Bill Gates learned from Warren Buffett. Larry Page turned to Michael Bloomberg and Steve Jobs. And Canada’s 2012 CFO of the year, Colleen Johnston of TD Bank Group, was tutored by the steady hand of Ed Clark.

Whether you are building a legendary blue-chip company or an effective financial advisory practice, says Norm Trainor, president and CEO of the Covenant Group, in Toronto, never underestimate the importance of a mentor.

Trainor offers the following tips to help young advisors find and work with a mentor:

> Be proactive
Choose your mentor — they don’t choose you.

“First and foremost, you have to proactively seek out mentors.” Trainor says. “You have to learn how to be very open and very direct.”

Young advisors may be more hesitant to approach savvy veterans, Trainor says. But although you might not think you have much to offer a potential mentor in return for his or her time, simply being honest and telling them that you think you can learn from that person is an important first step toward cultivating a beneficial relationship.

> Understand that mentoring is not coaching
Often, Trainor says, advisors fail to identify the distinctions between seeking a coach and seeking a mentor.

“Coaching focuses on the skills you need today to be successful in your role,” Trainor says. “Mentoring focuses on what you will need tomorrow to grow to the next stage. You are better to engage in a relationship where someone is closer, developmentally, to you.”

A mentor, traditionally, is older and helps an advisor develop into the next stage of his or her careers. So, it’s important that you be sure of the goals you have in mind and what you are looking to accomplish.

> Don’t be afraid to more than one mentor
Trainor advocates having multiple mentors, each specializing in a different area of expertise. Cross-sector mentors can help you better understand topics such as marketing, finance, capital markets or technology and how they can be utilized in your practice.

Says Trainor: “Mentors can round you out and make you more complete.”

> Do a self-inventory
Before casting out your nets in search of a mentor, Trainor says, ask yourself:

  • What do I need to learn?
  • Where do I want to grow my business?
  • How do I round myself out?

Answering these fundamental questions will help you identifying your strengths and weaknesses and areas that need further development.

As Trainor points out, the natural tendency among new advisors is to focus on survival, so they are often focused on “What do I need to do today, this week or this quarter?” A good mentor, Trainor says, can help you think about where you want to take your career in five, 10 or 15 years.

“The mentor can help you move from thinking about what you are doing as work to thinking about it as a career.”