It is easy to treat a mentor like a lifeline. Someone who will help you course-correct every time you get off track. But that can quietly start to shift the dynamic. Suddenly, it is their story you are living in. The one where they rescue the promising newcomer who just needs direction.
But this is not their story. It is yours. And as long as you keep waiting for them to tell you what to do, you are not really leading it. You are just reacting. Being mentored is not passive. It is active. It requires reflection, effort, even disagreement. You cannot grow if all you ever do is nod and take notes.
Mentors are not there to be impressed. They are not there to carry you to the finish line. They are there to walk with you while you move. And if you stop moving, they cannot keep dragging. The whole point of being mentored is to become someone who eventually does not need one.