Have you heard of reverse mentoring? It’s where a young person enters into a "professional friendship" with someone more senior, and they exchange skills, knowledge and understanding. For example, in a work situation a younger employee might be confident with media tools such as Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest, so encouraging a pairing with an older employee who has less experience of using these technologies can improve that person's ability to network and use social media platforms. We have been exploring this concept at work and it got me thinking about how this may work on a shoot day…
Emily and Dodger...the heart of the beating team. Picture taken by Sarah Smith:www.Purbeckpaws.co.uk Our shoot has a mixed-age group environment. We all have a love of dogs, shooting and the countryside which brings us together. This season I have seen 21 year old Emily Angliss enjoy working her dog in the beating team. Emily demonstrates total dedication to the shoot and works closely with the gamekeeper. Until a few years ago she had little knowledge of shooting and it was when she started gundog training with her Sprocker Dodger, she realized her aim was to learn more about the wider rural way of life. With an open mind and fresh eyes Emily started to obtain new skills and knowledge and in return her quiet and positive gundog handling was being discovered by others in the community. This is where reverse mentoring is beneficial...There are no structured programs or weekly meetings. Just a natural exchange of skills, knowledge and understanding of a passion we share.
He left this world doing what he loved….working the beating line with Emily. Recently something happend on our shoot day in which a tragic incident occurred. Suddenly and totally unexpectedly we lost the heart of our beating line. Dodger collapsed and died. The 3 year old suffered heart failure due to an undetected heart condition. It was a day we will never forget....
And this is where reverse mentoring can be helpful. The following week Emily faced her fear and returned to the shoot. Her courage and strength radiated throughout the day. There’s no doubt it was a struggle. Everyone deals with grief differently but her determination to keep beating was a true inspiration to others. This young person showed will power and a love of life which is a privilege to exchange in any form of mentoring.
This blog pays tribute to our gorgeous Dodger. He was a honest biddable dog with a lovely temperment who adored Emily. They were a happy team, dedicated to making a difference. They worked together helping each other to grow as they learnt from each other. His journey has come to an end but I hope in time Emily’s is just beginning…
"A good dog never dies, he always stays,
he walks besides you on crisp autumn days
when frost is on the fields and winter's drawing near,
his head within our hand in his old way." Anonymous
And this is where reverse mentoring can be helpful. The following week Emily faced her fear and returned to the shoot. Her courage and strength radiated throughout the day. There’s no doubt it was a struggle. Everyone deals with grief differently but her determination to keep beating was a true inspiration to others. This young person showed will power and a love of life which is a privilege to exchange in any form of mentoring.
This blog pays tribute to our gorgeous Dodger. He was a honest biddable dog with a lovely temperment who adored Emily. They were a happy team, dedicated to making a difference. They worked together helping each other to grow as they learnt from each other. His journey has come to an end but I hope in time Emily’s is just beginning…
"A good dog never dies, he always stays,
he walks besides you on crisp autumn days
when frost is on the fields and winter's drawing near,
his head within our hand in his old way." Anonymous
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