What's the talent for attracting Mentors? Mystery to me.

[UTUSN]

Last edited Fri Dec 6, 2024, 05:52 PM - Edit history (1)

I operated all my working life starting at the bottom, under-employed and over-performing, observing the rules and expectations, waiting my turn, a scarce and scant 2 or 3 *moments* of a helping hand or getting a break. Yet have seen three or so instances of people getting major boosts from powerful Mentors - pathways to plum advancement. Had a couple of bosses less academically credentialed, while I never called attention to it.

The young "networkers" in the '90s were like lightning in stepping on up the ladder of Mentors, one after the other and discarding the Replaced ones. This was in the days when the reality shows about Survivor and "voting off the island" popped up. They were playing cut throat.

The master of brown nosing was a young dude who knew the exact line and never crossed it in the kissing up talent: Was at the ready to identify and flatter, but "If you can fake sincerity" you've got it down.

Saw one dude who had incurred the castigation from THE most powerful boss and was demoted, but he knew the game he wanted to play and went through months of arbitration, Corrective Action - translation: GROVELING and assuring that he had been wrong about whatever and was contrite and would forever improve himself - jump through the hoops, as he himself said.

*** I've got what Ben AFFLECK called a "resting face" of severity, not a beaming fun expression. Most of all, never kissing up. So is that it? - making some insecure higher-ups feel threatened, so didn't attract Mentors, the opposite.