Ah what would we do without mentors? I have lost count of the number of times a mentor has benefitted me – be it my parents, my wife, my brother, my friends, my teachers, well-meaning colleagues, ill-meaning colleagues, good bosses, bad bosses, friends… you name it. Even though some learning experiences were brutal and demeaning at the time, looking back, those feedback loops are what helped into shaping the person I am today. Of course I’m not a successful billionaire, so this probably doesn’t count for much from a materialistic point of view.
But mentors are super important in life, and especially the specialist mentors, the 1-2 people you can rely on for non-technical guidance in your specialist domain. If you are lucky, such a person can double up as your boss too.
The logical next question is, what if I need to move (presumably to a better workplace), and if I consequently need to leave my mentor / boss as well?
This is summarized beautifully in a dialogue in the hit TV series called Ted Lasso:
A good mentor hopes you will leave.
A great mentor knows you will leave!