Barker approached the subject by starting backward: looking at the background of some of the most successful people in the world. In spite of their differences, virtually all of these movers and shakers have had an important mentor in their lives by the time they were college-aged—whether it was a teacher, a coach or a higher-up at a job.

Barker boils down a mentor's job to three requirements:

1. He or she gives objective career guidance, including suggestions on assignments or an advantageous career path.

2. The mentor provide emotional support when times get tough, such as recommendations on work/life balance or how to deal with a difficult boss.

3. He or she acts as an effective role model, demonstrating appropriate behaviors for different situations.

Young people in today's workforce are a lot more challenged than we ever were. Jobs are at a premium, with roughly three applicants for every open position. Many new employees are carrying heavy student loans. If they're ambitious and excited about advancing in our industry, we owe young people more than a rubber-stamped training and mentoring experience. After all, these are the people who ideally will one day be running your business.

Think back to your own career. Did you have someone at one of your earliest jobs who encouraged you, took an interest in you, showed you the ropes? You probably did.

Now it's time to return the favor. And don't think fobbing them off on a formal “mentoring program” set up at your agency or one of your insurers is enough.

Barker had this to say: “Unfortunately, recent research has revealed that those in formal mentoring programs often fail to deliver on their rosy promises, and the participants may be left helpless and disillusioned. Possible reasons for this include a shoddy formal mentoring program structure, a matchmaking system that mimics blind dates from hell, or simply inadequate resources or rewards to support these programs.”

Barker encourages young people to directly approach those they look up to as mentors. Ideally, mentors should fit the protégé's career goals, be someone who “scares you a little,” who loves teaching fundamentals and someone older who has seen it all.

I don't know about you, but I would be flattered as hell if some promising up-and-comer approached me to be his or her mentor. (Come on, guys! Bring it on, and extra points if you like dogs, trad jazz and horror movies.)

This isn't meant to denigrate any of the formal sponsorship, mentoring and training programs out there. Your own agency probably has such programs, even if it's a simple pairing of compatible old-timers and newbies. All of us have a stake in perpetuating our business. Extending a hand to an enthusiastic young person will benefit both of you.