Leadership Blogathon: My 3AM Awakening to Leadership !

Getting ready for the Leadership drill

Waking up at 3 AM, to embark on the journey to the Text 100 India, VOX and GRO Leadership offsite destination, made me for the  first time realize the flip side of being in the leadership position J. I was a bit apprehensive on what the “Learning’s” of this offsite would be? For me, being a recent Textie, it was the sheer excitement of putting faces behind the names which I had been seeing on emails and hearing about from colleagues.

Reaching the offsite destination, the serene environment of golden palms, Bangalore, which I had known more for celebrity weddings, made me wake up from the slumber, as I could not stop from appreciating the venue, for its sheer grandeur and magnificence. But the happiness was ephemeral as I realized that the next three days; we would be inside a conference room, for close to eight hours, undergoing what we had come for “Leadership training”. Not to say, I had missed out on the detailed agenda already sent to me, by the meticulous HR department.

But as people say, life is all about perception, and the boat of leadership training that I had embarked with caution, soon became one of the most pleasurable journeys of my life. The journey, which made me meet the best minds of the industry, and gain true insight into what leadership is all about. For me it was all about self discovery, myth busting, empathy, learning to be a good and patient listener and above all UNLEARNING.

The key lessons, which I imbibed as a leader was that there are no absolutes in life; it is all about understanding people, their style and working towards creating a harmonious environment, by utilizing these insights. Moreover, even if traits of leaders differ, there are certain characteristics that bind all great leaders like vision, conviction of purpose, clarity of goal, enthusiasm, amongst others.

On the flip side, I forgot most of the names that I had remembered and started looking at individuals in terms of colours. So I never knew I had a “RED” Boss and a lot of Green, Blue and Yellow colleagues. Well, the insight I got into various personality types, categorised broadly into four-colours, made me understand and appreciate the people around me and their work style better.

So, I can better empathise with mails with a subject line: UDATE ASAP? J

The fun part was learning the traits of the great would be leaders in the informal environment of booze and dance. I realized that I have to work on becoming a “consummate dancer” to really get into the leadership club, and I am truly working on that…………..

I don’t regret waking up at 3 AM now……………………

“Leadership Blogathon” entry submitted by Satyapriya Verma, Principal Consultant, Text 100 India

 

 Image source: greenteapot.blogspot.com