The Mowgli Mentoring Experience

I have been reflecting that there isn’t a blog entry that gives you a flavour for the Mowgli Mentoring Experience, so here goes.

It is becoming symptomatic of our programmes that each one has its own unique character.  This is not only because the mix, and therefore the dynamics, of participants is different, but because of environmental factors.  Mowgli attempts to find locations that are cut off from the world, a retreat from the busyness of normal living, where people can reflect in a deeper way.  In Lebanon we were based  6500 feet up in the snows of Mount Lebanon, one of the main ski resorts in the country.  We had sun and increasingly icy snow with breathtaking scenery all around.  Auberge de Cedres was a classic Alpine lodge.  It could have been in Austria or Switzerland.  It provided the base for our first programme in Lebanon.

Feynan in Jordan lies surrounded by mountains in the heart of the desert.  An eco lodge built by the Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature, it is utterly unique.   There is no electricity.  Solar panels heat the water and the lodge is candlelit at night.  The view of the Universe from the roof at night is breathtaking.  With no ambient light, the view of the stars is stunning, with a depth that you do not get in Western Europe.  Inside the rooms are comfortable, the food is a superb example of how vegetarian food can be created and a log fire roars in the sitting room.  The nearest neighbours are tent dwelling Bedouin, living the simple life that has served them well for centuries.  They have nothing and yet they have everything – a connection to the earth and each other that humbles the visitor worrying whether they have the right shirt on.  One said to the group, to emphasise our common humanity, We all have the same blood and the same heart; a great lesson for a mentor who is about to embark on a year long relationship with someone from a different culture.  The days start with spectacular sunrises over the mountains.  The hardiest among us rise early to walk to the top of one of the surrounding mountains to view it.  The working day starts after breakfast outside, where the banter soon begins.  The programme is taking shape.  The first two days are dedicated to the mentors, the last two and a half to the mentees.  The first step is to get the mentors to a place of authenticity as soon as possible.  It is important that mentors strip away the masks we all hold onto to help us survive our daily round, since it is difficult to mentor effectively otherwise.  A mentor is giving of himself with no expectation of return.  We live in an intellectual age so much has been made of IQ.  We prefer to look at EQ (Emotional Quotient).  Emotional Intelligence is now acknowledged as being a key ingredient of successful leadership; so it is for mentoring.  We now use a tool called TEIQue developed by Professor Adrian Furnham and Dino Petrides at the University College  London.  It measures our emotional state through a number of different frames.

The mentors are given an introduction to Mowgli Mentoring, designed to survive the tests of culture, time and distance.  This type of international mentoring is unique and highly dependent upon creating an environment where a relationship of trust can be established rapidly.    The start point is the creation of a strong relationship with each other.  We run a number of exercises that help this happen at a deep level.  Most significant are the practice 3 way mentoring conversations where mentors not only understand the techniques to holding a fruitful dialogue with their mentee, but have a chance to reflect on some personal issues that might be affecting them at the time.  This has proved to be transformational for some mentors.

At the heart of Mowgli mentoring are the words inspire, guide and empower.  We all need inspiration.  The word literally means in spirit.  As an entrepreneur it is finding the inner motivation that keeps us going when facing the toughest of times.  The nature of entrepreneurship in its early stages is very lonely.  You are strategist and coffee maker, the creative and the print cartridge changer.  What an entrepreneur needs is the encouragement – literally in courage – to keep going when every fibre of your being says stop reminding them of the progress they are making,.  Inspiration provides that encouragement.

At a later stage in the programme, we introduce everyone to the Hero’s Journey, a powerful tool developed by the great anthropologist, Joseph Campbell, to unleash the hero within us all – our true selves.  But any journey is made easier when someone who has already travelled the road is at hand to be our guide.  The guide prevents us taking the wrong turning or getting lost.  They will be able to anticipate the mountains that have to be climbed and various challenges we will face on the way.

Finally the mentor is there to empower.  The first principle of mentoring is that the mentee is in charge.  It is very important for them to realise at an early stage that the mentor is not there to provide all the answers nor to tell them how to run their business.  Mentors are not consultants, advisers, teachers, counsellors or therapists, but they may be called upon to draw on some of the skill contained within each.  Experience suggests that many entrepreneurs are so involved in their ideas and the everyday energy they generate, that they lack focus: on what their product is and how a customer might understand it; and on any business planning.  This is where the mentor really adds value holding a mirror up the mentee and holding them accountable to their own decisions.

It is in relationship that the truth of the human condition is revealed, so a lot of emphasis is placed on building relationships, initially between the mentors and then, when they arrive, the mentees. We also use the Hero’s Journey for what I call ‘accelerated relationship building’, where each mentee has the chance to meet each mentor at a deep level that allows them to determine personal chemistry.  This is also observed by the facilitators and on the basis of this the matchings are made.  Each participant has the right of veto before this is done so that their input is included in the final decision. Again environment is important.  Whether it is walking through the desert in groups facilitating sessions, so often led in a soulless banqueting suite in provincial hotels, or watching the sunset together sipping sweetened wild thyme tea, or sitting around a log fire exchanging stories and songs, this is where we meet each other as human beings.  This is where so much learning can be acquired.

After the matching the focus is entirely upon building the 1:1 relationship over one and half days so that mentee and mentor can build the trust that is the foundation to mentoring.  By the end of the programme the mentee will have clear personal and business development plans which will provide the context for the relationship for the next year.