I'm one of those people dubbed Knight who never took on a formal Squire. I did get dubbed an official Mentor (Hi, Janna! :) Keep on rockin'!) -- which I'd describe as a free-advice-giver and life coach / moral support type of role -- which is certainly part of (most?) Knight-Squire relationships. But as far as assigning Squirely tasks and such, I never took that path. I was approached more than once by interested parties, even knowing that my knighthood didn't take new members from a squire base, but I always just felt that simply being a good example for everyone (i.e. anyone who noticed and cared) was my way to go.
So instead of assigning Squirely tasks or similar suggestions to specific people of things to strive for, I let my actions show my attempt at Knightly virtues and hoped to inspire others to live the good Realms life. I just went about my business of NPCing as far and wide as I could, marshaling anything, being a dauntless female fighter, having a positive attitude about quests gone awry, cleaning up event sites and listening to anyone's perspective on things. At the time, I didn't know how much anyone was watching.
The thing about leading by example is that unless somebody tells you that you've been a good influence, you don't know if you have. In my experience both working with kids and in the Realms and other communities, people tend to mention that a person was a positive influence for them years after the fact. So based on what I've seen, you may have to stick around a long time to know if your role model route worked out.
Now you may actually have a few folk take note of your role-model-ness while you're in the thick of it, which is very encouraging. But in general, at least for me, I got the "you're a good role model" memo from the general community during my service time, and the "you were a role model for *me*" from individuals quite some time later -- sometimes from individuals I would not have expected, so you never know who you may actually be encouraging right now!
It's great to know that leading by example worked as intended in at least some cases... But then again, I would have done what I did regardless. One hopes that doing the right thing is its own motivation, and that striving to be your best is its own reward. It's an extra treat when you end up paying it forward by way of inspiring others to seek their potential as well.
