Member-only story
How to Make Your Mentor Appreciate You
It’s simple: Don’t be a charity case
When Jonny Cattani interviewed John Crossman on The Investor Relations Real Estate Podcast, they didn’t talk about real estate. But their conversation had some powerful takeaways that anyone can benefit from, no matter what their profession or stage of life is.
Crossman is the author of Career Killers/Career Builders: The Book Every Millennial Needs to Read! Cattani, a Millennial, asked Crossman, a GenXer, what inspired him to write a book targeted to that often-maligned generation.
Crossman’s answer was thoughtful, revealing, and worth hearing (scroll down for the link), but I’m going to skip forward and share one of the strongest gems from the show.
In speaking about career-building strategies, Crossman addressed the subject of mentors. Mentoring has been around for more than 3,000 years, but it began gaining traction in the contemporary business world in the 1990s. Crossman set aside the traditional view of mentoring (a senior person who gives advice and guidance to a junior person) and began talking about charity.
What’s charity got to do with mentoring? Crossman explained, “Charity is giving without…
