Years of accumulated wisdom are about to disappear from financial planning. Tens of thousands of professionals are planning to retire in the next decade, and it’s crucial their collective knowledge is transferred before it’s lost.

After integrating mentorship into the financial planning curriculum at Texas A&M University, I feel strongly that mentorship holds the key to getting more people interested in financial planning and having them run successful businesses.

The Value Of One-On-One Interactions

Mentorship within the financial planning program at Texas A&M University didn’t actually start out as a mentorship program: It began as informational interactions and blossomed into integration within a university class. While I was teaching my financial planning classes, I noticed that my classroom model — which was mostly Socratic — didn’t garner the same engagement and high-impact learning that I witnessed in guest lectures, conferences such as TD Ameritrade Institutional's National LINC or internships.

Students come alive during one-on-one discussions in a way that is much different from their classroom personas. I saw students I was trying to reach through lectures instead hungering for direct interaction and continual feedback. Foundational financial planning curriculum taught in the classroom is still critical to success, but curiosity, passion and self-discovery seem to mature the old-fashioned way: through purposeful relationships.

But getting freshmen interested in financial planning takes work. At Texas A&M, real effort goes into educating and helping students understand the financial planning industry. That happens at conferences where students can hear lectures from experienced professionals and make valuable connections at mixers, but it’s especially apparent when students have one-on-one mentor relationships that demonstrate the full scope of financial planning.

A mentorship program is so impactful that having a mentor is now a requirement in the final capstone course for students before they can graduate from our program. Students are also required to find their own mentor, which is an opportunity for learning to convey their value to someone a bit more seasoned in the profession. Although mentorship is a time-intensive process, it’s more than worth the investment by both the mentor and the mentee.

Passing The Torch Of Wisdom

Twenty years ago, the financial planning industry emphasized personality testing in an effort to find individuals who excelled in sales. Financial planners operated as lone wolves who were able to handle rejection continuously while being sharp enough to position a product over and over again. That was a great approach to finding good employees when the core positioning of financial services was to provide access to many people.

Now, however, the financial planning industry has evolved to become more advice-centric, and this mindset of independence is hindering planners who are retiring over the next decade. While becoming a strong mentor may feel uncomfortable for these independent financial planners at first, it’s vital they learn how to adopt mentorship so that their institutional knowledge is not lost. Mentors need to share their successes, failures, networks, knowledge and creative spirit. I continually tell financial planners they have so much wisdom to offer, and it’s not just to their clients.

It’s really about the legacy. It would be a travesty if financial planners did not pass on their experience and wisdom. Mentorship benefits the organization, the team and the future of the industry. If you mentor well, you will find that the people you develop will become leaders within your organization. I think there are many, many examples in history of those who grew into who they were because they were mentored by somebody more experienced.

5 Tips To A Successful Mentorship Implementation

I’m the first to admit that the financial planning mentorship program at Texas A&M isn’t perfect, but it’s progressing and improving by the day. If you’d like to implement your own mentorship program (and you should), here’s some advice:

1. Make it mandatory. Students might initially view mentorship as a hurdle and not an opportunity. Making it mandatory is tough love and benefits both parties, ultimately creating better financial planners.

2. Convey value. It’s important to have a pool of mentors who are ready to take on a protégé, but in order to find those mentors, you’ll have to convince them why it’s worth their time. Think about  talking of the value of reverse mentorship, where mentors have the opportunity to learn about the values and beliefs of the next generation of clients. Inversely, you’ll need to convince mentees why it’s important for their progression so they’ll be invested in the vision.

3. It won’t go perfectly. Know that not all mentorships will end in financial planning bliss. Some mentors won’t mesh with those they are mentoring, and some mentees may not invest in the relationship as much as they should. But as long as the program focuses on improvement and not perfection, it will continue to be an overall success. Successful transference of practical wisdom doesn't come overnight, and neither do strong relationships.

4. Focus on coaching. Mentors need to be coached, especially because the older generation of financial planners is used to being independent. Devote resources to coaching mentors. Mentors should be showing, not telling, how to run a business while simultaneously managing and handling clients and functioning with colleagues. Teach mentors to set boundaries and determine timetables and accountability. It’s worth it to create a documented training session or a series of trainings.

5. What to ask from mentees. Texas A&M’s program asks that students be organized, open, humble and willing to ask for help. When you set specific standards in the beginning, they will know what to aim for and be less likely to fail. Don’t be afraid of making your mentorship program too structured. If you don’t set expectations ahead of time, outcomes won’t be as successful.

Mentorships Ensure The Industry’s Future

Mentorships are absolutely worth the effort. Even though Texas A&M’s financial planning program hasn’t been perfect, it’s successful. And it’s the best way for established financial planners to transfer both their knowledge and passion to the next generation while improving the industry as a whole. Mentorship needs to be the new standard: It’s the best hope the financial planning industry has of rising to the challenges and opportunities facing the future of financial planning.

I often tell students that it’s no accident that the word “ship” is contained within “mentorship.” This will be a journey that requires a mentorship map, but the trip will secure a legacy and bring a tide that raises all ships along the way.

Nathan Harness is the TD Ameritrade director of financial planning at Texas A&M University.