Shikha Bhatia_BLP059_Self Leadership_September2012

Leadership Series: Session 2 Conducted by: Mr. Anil Sachdev

“People see what they want to see.”-Red Barber

Anil Sir’s session was much needed session and came at the very right time when each one of us was in a state of shock after the incident that we all witnessed.  Anil Sir always goes beyond my expectations and his session leaves me with so many thoughts running through my head. I go in thinking mode for almost like a day after his session.

He started his session with an activity in which we were asked to reflect our thoughts on the “Impact of the Incident (in which we lost our friends) on our own emotions “. We formed groups each consisting of 6 people and shared our thoughts on the same. Common learning out of this activity was that life is really unpredictable and we are all here with some purpose which we should not forget. They came in our life with some purpose. They taught us how we can be compassionate for things we do. Anil Sir then helped us in understanding the ‘Life and Death’ phenomenon and how to deal with such situations.

Then he talked about ‘Emotional Intelligence (EI)’ and its importance. EI is the ability to understand and manage the emotions, behavior, and impulses of oneself, groups, or others.  Its equivalent to trust which includes emotional empathy, respect for others and then accept the consequences.

                                 

Later in the session I learnt a new concept known as ‘Positive Psychology’. It is a new branch of psychology that talks about the positive side of an individual which helps in bringing out the best in that individual.  It helps individuals and organizations identify their positives and use them in increasing their performance. I understand that if this concept is applied correctly in any workplace, it will help that organization in a big way.

Second activity that I really enjoyed was based on ‘Appreciative Inquiry’. The whole class was divided into pairs and each one of us had to ask few questions from the partner assigned, to find out the positives in that person and appreciate him/her for that. After interviewing my partner, Siddhartha, I paraphrased his answers to bring out the positive qualities in him which helped me in realizing the beauty and importance of AI. It’s very unique and nice way of undertaking change in self or in others by generative process of understanding what’s best in them.

It was a very well planned and beautifully executed session which ended with a closing circle where we shared our thoughts and learning’s. It was a great day and by the end of the session I could see smiling faces and an inspiration to learn from past and move ahead.