The 2008 Hartford Annual Report, A Call for Leadership in Aging, identifies four essential elements of a leadership program: formal training, mentoring, peer networking, and answering the call. The second element, mentoring, has long been recognized as a critical factor in the development of successful leadership. Mentors share their knowledge and expertise, offer advice on career development, and help to formulate goals. Mentoring can come from many 
sources, including colleagues in all settings, peers, and others. Some of my most helpful mentoring relationships have been very informal in nature, with my "mentors" potentially unaware of the benefit I derived from their presence.
The following illustrates my point.
The most pivotal moment of my career to date occurred in 1996, when I got my first job in New York City as a recreational therapist at Payne Whitney Clinic, the inpatient psychiatric unit of New York Hospital. I was fortunate to be assigned to the geriatrics team. Prior to this, I had never worked with older adults or even considered it. Here I was privileged to work with a terrific--albeit informal--mentor, Dr. Robert Abrams, a geriatric psychiatrist.
Webster's Dictionary defines mentor as "a wise and trusted counselor or teacher." As such, Dr. Abrams taught me three valuable lessons.
First, working with older adults is very rewarding. While Dr. Abrams never denied that older adults are medically complex, through him, I was able to recognize that complex means interesting as well as challenging. I understood that older adults have unique needs, and as health care providers, it is our job to listen to patients and do our best to align our treatment with their expectations. Health care decisions should be made based on personal engagement with older adults and their loved ones by listening to their histories, health care preferences, and lifestyle choices. Dr. Abrams' bedside manner was terrific. He was patient, engaging, responsive, and routinely solicited patient input. His clinical demeanor was well worth emulating and something I brought into my own clinical practice years later.
Second, he taught me that the best health care is team care. I watched this every day daily during morning rounds. Dr. Abrams sought feedback from every member of the team (understanding, of course, that the team started with the older patient). The nurse, the social worker, and the resident were equally valued and all essential in treatment decisions. Often, Dr. Abrams called on me specifically to share my observations because as the recreational therapist, I had frequent contact with the patients. I learned that health care decisions cannot be made in a vacuum because most of all, the older patient benefits from an interdisciplinary approach.
Finally, Dr. Abrams taught me that career opportunities in the field of aging are limitless. Jobs are available on many different levels from direct care, to running programs, to making national policy. And it was Dr. Abrams who encouraged me to pursue an advanced degree in social work (because of the flexibility of the degree) to continue my work on behalf of older adults.
I doubt that Dr. Abrams would label himself a mentor, and I am quite certain he has no idea of the influence he has had on my career, but I am forever indebted.