Having a solid professional foundation and supportive mentors can be critical in building a successful career, according to Scott Worth, executive vice president of credit at Universal Finance, but maintaining a work-life balance is just as important.

Having worked in every role from cold calling vendors and end users to underwriting deals and servicing loans, Worth has immersed himself in the equipment finance industry and continues to learn from each role he takes on. He attends industry association conferences to further advance his industry knowledge and evolution as a professional. His passionate pursuit of knowledge stems from his belief that continuous education is one of the keys to leadership. “You need to not only challenge yourself but also the people around you,” Worth says.

Worth leads by providing others with unique and alternative perspectives while challenging his team members and himself to think outside the box, as he believes that when leaders become stagnant, so do the people they lead.

By staying true to his morals, leading by example and communicating properly and efficiently, Worth has found great success in his position at Universal Finance and he feels that his approach can help other leaders succeed as well. The success of the company, Worth says, comes from working as a cohesive unit and listening to customers’ needs and wants.

Speaking of successful results, Worth has grown tremendously as an equipment finance professional during his 13 years in the industry, ascending from a college intern at Universal Finance to his current role overseeing the credit and operations teams for the company.