Friday, 19 May 2017

Free Chapter ― Professor M.S.Rao’s Upcoming Book “School Leadership: Faculty First, Students Second, And Institutions Third”




Dear friends,

I am excited to share with you that I authored a book on educational leadership and life leadership tentatively titled, “School Leadership: Faculty First, Students Second, And Institutions Third.” Here is the free book chapter. I would appreciate if you could share your thoughts about this book on social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.

Education is more than a Religion in India

“The principle goal of education is to create men and women who are capable of doing new things, not simply repeating what other generations have done.” — Jean Piaget

Indian education system is widely discussed across India but it is hardly addressed with practical solutions. There are innumerable articles published on it but most of them underscore from the perspective of problems, not solutions. Unfortunately, the Indian education is still in doldrums. In this context, we will discuss the challenges and solutions to make it to relevant and vibrant to ensure employability, employment, empowerment and enlightenment.  First, we will discuss educational leadership.


Educational Leadership

Educational leadership is a collaborative process of leading various stakeholders including students, educators, parents and external bodies to ensure quality education to students to build next generation of leaders. At the academic level, it ensures blending curricular and extracurricular activities to shell out students as complete personalities to encounter life challenges successfully.  It ensures employability, employment, empowerment and enlightenment.  


Indian versus Overseas Education

In developed countries especially western countries, the students who have the requisite qualifications, intelligence and ability are only allowed to pursue education and courses. The educators are passionate who do remarkable research in their areas of interests, and add an immense value to the students. The educational institutions are ethical and follow the guidelines strictly. They are transparent and systematic in their approaches, policies and practices. They innovate regularly with new teaching tools and techniques. They emphasize both theory and practice where students have the opportunity to understand and apply their knowledge effectively in the real world scenario.  When students ask questions the educators are competent to respond to their questions since the educators do research regularly. The students have access to quality resources. They interact with other students who are equally brilliant and knowledgeable. Hence, knowledge proliferation and transfer takes place quickly and effectively. Employment opportunities are higher for students because the educational institutions offer great knowledge, skills and abilities. The industry is ready to absorb such students who are well equipped with both knowledge and application. It makes easier for the industry to absorb students because they are proactive with basic level of knowledge and expertise. Hence, overseas education is relatively better than Indian education.


How to Revamp Indian Education?

Indian education is not up to the standards of global education but it has the basic standards and knowledge. Currently it emphasizes 3 Rs ― reading, writing and reproducing. To enhance quality education, there must be adequate emphasis on theory and practice. The students must have passion, basic knowledge and intelligence. The educators must be passionate about making a difference in the lives of students with inclination for research and consultancy. The educational institutions must be ethical, systematic and transparent. There must not be management quota and capitation fee. There must be emphasis on both curricular and extracurricular activities in the educational institutions.

Indian education system must reinvent its teaching pedagogy. It must take risk to explore new ways of teaching pedagogy and research. Although education is basically for enlightenment, it must be for empowerment and employment to help people lead comfortable and meaningful lives.

India is a less developed country with the second largest population in the world. Hence, ensuring quality education is a daunting task. However, it is possible if appropriate steps are taken by inviting the intellectuals to restructure it. Above all, it requires an integrated approach from all stakeholders including educational institutions, parents, students, teachers, government and nonprofits to ensure quality education in India. 


Build Minds and Careers

Build minds to build careers. When you build minds you can build careers of the students. It enlightens them to find their own career paths. Show the light to enable them to find their own paths to become trailblazers. Conventional cliché is to teach people how to catch fish. The unconventional cliché is to show the people where the location of the fish is because presently people are smart enough to learn the art of catching fish.

Indians value education more than money and religion. Every parent wants to provide better education to their children to enable the latter to lead better lives. Hence, emphasize building minds and careers in students.


Note: Here is the link to purchase my bestselling book ‘Professor M.S.Rao’s Vision 2030: One Million Global Leaders’ URL: https://lnkd.in/gBUkcu9


Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants India
Global Top Gurus 30: http://globalgurus.org/upcoming-leadership-gurus/




Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.


