“Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other.” — John F. Kennedy, 35th President of the United States
The Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar firmly believes in educating and molding students in a way that they can excel in the art of finding the leader within themselves, be it in any field or profession. With the idea to promote leadership skills among its students, IIT Gandhinagar kickstarted the Indira Foundation Leadership Development Initiative in August 2019.
Since its initiation, the LDI has conducted a sequence of workshops, modules, tutoring sessions, and lectures around leadership. Starting from undertaking a comprehensive study on the leadership needs, potential, and challenges of IITGN students, all the way to developing emotional and collaborative intelligence, conflict resolution, and negotiation, this initiative encourages students to advance different aspects of their leadership potential and skills.
In August 2019 LDI conducted a workshop on conflict management. Focused on helping students understand the importance of conflicts, it heightened their awareness about their own beliefs around conflicts. They learned effective conflict management with the help of the Thomas Kilmann questionnaire. They also practiced with the help of a simulation, which taught them how to negotiate efficiently during conflicts.
Ms. Rashmi Datt, an organization development consultant and coach with over 30 years of experience, conducted an introspection session during October 2019, for students facing challenges in academics and with placements. It centred on recognizing and valuing one’s best self, getting past self-sabotaging behaviours and working towards holistic self-development.
‘Speak Like A Boss’ was another event held in October 2019, during which Mr. Saurav Goswami, a communication specialist, covered the techniques of public speaking. The workshop involved three modules of hands-on demonstration — a 1-Minute introduction about a friend, a panel discussion among the teams, and a 3-minute speech on a topic of participants’ choice.
A three-day programme conducted in December 2019 (‘Believing In Yourself For The Interview’) encouraged the students to acknowledge their fears and face interviews with confidence. It utilized several immersion techniques and employed a dialogue-based approach. The focus areas included the realization of the right state of mind needed during the entire process, understanding the interviewer, articulating stories in STAR Format (Situation-Task-Action-Response), keeping the technical experience crisp and learning how to respond towards the deeper emotions of anxiety and fear.
The coming year will witness a diverse array of activities organized by LDI. In January 2020, LDI will expose students to the essential components of non-cognitive (soft) and communication skills. These will aid them in their quest to become a true leader in any profession. Focused on traits like perseverance, innovativeness, and problem-solving, the activities will determine how successful one is and can be in a particular field.
Mr. Mukul Pandya (founding executive of Knowledge@Wharton) will conduct a 5-day workshop lasting leadership. It is open to students outside IITGN as well, and the deadline for its registration is 3rd Jan 2020. Ms. Rashmi Datt will be conducting another workshop on motivating students to transform their fear of failure and hone their leadership qualities. She will also conduct a workshop on how women can face the challenges of working in male-dominated organizations.
“Clarity is the key to effective leadership. What are your goals?” — Brian Tracy, motivational public speaker, and self-development author
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This story has also been published on Medium.