Mentoring--one of the broadest methods of encouraging human growth.(CREDIT CONGRESS)

Most of us would probably not be where we are today in our credit careers without family, friends, colleagues and mentors. We certainly know that we would not have had the many positive, and some not so positive, experiences throughout our many years in credit without those important support groups.

Constructive, and sometimes not so constructive, criticism and guidance come from those groups. As our professional lives consume more and more of our precious time, interaction with these groups should be a positive and rewarding one. Networking and mentoring are the opportunities that are available to us to capitalize on learning in our day-to-day lives. While networking is an avenue that we may utilize in the short run, mentoring is a life-long endeavor.

A mentor is a person who has an impact on someone's life through actions, words or deeds. The process can help them in developing talents used daily or in identifying latent abilities. Mentoring is not counseling--it provides motivation and support to an individual seeking a new path.

Through mentoring, whether as a mentor or a mentee, we are able to avail ourselves of the opportunity to give back to our profession some of what we have gained from it through our own growth and development as credit professionals. In many instances, we do not realize that we are performing mentoring functions or being mentored by others.

We are all mentors and we do have the knowledge and experiences to help others. As a mentor we can influence the mentee in many ways: by helping to set performance standards, challenging self-expectations, offering motivation during difficult times or just being a sounding board. Getting a better grasp of how to effectively do this vitally important task is something we should all take advantage of whenever possible.

We would urge you to take advantage of the CFDD National Mentoring Program to gain a better understanding of what it takes to be a successful Mentor and how to avoid the many pitfalls that can ...