Copyright©2017 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in.  This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.
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Saturday, 6 May 2017

Free Book Chapter ― Professor M.S.Rao’s Upcoming Book “Secrets to Achieve Your Entrepreneurial and Leadership Success”



Dear friends,

I am excited to share with you that I authored a book on entrepreneurial leadership tentatively titled, “Secrets to Achieve Your Entrepreneurial and Leadership Success.” Here is the free book chapter. I would appreciate if you could share your thoughts about this book on social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.

The Power of Ideas to Achieve Entrepreneurial Success!

"All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them." ― Walt Disney

Eminent people including Albert Einstein, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Jordan Milton, Walt Disney, and Stephen King tasted failures initially. But they learned lessons from their failures and moved forward with energy and enthusiasm. For them, failure is only a comma, not a full stop.  Unsuccessful entrepreneurs complain lack of resources and opportunities to accomplish their ambitions. They complain their circumstances and the people around them for their challenges and failures. On the other hand, successful entrepreneurs explore ideas to overcome their challenges and achieve entrepreneurial success. They are rare breeds who don’t invent excuses to overcome their challenges. 


Ideas versus Resources

Ideas are more important than the resources. When you have ideas, you explore opportunities and develop the mindset to raise resources. When humans undergo challenges their real strength surfaces and they unlock their hidden potential. Challenges lead to creativity paving the way for innovative solutions. The most inventions occurred during the global crises and challenges. During The Great Depression, several global companies were founded. During the Second World War, atom bomb was invented. Therefore, true leaders run behind ideas, explore opportunities and raise resources instead of running helter and shelter during crises. 

It is a well admitted fact that when people are in problems they come out of their comfort zone and expand their minds. When you look at Israel and Singapore they did not have human resources but they became prosperous and grew globally due to their ideas and audacious vision.


Technology is an Advantage for Entrepreneurs

To excel as a successful entrepreneur, it is advisable to have prior experience. However, entrepreneurs including Andrew Carnegie, Thomas Edison, Walt Disney, Ray Kroc, Colonel Sanders and Richard Branson are successful without any prior experience. What is essential is entrepreneurial acumen and intuition to succeed as an entrepreneur.

Technology has become a boon for entrepreneurs. With amazing ideas and without any capital, entrepreneurs are starting their businesses globally. There are several companies that grew with less capital and human resources. For instance, Whatsapp has a few employees; Google doesn’t own content; and Uber runs business through ideas, not by owning cars. It is obvious from these inspiring examples that ideas are more important than anything else in the world. When entrepreneurs have ideas and audacious vision, they can accomplish their goals and objectives effectively.


Ideas Serve as Seeds to Success

"If I have a thousand ideas and only one turns out to be good, I am satisfied." ― Alfred Noble

Ideas lead to success as they serve as seeds to development and growth. It is essential to capture the ideas whenever they pop up in your mind. It is advisable to record them in your journal to reflect during your leisure time. It is from these ideas the civilization has advanced. And civilization will go to the next higher level. I get lots of ideas to author books. Whenever ideas pop up in my mind I scribble them immediately in my journal that I always carry with me. I develop them during my leisure time. It is from these ideas I authored 36 leadership books including the bestselling ‘21 Success Sutras for CEOs’ https://lnkd.in/eqwk9uZ.


Opportunities are Infinite while Your Life is Finite

“I think life on Earth must be about more than just solving problems... It's got to be something inspiring, even if it is vicarious.” ― Elon Musk

Currently there are immense opportunities for the individuals with ideas and ambitions. Only thing they must do is to take risks to explore and apply their ideas to accomplish their ambitions. They must remember that life is very short. They must also note that they are blessed with one life only to explore and avail the opportunities to make it big.  Remember, opportunities are infinite while your life is finite. Hence, make your decision wisely by following your passions to provide meaning to your life.


