Not just role models but mentors.

What makes a memorable mentor? To find a mentor in your field of business is often a process via recognised bodies with accreditations to help you find your level of d mentorship. They generally have a specific field of expertise that you try and match to your goals while trying to build a relationship that will make the transfer of knowledge a smooth process. If you are lucky enough to be in an industry that recognises the need for mentorship, TIME (http://bit.ly/bYVq8P) comes to mind for the Travel Industry, then you are one of the lucky ones. It is often a difficult process to find the right people, who can take you to the next level.

So often, people don’t recognise those who have influenced and mentored them through periods of their life but these people are just as important, if not more so, than someone you specifically choose. I hear colleagues talk about past mentors without giving them that particular moniker. They talk about role models and influencers but mentors are much closer to the mark. Think about those people and ask yourself whether you have given them the due recognition deserved, for helping to guide and shape you in becoming who you are today.

Good mentoring can start as early as school when some teachers go beyond teaching and recognise potential to be nurtured. You pick up traits and behaviours from the best teachers and if I think back to my high school English teacher, Terry Cliff, it becomes apparent that over the 5 years we were together in the classroom, he raised my awareness in my potential and gave me the opportunity to grow outside of the strict educational guidelines.

My first business partner, Garry Muirhead, imparted the wisdom of relationships and connections to be fostered and appreciated from a business view. You sometimes get lucky and find yourself in a situation where people are ready to mentor you and this was the case with Garry, as he and I looked to expand our presence within the local travel industry. You need to be open and receptive to change so people are willing to spend the time on you.

It’s often the non formal mentors who have the greatest effect on you if you think back over your working life. One of my oldest friends, Pat Farber, who works in the US legal system is a constant benchmark for professionalism wrapped in an easy going and giving demeanor. Like formal mentors he is always there for me no matter what the situation requires and ever ready to pass on wisdom gained in areas I would never have access to.

If you think hard, there are many who have influence and mentor you on a daily basis but you don’t always see it as a formal process. I know for me, people like Janette Davie and Leith Mills among others in my industry, are a guiding light and perfect sounding boards for ideas and circumstances where wisdom, knowledge and relationships come into play.

If you are lucky enough to be in a formal mentoring program ( TIME comes to mind again ) you will reap the benefits but if not, consider those who have taken you further and raised you higher. Give them the appreciation they deserve and consider situations where you can reciprocate and pass on your wisdom and knowledge to others.

There is nothing finer, pass it on.