Nupur Pachauri_BLP005_Self Leadership_10Jan’12

Based on the caliper report and my past experience, I have recognized strong analytical skills and thoroughness as my strengths. On the other hand, I have realized that I am not flexible enough. As such, from now on, I intend to use my strengths to analyze thoroughly various options put in front of me, before taking any call on the options. This will help me become more flexible, and eventually become more creative and innovative at whatever I do.

Additionally, I will do more of reading, primarily the biographies of great innovative leaders of the world. I intend to learn more about weighing my options effectively by reading such books.

Being more flexible will help me take a step further towards being the kind of leader I want to be. Few years down the line, I see myself having converted my weaknesses into strengths, accepting more ideas and being more experimenting! 

Nupur Pachauri_BLP005_Consulting_03Jan’12

Today, our day began with a lot of excitement. Not only were we having Mercer Consulting, one of the biggest names in the area of HR Consulting, visit our campus for placements, but we were also scheduled to have the Consulting skills class with Anil sir. A lot of practice and learning is what we have come to expect from this class, and we were not disappointed.

The agenda for the day's session was "Proposal writing" for consultants and the first thing we learnt was that the difference between a winning and losing proposal is merely 3-4 points. Surprising, isn't it?

For writing an effective proposal, it is very important to understand the context of the engagement, which helps us develop the actual content of the proposal. Defining the context and content clearly, and using the apt over-riding question will help us further build on the details of the engagement with the client. We will then be able to summarize four points effectively:-

• Point of departure
• Point of arrival
• Objective of the engagement
• Benefits which will be achieved, if and when the objective is met

Once we have this information, we need to create a Baseline Logic sheet to define the current situation, desired result and benefits of the desired result.

Additionally, to create a baseline logic sheet, we also need to understand the alignment of the engagement with the client, which can be of three types:-

• Client lack Insight
• Client have insight, lack plan
• Client have insight, have plan, but lack implementation

To practice our learning, we were made to work on live case studies. It was extremely interesting to practice in the class itself, and towards the end, it was surprising as well, because the last case study of the day was actually a shortlisting interview for Mckinsey!!! The selected few had to work on a live finance case study, which truly encouraged us all to apply our knowledge. 

In all, it was a typical day at SOIL, with not-so-typical elements thrown in, which truly is just another day at SOIL!

Nupur Pachauri_BLP005_Self Leadership_Sep '11

“Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. It is that simple. It is that difficult.”

 Warren Bennis

Self-leadership evolves from understanding the six layers of self. Once we are aware of these six layers, we understand the essence and importance of the “Self” much more.

The inference of “S” in Self can be two-fold:-

i)                    “s” refers to the five senses of the human body. It deals with our mind, emotions, intellect and thoughts. It emphasizes the way we have been conditioned to think, based on our upbringing and experiences.

ii)                   “S” refers to the Seer, the observer, and the actual Self. When we understand the “S” of Self, we become the experiencer, instead of the experienced.

Through Self-leadership, a person learns to know himself better and steer his life effectively. The identification of Self can start from introspecting our own character. Innovation is caused by character, not by competency! This helps us identify the purpose of our life – why we are here, what is our calling in life. It is essential to connect ourselves to the locus of our being. It has been rightly quoted in Patanajali that when you are inspired by a higher purpose in life, strange things happen to you. You discover talent which you did not know you had. You become a leader far above your perceived potential.

In the session on Self-leadership, Anil sir acquainted us to the Immunity X-ray to analyze our decision-making process and get to know ourselves better. During the exercise, we discovered our hidden competing commitments and the reasons behind it. We figured out the assumptions that we make which prevent us from changing for the good. The four column approach of Immunity X-ray helps us to identify our inner fears, such that we can consciously start the transformation.  It is the fear and ego which comes in our way to achieve our purpose in life; however, it is not impossible to change our habits. One of the most important learning of the session was that the fear and ego can be overcome by unconditional love.

Self-leadership is also about complete well-being – spiritual, social, physical and mental.  When our wellness curve is high in all these areas, we are efficient and feel good.  Total well-being gives a clear sense of purpose and goals, in life and workplace. Having clear goals helps us align our purpose with our work, and hence, work towards the ultimate calling in life!

Lastly, it is essential to know that the biggest leader is the one who is also the biggest follower. Unless we know how to follow, we will not be able to lead. We must initiate the change we want to see in others. It was rightly written by Louis V. Gerstner, former IBM CEO, that leaders do not bring a change in the culture of a company; Leaders only compel the workforce to bring about the change themselves, by being a part of the workforce.

We must become the change we want to see!