Aman Kharbas_BLP001_Self Leadership_September 2012

Today we had our second inning of “Self- Leadership Program”, which is taken by Mr. Anil Sachdev and the experience just keeps getting better and better.

The class got started by paying our regards to our two dear friends who are not anymore with us, and Mr. Anil tried to mould the class participation in such a way that we can remember our experiences in troubled times and share those experiences so that we can get a closure to the inner pain that we all tried to shun in a corner of our mind, and when we were able to remember those troubled times and let the emotions out, most of us certainly felt somehow relieved from the burden of sorrow we were carrying with us for quite a few days. Tears could be seen in the class, as everybody tried to remember the two friends, may God rest their souls in peace.

After that, the discussion went on to the Appreciative Inquiry (AI), which was an alien term for most of us, before coming to SOIL. We were asked some very simple questions, the impact of the answers of which was to be found out later.

• When were you at your best during your SOIL tenure?

• When was SOIL at its best during this period?

The whole class was divided into pairs and each one in a pair was given a specific time to tell the answer to his/her partner. Once it was done, the pairs were told to paraphrase their counterparts’ answers and that’s where the impact of the activity started to show. The answers were documented & categorized in two parts so as to know the positive attributes of both the individuals and SOIL as an entity. The bigger picture or the purpose of the task could have been easily understood, once it was done and that is the beauty of the Appreciative Inquiry.

What I understood was that it is very easy to criticize somebody and it’s very easy to feel blue if one is being criticized, but it is a different ballgame when we are trying to ask questions in a context, such that the best of the interviewee can come out. But if the process is correct, it gives the environment a positive energy, which extends to the whole group and makes everyone feel happy, content and most of all confident. The inclination towards positivity can be argued by critics by saying that this hampers our thinking towards problem solving by ignoring the problems, but I learned that this is not true; AI is all about flow of a positive energy in the working teams so that the power to fight the problems can be generated comprehensively and collectively. That way the stress upon the Appreciative inquiry should be given in modern day industries, so as to maximize the working potential of the workforce and make them work in a synergy. 

At the end of the class we concluded by putting our thoughts together and sharing them with each other, in our auspicious circle, which we believe is a unique and interesting way to share our thoughts and feelings with each other, and where the holding of hands signifies and provides the amount of trust required doing so.