Patiwet Kanyakool shares how being mentored helped motivate him to be successful, built up his expertise and pushed him to attain goals that were initially beyond his comfort zone.

Why is having a mentor essential?

To me, the relationship between advisors and their mentors can be compared to that of athletes and coaches. A coach sees the big picture for their athletes and trains them to build up endurance and skills they need on the way to achieve their ultimate goal. An advisor’s mentor also sees the big picture and identifies strengths, closes gaps and unveils new growth opportunities for financial advisors. A mentor often sees the potential for growth beyond what the advisors can see in themselves.

What qualities should a good mentor possess?

A good mentor should have three characteristics. First is empathy, which means listening to the financial advisor in an understanding way and perceiving their uniqueness. Second is the ability to see through the lens of opportunity a world full of possibilities while simultaneously viewing it with caution and safeguarding the financial advisor. Third is storytelling ability, being a communicator who sparks ideas that inspire financial advisors, encourage innovative thinking and dare to venture into new endeavors.

How did a mentor help you overcome a difficult time or successfully reach a business goal?

During my first year, I managed to qualify for MDRT. My style of work then was to go around building relationships with people. But in my second year, COVID-19 prevented me from what I was doing before. I couldn’t make use of my strong points, and I saw nothing but obstacles. My mentor saw how scared and discouraged I was, so she set up an activity called early bird. Every morning, I came to the office at 8 a.m., and she started building up my confidence by putting in my head ideas for getting people to want to see more of us. Do they have enough health insurance to cover hospital admission if they get seriously ill? Enough life insurance? Suppose their business, assets, investments falter, how will their existing life insurance help them get through the crisis? She showed me that giving people encouragement during that time was truly important. I was able to put more enjoyment into my work and achieve MDRT again.

How can an advisor find a good mentor?

Go out and look for people, and as you get involved in activities with them, look for those three ideal qualities I mentioned. It’s certainly true that you don’t need to be limited to only one mentor. You can look for people skilled in certain areas you want to improve in, and then see if they have those three qualities. If you see those, such a person could be your mentor.