This is the forty-fourth of a weekly blog series that will focus on leadership in the outdoors and how to get the most from the least. Even though the title is called, “Thoughts of a Modern-Day Mountain Man”, it will hopefully cover topics that are useful to everyone.
Chapter 44: Old Man of the Mountain.
"And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others."
2 Timothy 2:2 NIV
Every Modern-Day Mountain Man should seek to have a mentor in some capacity during his lifetime, especially during his formative leadership years. I have personally had two different mentors that served profoundly different purposes at different times during my development as an outdoor leader and professional. These two men embodied all that I sought to become, and their leadership and guidance helped build the foundation of this Modern-Day Mountain Man. They were the right people at the right time, all part of God's plan for me.
In the mountain man’s time of yesteryear having a mentor or another seasoned mountain man was not only paramount to learning the tricks and tools of the trade, but was a matter of living and not dying in the mountains. The men who had spent time in the mountains knew where to camp, where to trap or find friends and other traders, and most importantly where to stay away from dangers. The ultimate status in the trapping and trading profession during those days was to be known as a free-trapper. This man could go where and when he pleased, set his own prices at trading time and travel with and keep the company of other men and women he wanted. He was a grizzled veteran, not solely based on time spent in the mountains, but based on his knowledge and willingness to learn and adapt. If a greenhorn who was new in the mountains during his first season, he would seek to find a mentor or an old man of the mountain to teach him his ways. A few of these greenhorns were even lucky enough to learn from and travel with the penultimate mountain man, the free-trapper.
There is certainly something to be said for longevity in any profession, but that doesn’t necessarily make a person well suited to be a mentor to new staff, or even mean that they are good at what they do. I have come across many people throughout the years in the great outdoors that the first thing they will share about themselves is how many years they have been working at so-and-so or doing a certain task or activity. This in no way translates to competence in one’s own field. I am sure I have made such a boast in the past in an effort to impress or to project an air of authority, but this method of leadership is inherently flawed. Just like in the mountain man's time of yesteryear, competency and knowledge will quickly show whether a person has been part of the profession one day or thousands of days.
Take fatherhood as an example of time and seniority not always equating to being the best man for the task. Just because someone had a child 60 years or so ago, and they have been a father for 60 years, this doesn't mean they are good at it, or even that they were present for any part of that time. They’re just a father by title.
This is one of the reasons why titles and seniority can be a very dangerous pitfall for an outdoor education program or facility. I am perfectly fine with regular pay raises or rewards, as staff should be rewarded monetarily for loyalty and work done, but when preferences for certain jobs or positions are handled based on seniority alone, a complete lack of leadership is present. Promotion or roles based on seniority alone results in laziness and complacency, with no real drive towards becoming better everyday. As a leader of a camp or outdoor program you should always want the person for the job at-hand to be the best person for the job, period. Hopefully, if you have trained your staff correctly and clearly set the expectations for the level and quality of work, the person with the most seniority and service will be the best man or woman for the job. In reality, that is rarely the case. God has given mankind many different talents and inherent skills. Your job as an outdoor leader is to identify and refine these gifts, and then use them to the best possible use for your program.
This is where a mentorship program can really come into great use. Having staff that can help to train and prepare one another will make the program stronger and more resilient, with cross training and redundancy being a natural outcome. The person serving as a mentor doesn’t necessarily need to be the oldest in age or the most senior of staff. Throughout the years, some of the most talented staff I’ve ever worked with were not very old in terms of age, but they were timeless in their ability to lead others. They never took the time or approach to tell others how awesome they were or how many years of experience they had under their belt. Their demeanor spoke volumes and others wanted to learn from them. They did not create problems, rather they spent their time looking for and creating solutions. These were true mentors, old men and women of the mountains.
Mankind needs mentors; it is in our nature from our Creator to pass knowledge from one generation to the next. Sometimes this passing of knowledge is intellectual in nature, other times it involves tangible physical skills. Either way someone who knows passes something to someone who doesn't. Jesus is, of course, our ultimate role model and mentor, but we cannot interact with His physical presence in a professional sense. This is why we should strive to find a mentor that is as Christ-like as possible, the ideal modern-day mountain man. When the time comes and we’re ready, we should become the old man of the mountain, ready to mentor all those we come across on our mountain trails in the most Christ-like manner possible.
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