Leadership@Fourteen

Wearing collar tabs at a young age of fourteen? Like senior officers of the Army/Navy/Air Force! Is that possible?
Our 14-year old grandson Ansh has done it quietly.
He has been selected by his school to be a 'Director' of a volunteering program for community work. Four students, one each from 9th, 10th, 11th and 12th grades have been chosen for this task. He is the youngest of the directors!

This morning while he was getting ready to go to the school, from my yoga mat I noticed a lapel pin on his shirt collar. On questioning, he explained it's significance. Unlike most teenagers of his age he is so humble that he reluctantly agreed to let me take a picture. Not too sharp as you can see below.

What struck me is the spin-offs of such volunteering programs for teenagers. As a 14-year old 'Director' he is responsible for the following:

• Fund raising for different programs/activities
• Organise the events
• Mobilise other volunteers
• Participate in community work

You will agree that in doing so, these young 'directors' will imbibe many qualities and values listed below which will help them in their life after school:

• Self-confidence
• Leadership
• Communication
• Event management
• Team work
• Sensitisation towards societal needs
• Social equity
• Power of volunteering
• Empowerment and its true meaning

I felt very happy that schools are making an endeavour to shape the young minds into responsible citizens of India. Hat tip to Ansh's school and his teachers. Future of India is bright with such teenagers. I couldn't have found a better theme for Ghumakkad's Independence Day message. 

Keep going Ansh! We have a star in you.

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Happy Independence Day to all.

   -  Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 15th Aug 2018

#Values #leadership #responsiblecitizens #volunteering #teamwork #teenagers #ghumakkadhb #ghumakkadharsh

Can a college teach you Leadership

"Can a college teach you Leadership?"-- was the title of a workshop conducted recently by Ghumakkad at a B-school in Hyderabad India . 
Workshop timing: 6.30 pm to 8 pm after full day MBA classes ending at 6 pm. Very conducive slot for a workshop, isn't it? 
How to make it interesting at such a late hour? Make it experiential. And that is what I did. We first played a game about which you read in the previous post. Click here if you haven't browsed it so far.

Next challenge was to answer the question "Can a college teach you Leadership?" 


We engaged the participants through pictures shot on the campus earlier, which depicted some aspect of leadership. One picture after the other-- they had to guess which aspect of leadership it conveyed. It became a contest by itself. And being experiential, even at 8 pm the participants showed no signs of boredom.

Pictures with the answers are given below for you. You can click on a picture to full screen mode and then view it like a slide show minus the animation. Go on and answer yourself whether a College teaches you leadership or not! It doesn't matter whether it is an MBA college or an engineering college. Because leadership is learnt more by practice than theory. And it is best learnt outside the class room!

Some of my former students at IBS and VVSB Hyderabad will relish the pictures of their time.

Don't miss the huge python in students' arms below!

Mahatma Gandhi's quotation below symbolises the changing times. Your leadership at work does not come from your position or power but from your empathy, knowledge, skills and attitude.

Do I take your answer to the question 'Can a college teach you Leadership'-- to be an emphatic YES?

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    Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/18th Dec 2015

Leadership when Chips are Down

Leadership is all about motivating the team. Building each team member's self-confidence.
Leader's presence is reassuring not only in the times of success but also when the chips are down.
A leader never abandons his/her team in difficult times. And this is precisely what we saw in the picture below of a steep slope and two goats. Location: Bhongir Fort, Telangana, India.

This post is a resumption of our Picturesque Quotes (PQ) series.
Some of the previous PQs are:

When men and mountains meet
Life is like a bicycle
Humility is...

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    - Harsh-the-Ghumakkad/ 29th June 2015

Life is a Switch

_________________________ Life is a Switch ___________________________

Life is all about Switches.

Also called ‘buttons’ in the internet era.

You only need to know which button to use and when! (See picture below courtesy Johnny Sajem)

Many of you from the Industry, NGOs as well as my former MBA students would remember. We had said leadership is all about the ability to shift gears. That is another variant of a switch. 

Take your iPad or Laptop. You need to know the ‘Start’ and ‘Power on’ buttons. Thereafter there are many soft buttons to be used.

Your camera, mobile, TV, AC, car, bike or any other gizmo. You got to know its buttons (switches).

Even human being—we ourselves, friends, family, boss—all of us get switched on! Sometimes the outcome of that switch is happiness and some other times anger or sadness. Once again, we need to know which switch to use and when. This ability comes with learning and experience. 

These switches in life take many shapes and forms. It could be a physical device as in a gadget. A software controlled button. Or a mere touch like when your pet dog needs you on return from school or work. He just needs your touch. 

Or, watching a sunset together switches the emotional state of a couple! 

Now before you look for a switch to abort this story, one last point. Our ability to take control of our lives lies in knowing which switch to use and when! Like switching a railway track. 

Select your own path in life.

And yes, God has the ultimate switch for everybody. But we don't have to worry for His actions.
Let us be happy switching our lives..

   - Ghumakkad Harsh

      24th May 2013

___________________________ Life is a Switch ____________________________