Conclusion

"Everything begins with an idea." ― Earl Nightingale

If we did not explore ideas we would have remained in ancient times. Thanks to ideas that the civilization has progressed to the current level. And thanks to ideas that we are able to add value to future generations.

When you think, you get ideas; when you ink, you capture your ideas; and when you apply your ideas, you achieve success. Hence, start thinking, inking and applying your ideas to achieve an amazing success in your life.


Note: Here is the link to purchase my bestselling book '21 Success Sutras for CEOs' https://lnkd.in/eqwk9uZ  



Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants India
Global Top Gurus 30: http://globalgurus.org/upcoming-leadership-gurus/




Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.


Copyright©2017 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in.  This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.


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Thursday, 27 April 2017

An Open Letter to Prakash Javadekar, Union HRD Minister of India ― Check Corruption and Irregularities in Private Colleges in Telangana ― Professor M.S.Rao




Dear Shri Prakash Javadekar, Honourable HRD Minister of India

It is with deep regret I am writing this open letter to you about the prevailing corruption and irregularities in private engineering, medical and pharmacy colleges in the state of Telangana. Previously I wrote an open letter to the Chief Minister of Telangana requesting him to close down fraudulent colleges in Telengana and offered some suggestions to improve in the education system. URL:  http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2016/07/an-open-letter-to-shri-k-chandrashekar.html.  Some of my suggestions were implemented and some of the fraudulent colleges were closed. But much needs to be still done to streamline the Indian education.  

I served in Indian Air Force and joined teaching profession with a passion to make a difference in the lives of students. I worked as a professor in various private engineering colleges in Telangana and most of them are corrupt and fraudulent who cheat faculty by not paying salaries when the faculty leave the college. They don’t give relieving letters to the leaving faculty. If faculty questions, they file wrong cases in court to drag the issues for years. For instance, I worked in a private college in Hyderabad (the name of the college is known to AICTE (All India Council of Technical Education) Chairman, JNTU Hyderabad Registrar and all the faculty members of college) which did not pay my salary for more than three months. Worse, it did not give me the relieving letter at the time of leaving. When I raised the issue with AICTE and JNTU Hyderabad, it sent me the relieving order after many months by a post. But my salary is still pending from 01 July 2015. These managements cheat students by taking money through dubious means. If university officials don’t give affiliation due to irregularities, these rogue colleges approach courts to get a temporary relief. Here are my observations to bring it your notice to close down the fraudulent colleges and improve the Indian education.
  • Colleges blackmail students to pay money through various means, and students comply for fearing retribution. They pay because the internal marks are in the hands the faculty. Parents don’t want to take risk as it would adversely affect the future of their children. Hence, students end up paying money.  
  • The managements of these fraudulent colleges suck blood from students like leeches. Those who fail to pay money are punished through dubious means. They are not implementing biometric attendance of students and faculty. The officials of the affiliated universities are incompetent to enforce the biometric attendance of faculty and students because they receive bribes.  
  • These fraudulent colleges don’t pay salaries as per the pay commission but claim to be paying on records. They take the differential amount by force from the employees on the day of crediting the salary into the college accounts. If the employees fight such irregularities they file wrong cases. 
  • The faculty in fraudulent colleges face huge exploitation, unreasonable terminations, violation of fundamental rights, deprivation of benefits, and lack of adequate grievance mechanism to name a few.
  • There is a close nexus between these fraudulent colleges and political parties in Telangana. These fraudulent managements pay donations to political parties to enable the political parties to remain as mute spectators whenever complaints surface.
  • These fraudulent colleges believe in brand building rather than adding value to the students and the society.


