“There ain’t no way you can hold onto something that wants to go, you understand? You can only love what you got while you got it.” ~Kate DiCamillo

There’s nothing better than having a mentor at work—someone to offer you guidance in your career, give you advice on your day-to-day responsibilities, and help you succeed within the organization. So when that person leaves? Well, it can be tough. Not only did you likely just lose your biggest advocate, you may also have just lost your closest friend/ guide at the office.

The good news is, if you approach the transition correctly, you’ll be just fine—and you may even be able to take greater control of your future because of it.

Your first step should be to identify what role your mentor played in your career: Maybe he/she was your manager and you’ll soon be adjusting to a new boss, or perhaps he was the person who helped you gain visibility within your company. In any case, once you’ve determined the void he’ll leave, you can come up with an action plan to fill it.

My Manager My Mentor

If your mentor was also the person you reported to every day, he no doubt understood your strengths and capitalized on them—he may have noticed your strong social skills and selected you for a project with above-average client interaction, or he may have observed your perfectionist streak and assigned you to analytical work. And by understanding your talents, he probably trusted you with your tasks and granted you a lot of autonomy.

“You get use to someone—start to like them, even—and they leave. In the end, everyone leaves.” ~Rachel Ward

So understandably, when a new boss steps in, this transition can be tough. But rather than longing for the old days or grumbling that your new manager doesn’t give you the level of responsibility you’re used to, you need to work on winning her over. Keep doing your same awesome work, show enthusiasm about her new initiatives, and look for opportunities to take on new assignments, especially in areas that showcase your best skills. Seek feedback on your performance, even if he doesn’t offer it outright, and respond to that input.

Even if your new boss doesn’t become your new mentor, taking initiative, doing great work, and being receptive to feedback will definitely get you on his good side. It is just like when you are reading through a book of your choice and suddenly you finish it; you’ll need to gather same enthusiasm &  fervor to start a new one now.