnectWise [https://www.connectwise.com/] positioned him to address what actually creates high-performing security teams: treating people as individuals, maintaining psychological safety during crises, and building systems that eliminate months of manual work. Bryson shares how his leadership philosophy draws from a bit of nerdiness, including nearly two decades of running D&D campaigns where managing group dynamics requires constant attention to who's speaking and who needs encouragement to contribute. These frameworks translate directly into security team management, where recognizing that a fresh graduate needs hands-on guidance while a 15-year veteran needs autonomy and trust determines whether teams thrive or fracture. The conversation explores how Bryson transformed ConnectWise's threat intelligence operations from months of manual spreadsheet work into automated systems that generate insights instantly. He also touches on conducting difficult conversations by focusing on observable facts rather than assumed intentions, building trust through recognizing individual needs rather than applying uniform management styles, and why panic accomplishes nothing in security operations where most situations aren't actually life-or-death. Stories We’re Telling Today:  * Why the most important step after any failure is simply the next one, and how this shapes hiring decisions for people who return after rejection * Transforming threat intelligence operations from months of manual spreadsheet work into automated systems * Building trust by recognizing individual experience levels and adjusting management style accordingly * Conducting difficult conversations by focusing on observable facts and giving people the benefit of the doubt regarding their intentions * Why curiosity about why systems work matters more than memorizing commands or collecting certifications * How running D&D campaigns teaches essential leadership skills, including managing group dynamics * Creating psychological safety during security emergencies by recognizing that panic doesn’t help unless it’s life or death * Why kindness isn't soft but rather creates competitive advantage through better team performance and reduced turnover Too busy; didn’t listen:  * The most important step after any failure is the next one; some of Bryson's best hires were people initially rejected who demonstrated growth and returned changed. * Effective leadership requires treating team members according to their individual experience levels, not applying uniform management styles. * Curiosity about why systems work separates career-long security professionals from those who plateau. * Building trust involves conducting difficult conversations by focusing on observable facts rather than assumed intentions, then giving people the benefit of the doubt. * Kindness in leadership creates competitive advantage through better team performance, reduced turnover, and environments where people actually want to contribute their best work Skip to the Highlight of the episode:  [13:44-13:58] “You have got to be able to know when to trust, and when to delegate. I think a lot of it comes down to just recognizing that what it means to be a human, everybody is an individual. Everybody's got individual needs and wants and desires” Listen to more episodes:  Apple [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/human-element/id1812895529]  Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/5OpQqUb1Z5cS1vpB2UB3VG?si=7c23bbe4d8a64614]  YouTube [https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLfRX-xJAc2ywlg_6wwZIzLUWY6MXYo1jN&si=4Uw6pyAJgj1oINGA] Website [https://www.maltego.com/podcast/]