Suggestions

I love to be part of the solution rather than the problem. Hence, I offer some suggestions to consider improving the Indian education system:
  • Close down the fraudulent colleges that have the frequent complaints from faculty and students.
  • Organize surprise inspections to find out the irregularities such as inadequate faculty, poor infrastructure, ill-treatment of faculty and students.
  • Check the bank accounts of employees whether salaries are credited promptly. Colleges are notorious in manipulating the salaries of employees. They show high salary on records but pay less salary in reality. At the time of crediting the salary, these fraudulent colleges take the differential payment through self-withdrawal forms from the staff. You can easily check these irregularities because all employees withdraw the differential payment on the same day of crediting salaries. To check this, the income tax must call for the details from the banks and the fraudulent colleges. Additionally, organize frequent income tax raids to check black money.
  • To redress the grievance mechanism in each college, there is an inbuilt mechanism in the college website to conduct it. The members involved in this grievance redressal mechanism are the employees of the colleges. How can they go against their managements? Some of them lick the legs of the management to ensure their survival. Hence, ensure that the grievance redresssal mechanism is effective by involving the outsiders with credibility to redress it.
  • Invite the experienced intellectuals with great track record and integrity to find out innovative solutions to address these challenges. An integrated efforts from all stakeholders including politicians, intellectuals, officials and colleges is the need of the hour to streamline the system.
  • You cannot build a superstructure on a crooked infrastructure. Hence, build a strong infrastructure by eliminating fraudulent colleges that harm students and damage society. Educational institutions are the temples of learning. We must maintain their sanctity.


Indians Treat Education more than a Religion

Education interlinks all religions to come to one platform in India. Indians treat education more than a religion. They treat it as sacrosanct. Unfortunately, criminals and mafia entered into it who converted education into prostitution. They ill-treat intellectuals, cheat faculty by filing wrong cases, and don’t pay salaries. Although it is a daunting task to set the house in order, it is possible by making system transparent and closing fraudulent colleges with a track record of complaints from faculty and students. There is a corruption between the officials and college owners during inspections thus harming the interests of students and faculty. To please these officials, the notorious college managements invite top officials to college events and functions and pay huge money through honorarium. In fact, it is not an honorarium but a bribe. These higher officials don’t take any action against these fraudulent colleges because they received huge bribes from them. Worse, these corrupt officials pass the information about the people who complained to alert the fraudulent management to avenge. Hence, deny permission to the top officials from universities and other education bodies to go to these colleges as special guests.

The problem with private colleges is viewing everything from commercial perspective rather than from education perspective. Previously philanthropists founded educational institutions to add value to the society. Presently managements with criminal background are founding educational institutions to exploit students to make money.

It is unfortunate that the educational institutions that are supposed to shell out students with ethical values are unethical. How can we expect ethical students and ethical society?  Remember, the day the corruption enters into armed forces and educational institutions the country will collapse. Therefore, ensure that the cancer of corruption doesn’t creep into Indian Armed Forces and educational institutions. Jai Hind!

“A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.” ― Mohandas K. Gandhi

Note: These are my observations in the private colleges where I worked as a professor in the State of Telangana. Similar fraudulent practices occur in other states of India also.

References
http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2016/07/an-open-letter-to-shri-k-chandrashekar.html
www.unesco.org/iiep
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/faculty-names-fraud-across-engineering-colleges-in-india/article7190827.ece
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/colleges-at-a-loss-to-explain-shared-faculty/article7190859.ece?ref=relatedNews
http://businessworld.in/article/-Friends-of-Faculty-Fight-for-Your-Rights-Satyamev-Jayate/08-07-2016-100167/
http://businessworld.in/article/Irregularities-In-Private-Engineering-Colleges-In-Telangana/2016-07-05-100033/
http://businessworld.in/article/Education-Is-For-Sale-Not-Educators/08-07-2016-100168/





If you like this article, Like and share Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-MSRao/451516514937414


Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html  


Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants India
Global Top Gurus 30: http://globalgurus.org/upcoming-leadership-gurus/




Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.



Copyright©2017 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in.  This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.


