Session 1

What do I know about leadership? Where have I seen it being displayed?

Leadership is the art of motivating a group of people to act towards achieving a
common goal. He or she is the person in the group that possesses the combination
of personality and leadership skills that makes others want to follow his or her
direction.
Leadership around me has been displayed at many places.
 Starting from the most basic leadership in family wherein fathers lead in
financial matters and mothers in other household decisions.
 At work place, managers form an amazing example of what a leader should
do and what should be avoided under all circumstances like micro-managing.
 Taking a lead role in a school project is a great example of leadership
experience wherein tasks were delegated.
 In sports team often one is required to assume a position of a leader.
Which new angles of leadership did I come across in our peer group discussions?
In discussions within the peer group it was observed that there are various attributes
that a leader possesses from professional and personal point:
 Listening skills
 Aura – Demeanour
 Faith in employee
 Pushes the employee in a tactical manner
 Encouragement to step out of comfort zone
 Interpersonal skills
 Leading by example
 Takes a stand for the team
What did I take back from this discussion?
The understanding that different people can have different types of leadership styles
in the same group. People display different attributes of leadership based on occasion
and their experiences. Constant feedback to and from a leader is absolutely essential
on all fronts of life.
 Session 2
What events and individuals had the greatest impact on you? In which situations did
you find the greatest fulfilment in leading? Can you identify instances where you
were dissatisfied with your leadership, or received constructive feedback from
others about it?
In life my father has always been someone I have looked up to. He has motivated
me to always become a better version of myself and work with determination
towards my goal.
During college I was a part of the intra college athletics team. As a senior member
of the team I lead the women’s 4*100m relay team to victory. The team faced a lot
of hardship during the process as one of the members fell ill at the last moment.
While finding a replacement for the team mate was still easy, the team now was
worried about their success as they had shared a level of comfort with the previous
member. Motivating them towards having faith in each other as a team, was one of
the greatest fulfilments I have experienced.
At times when a lot of submissions and deadlines were approaching in our peer
learning groups, a level of stress would come over. I often took the stand as the
leader in the group and would allocate tasks to different members of the group.
Sometimes due to the workload I ignored the suggestions made by other team
members. On being provided feedback by my members I realised that this was
something that I had indeed done. I took this critical feedback seriously and changed
myself to change this.
Share reflection and insights about your leadership journey so far?
I as a leader am a person who likes to everyone’s perspective on a topic & guide the
team as a whole towards a uniform goal. I believe that constant feedback is the most
important tool in helping a person and a team grow while working in a team in my
previous organisation. I had to lead a team of individuals to deliver a project. This
team comprised of members a lot senior to me be it in age or experience. While
leading them I realized it was important to not impose my views on them just as I
was in a situation of power. I don’t believe in leading by force. Instead a leader
should be able to cultivate a culture of collaboration and learning & this is what I
focused on.
 Session 3

Crucibles: What is it about the event that really moved?

As lifelong students of leadership, we are fascinated with the notion of what makes
a leader. Why is it that certain people seem to naturally inspire confidence, loyalty,
and hard work, while others (who may have just as much vision and smarts) stumble,
again and again?
A crucible is, by definition, a transformative experience through which an individual
comes to a new or an altered sense of identity.
The class activity – crucibles was a unique activity as it involved a lot of
introspection from one’s point of view to map our entire lives as a graph of highs
and lows. Throughout my life I have been blessed to have a lot of support from my
friends and families. I think a lot of highs of mine were more prominent because of
my time spent with them. Even while thinking about the lows I have experienced in
my journey I was really happy when I thought of how I overcame those lows with
support from family and friends.
The discussion with peers was a really moving experience as understanding how
everyone’s life has shaped up over the years to make them who they are today was
exhilarating.

How do you think it changed you today?

While discussing as a group I understood that various people have different
leadership styles due to the different lows and highs that one has experienced during
life. This process has changed my perception of various people and their responses
in different situations. It has enhanced my understanding of my peers.
 Session 4
Reflections and insights about how values, extrinsic and intrinsic motivations,
principles of life and personal ethical boundaries have impacted your leadership
journey so far.
My core values always help me remain motivated in whatever I do. I believe that the
values which define me are empathy for others, loyalty and dedication in the work I
do. Not all my values were intrinsic to my personality but were inculcated over time.
I believe that I am a committed individual- Being committed to a particular task at
hand is very important and especially while working in a group as then I am not just
responsible for myself but for others as well. Loyalty- Once I build a bond with
someone, I don’t break it unless it’s necessary. But most important is staying loyal
to self. I never sacrifice my own mental well-being for others. I treat myself like I
would treat someone I love. Extrinsic motivators like feedback from peers has been
a constant motivator in my life as it inspires me to become a better version of myself.
Working with the 360-degree feedback, what are the personal strength areas I
possess and risks I run as a leader?
Based on feedback from my peers, ex-colleague, mentors and families I came to
realize that as a leader there are a variety of strength areas and risks that I possess:
Strengths:
 Excellent communication skills
 Ability to get the job done
 Sharp
 Responsible
 Compassionate
 Ability to connect to people
 Forms a humane connection with people rather than being calculative
Risks:
 While being candid is a virtue, thinking twice before communicating in a
pivotal role won’t hurt.
 Taking into consideration viewpoint of all stakeholders before making a
decision.
 Not being too excited when a particular topic is my area of expertise
 Analyzing the situation before voicing your opinions.
 Session 10

Vision

Change Relationship

Balancing Star

Commitment Purpose

Vision: Make my parents proud

Change: My passive attitude at times
Relationship: Become closer to my sibling
Commitment: Determined/improve focus towards any goal
Purpose: Become better version of myself

Solicit feedback from other members of the group about your leadership and your
effectiveness in empowering other leaders

Based on feedback from others members in the group my leadership style has
evolved over the past few months wherein earlier I was one of the individuals who
used to jump ahead to take initiative of any task that was given to the group and
would work on it without asking anyone else’s opinion. I have slowly evolved to
democratic style of leadership wherein I first take input from all and then feedback
from the team is considered before making a decision.

It has made me also realise that in life the most important thing that one needs to
have in order to be a good leader is purpose. Once the purpose of life is clear a lot
of other things start to fall into place. Listening skills and taking feedback and
improving on this feedback is one of the most important things as a leader.