Why do we ever have to leave good mentors and bosses?
One of the hardest parts of leaving a workplace is leaving a good friend, mentor, or boss behind. I myself at several times in my career had a hard time processing the thought that I lost an ally, a friend, and a guide.
But of course as such is life. And in as much as I’d like to fret and get depressed over my loss of a good mentor, I realized that it’s just the way it is: a natural process of life that we have to accept.
Nevertheless, it’s but human that we feel upset as we look back at people that we lost in the process of moving on: those who had been our brothers and sisters at work, the very people who we shed metaphorical blood with when the times got rough and tough, and also the ones we shared revelries with after a successful project delivery.
What’s comforting to know is that they left us something worthwhile, something more important than the reason why the heavens allowed that we’ll no longer be mentored by such great teachers.
It was intended for us to learn to stand on our own sturdy legs
The downside of working with great mentors is we may inadvertently develop a complacent type of dependence. Of course it is a vital quality of a team to become mutually dependent of one another based on one’s respective role. And this is not to say that working under a boss whose values do not resonate with us is better.
But the danger of which is we may become inflicted with a debilitating dependence where you become too relaxed and indolent because of the thought that someone got you covered no matter what.
At a certain point in our lives whether we will still be in the same industry or not, we will be in charge to hold the line and be accountable for our actions. In those instances, it will no longer be our good mentors who will be there to save us. By then, it will all be up to us.
They came to illuminate our way
For me, good teachers are all God-sent angels in disguise, meant to show us the first and essential steps, if not the whole way. If you’re not into theology, it’s the universe or destiny or their calling to guide our souls in our journey towards the realization of our own potentials.
Before our guides came, we had been wandering in darkness lost in a labyrinth of pathways that lead to some place only God knows where. Then came our good mentors holding a lamp. The lamp may not be as bright as a supernova to bring everything to light but it is bright enough to guide us in our succeeding steps.
And if we’re closely paying attention, our good mentors did not just show us the way. More importantly, they showed us how it’s done properly. Correctly. Efficiently.
And even if what we’ve learned from them isn’t the superb way of doing things, they still left us something of equal importance: they left us something to begin with. It’s enough to get us started, to explore other options and to improve them. How kickass can that be?
‘Thank you, sensei!’
Great teachers and bosses come and go. We cannot expect to hold on to such great blessings for too long, right? After all, there are blessings that are meant to be shared anyway.
And as it turns out, they never really left us at all. Because good mentors and bosses left behind in us a good part of themselves.