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Tuesday, 11 April 2017

Free Chapter ― Professor M.S.Rao’s Upcoming Book “See the Light in You: Acquire Spiritual Powers to Achieve Mindfulness, Wellness, Happiness and Success”




Dear friends,

Here is the free chapter of my upcoming book tentatively titled, “See the Light in You: Acquire Spiritual Powers to Achieve Mindfulness, Wellness, Happiness and Success.” You may share your thoughts about this book on social media channels including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+.

Introduction

“One's everyday life is never capable of being separated from his spiritual being.” ― Mahatma Gandhi

People encounter several challenges globally due to various reasons such as volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity. Currently they encounter challenges much bigger than their predecessors due to rapid growth in technology. They enjoy more comforts than their predecessors but suffer from ailments arising from stress and burnout. Hence, the importance of spiritualism is more felt than ever before. In this regard, we will discuss spiritualism that helps lead your personal, professional and social life happily.  


What is Spiritualism?

Spiritualism is more about intangible than tangible. It is more about mind and human spirit than the so-called materialistic things. It is not connected with any particular religion. Succinctly, spiritualism is a way of life anyone can practice to achieve harmony, peace and love in life.

Spiritualism is a means to achieve your end of salvation. Spiritualism synchronizes your mind and body with soul.  Spiritualism is to surrender yourself to serve others. It is to refine your thought process to build a positive attitude and develop an attitude of gratitude. It is to keep people around you happy and warm with your positive thoughts and vibrations. It is to build better communities and societies. It is to build a better world. Above all, it is to leave a better legacy to your next generations.

It is observed that the people who are divorced, bankrupt and encounter death in their family become more spiritualistic. They find solace in spiritualism since they forget their unpleasant events and failures.


Advantages of Spiritualism

There are innumerable advantages associated with spiritualism. You develop open-mindedness and appreciate others’ achievements. You become tolerant, optimist, confident and compassionate. You maintain sound mind in a healthy body. You enjoy every moment of your life.

Spiritualism helps forgive others and forget unpleasant past. It helps look at similarities, not differences. It breaks barriers and builds bridges. It connects people and brings them into one platform. It improves health and ensures longevity. It helps overcome challenges with calm and composure. It helps make smart and wise decisions by blending head, heart and gut. It converts into a better human being.

Spiritualism enlightens people. It helps them introspect themselves and empathize with others. It eliminates conflicts and enhances fraternity and brotherhood. It removes negative thoughts from their mind to replace with positive thoughts. It enhances their creativity and helps them think differently. It helps them realize and unlock their hidden potential. Above all, it helps them find meaning in their lives to make a difference to the world.

The human brain is basically rewired to ensure survival rather than success. We spend most of our time with repetitive thoughts. And most of our thoughts are negative in nature. Research shows that the average person spends 95% of their day going through repeat thoughts. Worse, an average 75% are repeat negative things, just 20% on positive repeat thoughts and only a tiny 5% on new ideas.  When you stress on spiritualism you think positively without wasting your time on your unpleasant past events. You emphasize new areas and explore them to achieve an amazing success and happiness.


Spiritualistic versus Materialistic People

The materialistic people crave for money while the spiritualistic people crave for love, peace and happiness. For materialistic people, money is the end while for spiritualistic people, peace is the end. Hence, their goals are totally different. William James rightly differentiated, “Materialism means simply the denial that the moral order is eternal, and the cutting off of ultimate hopes; spiritualism means the affirmation of an eternal moral order and the letting loose of hope.” Technology has added further woes to complexity. In fact, technology is a double-edged sword. It is both a boon and bane. It is boon because it brought comforts to humankind. It is bane because it increased health complications. It is replacing spiritualism with materialism.


A Blueprint to Lead Your Spiritual Life

Here are some tips to lead your spiritual life. Be simple and humble. Walk your talk. Be a giver, not a taker. Invest some time regularly to serve others. Associate with positive and likeminded people. Emphasize ideas rather than individuals and issues. Add value to others.


Body is Mortal and Soul is Immortal

The human body undergoes three phases ― creation, generation and destruction. The body is mortal while the soul is immortal. To make our lives immortal, it is advisable to wed spiritualism.

