Three years ago we set off an exciting adventure under THE NEXT SOCIETY initiative to reinforce innovation ecosystems and foster the value created by innovators in the Mediterranean region. Our mandate? To train 120 mentors working in the innovation and entrepreneurship support space, and match 36 innovators with trained Mowgli Mentors. Fast forward to 2020, we’re excited to have officially trained 120 mentors and launched our final mentor-mentee cohort — the first within this project to have been trained and prepared online for the mentoring journey ahead.

As we kicked off cohort 3 of this programme, we asked our mentors to share their mentoring experiences and how they intend to support their mentees over the next few months. Read their responses below…

“As with all meaningful relationships in life, there are no shortcuts. Building trust and mutual respect requires openness, active listening and accountability. I’ve come to appreciate that investing in building such a solid base is the basis for achieving positive impact and results.

I’ve been able to apply my learnings from the mentor training both on a personal and professional level. As a mother, I’ve been employing open-ended questions to allow for deeper communication and understanding. Professionally, empathy has become an important skill to better understand where colleagues are coming from, and therefore motivate them more effectively.

What would success look like for you at the end of this mentoring relationship? Building a relationship based on mutual trust, and one where both parties have grown as a result. I hope I am able to be there for the mentee in his/her journey towards realising their goals, and achieving wider impact through their start-up.

“The greatest learning experience was mainly how I can best use the different mentorship techniques that can help maximize the benefits for both mentees and mentors. I also discovered how best I can help Mentees unleash their true potential and have a real impact in the world around them.

It was a true eye opener where I was able to help mentees discover their true driving force (the real why behind what they do). This has made them motivated to do what they do or in some cases help them pivot, and make the right changes that will help them find their true course and direction in what they want to do.

What would success look like for you at the end of this mentoring relationship?

Success for me would be when I find that the support that I give to Mentee has really made a positive difference and helped Mentees make a real difference in the world around them.

“I have had many great mentoring-related learned experiences through the Mowgli Mentoring Leader Mentor Training (LMT), from active listening, to empathy, but the greatest would be the Why, How and What approach to addressing challenges/situations.

I have used this approach assist my colleagues and family members. The impact has been the greatest on my two teenager boys!

What would success look like for you at the end of this mentoring relationship?

Success would be to improve the mentee performance both on the professional level and personal level, if he/she wishes to for the latter. It is partially improving the odds of her/his start-up to succeed, but more importantly to make a positive impact on the mentee’s life for the longer term and thus impacting positively his/her community.