Who is your +1 ?

"Nothing, it was just a snake that was trying to get inside the mosquito net, but we took care of it".

That was all it took for my mum to leap off her chair and storm into the bedroom to check if all of my 14-month-old frame, sleeping peacefully under the mosquito net, was intact. I was oblivious to what had happened.

As the story goes, growing up in India, there was a tradition that a German Shepherd pup was brought in as a +1 every time a child was born in the family. Well, growing up on a sugarcane farm in central India, the ever-expanding presence of king cobra snakes was a pressing risk. The German Shepherd was a favourite with the locals, and we already had 4 of them on the farm. Protectors-In-Chief.

So, when I was born... I got my own +1. "Akela" (roughly translating to ... a Loner. Singular. One. Aloof).

Akela was my buddy, my mate. Following me around wherever I went. Sleeping next to me, keeping guard. I'd even sit on his back and go for a ride. So, on that fateful hot Indian Sunday afternoon, as a king cobra slithered in, making its way up the mosquito net and trying to sample me has his afternoon delight, Akela quietly snuck out of the room and tugged on my dad's trousers. Sitting with the rest of the family, out on the back porch, enjoying a samosa or two. Repeated and hurried trips by Akela were a signal enough to excuse himself unnoticed, grab a stick and attend to the impeding, fatalistic threat. Efficiently and effortlessly mitigated, as my dad returned to the back porch, my mum asked... "what happened, is everything ok?"

I never did get to spend much time with Akela. My dad was in the army and we would eventually move to a different city for his work. Akela, as I was told, was true to his name. Kept to himself, warded off a few snake attacks and pretty much was the badass of the farm. Bloody Legend!

Several years later, thousands of miles away, I stood in a room filled with high school students. Co-designing and running a workshop for 200+ Year 9 students, I had just briefed the room on a new brainstorming technique. The +1 conversation. Each student sits with someone and engages in a one-on-one sharing conversation. A micro-brainstorming session. Something quite different to a traditional "brainstorming" session where a group of 5-6 people race against the clock, churning out a carousel of ideas on post-it notes.

The +1 conversation allows the student to share in a safe space. It works even better with female students. Offering a scheduled, time-bound space for sharing instils confidence and the ability to express themselves. Ideas are collated, ranked and then brought to the table. The group uses these ideas to proceed into a wider brainstorming activity, ensuring that EVERYONE's voice is heard. Their contributions are valued, included and acknowledged.

It makes you think. How many of us are missing their Akela? How many, would excel when they DO find one?

A quick Google search will spit out several +1's.

Larry Page & Sergey Brin (Google)

Steve Jobs & Steve Wozniak (Apple)

Serena & Venus Williams (Tennis)

Tiger Woods & Steve Williams (Golf)

Marie Curie and Pierre Curie (Physicists & Nobel Laureate)

(and many more.....)

We however don't have to look that far and wide to find our +1. We just need to find the one that helps us unlock our potential. Sometimes, it's a student randomly allocated to sit next to you at a workshop. Or, a colleague who gets transferred from another department. A neighbour, a classmate, a friend.

Doing it all alone does get exhausting, but finding YOUR Akela might just double each other's potential.

So, how or where will you find yours?

During my mentoring sessions / corporate innovation workshops, I talk about identifying your "circle of 5" (more on that in another post). The circle of 5 and its "average" essentially serves as a tool to help grow in whichever area (personal/professional/social) a person might be inclined to do so. At any point in time, a person must have multiple "circles of 5". Often, you will find your "Akela" in such circles.

Mentoring is such a powerful tool. As a mentee, it takes a bit of searching to identify, approach, ask and lock in a mentor. There are ways to go about it (do reach out to me if you want to know how). However, being part of a mentoring program and matched with a potential mentor (or mentee ... where YOU become the +1) is another opportunity worth grabbing with both hands!

No matter what stage of your personal/professional life you might be at, there is always room to find your +1 or be one for someone else. They are out there, wont be long before you find one!

Speaking of which, where will you find me / BrainSTEM Limited this month:

• The BrainSTEM Games - Mentor Briefing Session (ACS Members Only) #girlsinstem mentoring program (PS: Registration for schools in NSW/VIC/QLD still open)
• #ProblemSolving and #DesignThinking Workshop at Kambala
• BrainSTEM Innovation Challenge final presentations hosted at The Royal Society of Victoria
• Launch of the #STEM #Mentoring program for Marian College Sunshine West
• Designing for SANTA - BrainSTEM Schools Challenge hosted at Carey Baptist Grammar School

Until next time, happy +1 hunting!