Someone taught you how to write your first offer. Someone walked you through your first tricky inspection response or talked you through your first listing presentation. Maybe it was a broker, a coach or just the colleague down the hall who always seemed to have an extra five minutes.

I’ve been blessed to work under four top-notch designated brokers during my 30 years as a Realtor, and as a second-generation Realtor, I had the benefit of growing up in the industry and learning from my dad. Whatever your path, none of us got here alone. And yet once the business picks up, it’s easy to get caught up in the busyness and stop thinking about how we got here at all.

Mentoring doesn’t get talked about as much as market stats or lead generation, but it might be the most important habit a Realtor can build — for the people they mentor, for themselves and for the health of our industry.

Invest in your own growth continually

“You can’t pour from an empty cup.”

The people who make the best mentors are the ones who never stop learning. They show up for a class on forms revisions even when they’ve reviewed them a thousand times and could probably teach it themselves.

Washington REALTORS® makes it easy to keep up. Between the education courses, conferences, weekly email updates and the Legal Hotline video library, there’s a steady stream of real, practical knowledge available any time you need it — relevant answers to the exact situations you’re facing today. 

Listen before you lead

The best mentors aren’t the ones with the most answers. They’re the ones who ask good questions and fully listen to the response.

Every new broker walks in with a different background, a different learning style, a different worry keeping them up at night. Slow down enough to hear what’s really being asked before jumping in with advice. Some of the sharpest insight in this business comes from newer brokers who haven’t yet learned what “can’t be done.” They ask the questions the rest of us stopped asking years ago. A good mentor stays teachable, no matter how many years are on their license.

Only mentor if you mean it

Far too often, experienced agents feel honored when their designated broker asks them to mentor a new agent. Eager to help, they say yes without fully appreciating the time, patience and commitment required to help a new Realtor feel welcomed, trained and confident.

Mentoring is one of the most rewarding ways to give back to our profession, but it’s also a genuine responsibility. If you aren’t prepared to invest the time, it’s better to decline than to become the mentor who’s always “too busy,” avoiding phone calls or leaving your mentee feeling like they’re on their own.

Pass it forward

Once you’ve learned something, put it back out there. Mentoring doesn’t have to mean a formal program with a binder and a schedule. It can be a fifteen-minute call before someone’s first contract. It can be forwarding the Legal Hotline video that saved your bacon last month. It can simply be telling a newer broker, “Call me before you send that, let’s look at it together.”

Make yourself available in whatever way works for you. Knowledge that stays with one person is just information. Knowledge that gets passed along builds a profession.

Make an impact

We talk a lot about legacy in this business. Some of the most lasting work happens in the quiet rhythm of our day-to-day work. It’s those little moments — helping the next person avoid the mistakes you made, or find their confidence — that are legacy worthy.

So, take the class. Watch the Legal Hotline video before you need it, not after. Ask the question you’re embarrassed to ask — and answer the one someone else is embarrassed to ask you.

This industry is amazing. It continually evolves, and with it, so do we. Learn from each other, so we can take good care of our clients and cultivate the best in this industry.

Ryan Beckett is the 2026 president of Washington REALTORS®.