It happens in the corporate world with regularity, often leading to career advancement. In health care, however, many professionals never take the mentoring relationship seriously enough to make it work for them.

Finding a mentor can impact career development and personal growth. It can broaden horizons and lead to promotions.

"The best recommendation I can make about finding a mentor is to look for someone outside your clinical specialty," said Robin Singleton, FAAHC, CHE, senior vice president of operations for Tyler & Company, one of the country's leading retained health care executive search firms, headquartered in Atlanta. "They can give you objective information and help you see a different perspective."

Singleton recommends also having a mentor in your clinical specialty. "Learn from both of them," she said.

So, how do you approach a possible mentor?

"Find someone who has risen to a position you aspire to," Singleton said.

"Then ask if you can pick their brain because you have similar career goals and you want to know how their career progressed. Tell them that you're interested in building a mentor relationship with them."

Pick a time that's convenient, such as a pre-work breakfast or an after-work coffee. Start out with one meeting. Keep it short and focused on hearing what the potential mentor says. Ask questions.

"It will be easier to build a relationship if you start out respecting the other person's time," Singleton said. "Prepare a few questions ahead of time and have a firm agenda - asking about the challenges the person faced in career advancement, or what continuing education courses would be helpful to you as you move up."

Singleton has several suggestions for building a professional relationship with a mentor. Try to meet with the person once a month for a predetermined length of time. Keep each meeting focused on one topic.

Ask if there are meetings outside work that you can attend with the mentor to broaden your experiences and your network. Be visible at work and volunteer to serve on in-house committees.

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Singleton said that it's easy to build a mentor relationship in health care because of the strong demand for management.

"Most managers are happy to help encourage other people to move up and they're not threatened by someone seeking career advancement.

"Ask someone who's already where you want to be. Building a relationship with a mentor doesn't happen overnight. It takes time. It's a learning experience that can reap benefits for both of you."