When a man marries a woman he craves for physical unification first, emotional unification second and spiritual unification third. When married couple understands each other well, they reach the third stage successfully. It is possible only when people understand and appreciate spiritualism.


Love Your Mother but don’t Hate another Person’s Mother

Love your mother but don’t hate another person’s mother. As your mother is precious to you, another person’s mother is equally precious to him/her.  As your race, religion, region, language, ethnicity, culture, and community are precious to you; they are equally precious to others.

People must learn to empathize with others to make a difference in the lives of others. We need empathetic leaders like Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr, Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela, Mikhail Gorbachev and Dalai Lama; and religious leaders like Jesus, Buddha, and Muhammad to name a few to achieve global peace, prosperity, stability and security. Remember, what Mother Teresa said when asked what you can do to promote world peace: “Go home and love your family.”  As charity begins at home, let us promote global peace by loving our families and empathizing with others first.


Life is an Echo

“Life is like a sandwich! Birth as one slice, and death as the other. What you put in-between the slices is up to you. Is your sandwich tasty or sour?” ― Allan Rufus

Currently there are several conflicts globally due to religious, racial and regional intolerance. Embracing spiritualism is the only way to bring the improvements in the society. We brought nothing to this world when we were born. We will not carry anything from this world when we die except either good or bad reputation. Hence, stress on spiritualism to spread peace and love in the world.

Life is an echo. If you do good things, you get back good things. The Newton’s third law of physics “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction” is applicable here. Hence, do good to others to build a better world. To conclude, spiritualism is the only way to provide meaning to your life and to build a better world. 

References

Note: Here is the link to purchase my bestselling book '21 Success Sutras for CEOs' https://lnkd.in/eqwk9uZ  



Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants India
Global Top Gurus 30: http://globalgurus.org/upcoming-leadership-gurus/




Thanks for reading!

Kindly share your thoughts and comments below, I’m sure someone out there will find your story useful.


Copyright©2017 MSR Leadership Consultants India. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.


This is a nonprofit blog to share Professor M.S.Rao’s passion and vision to build one million students as global leaders by 2030. Please don't cut articles from my blog and redistribute by email or post to the web. The use of this material is free provided copyright is acknowledged and reference or link is made to the Blog http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in.  This material may not be sold, or published in any form, or used in the provision of business services to a third party without permission.
Posted by at No comments:

Sunday, 2 April 2017

Build Leadership Skills for Indian Students


“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” ― John Quincy Adams


There are mushrooming leadership development programs for students in the developed countries to impart leadership skills and abilities in students. Some prestigious international universities have customized training programs including Harvard Business School offering degrees in the domain of leadership. However, there are no such initiatives and courses in India despite being the second largest populated in the world with the highest number of young population. In fact, there is a huge potential for leadership training programs for youth in India.  Unfortunately, India doesn’t have organized method to impart leadership training for students except in a few premier business schools. 

During my leadership training programs I often come across with students raising questions whether leaders are born or made. I try hard to persuade them that leaders are made rather than born. Most of the leadership skills depend on emotional intelligence that can be cultivated through teaching, training, observation, experience and practice. Hence, anybody can acquire leadership qualities unlike talents which are inborn and the same has been substantiated by a number of leadership gurus including Warren Bennis, Stephen R. Covey, Ken Blanchard and John Maxwell.

Developing leadership skills in students needs an integrated approach and coordinated efforts from various stakeholders including educators, students, parents, educational institutions, industry and Non Governmental Organizations (NGO) to enable students shift from campus to corporate successfully. Here is the blueprint to achieve it:

                                                                                       
Role of Students

Learning leadership is like learning how to swim. Only when you get into water you learn the art of swimming. Hence, take a plunge to lead from the front.  Here are some of the ways to acquire leadership skills and abilities:
  • Be passionate to lead from the front with a heart to make a difference in the lives of others.
  • Visualize yourself as a leader as visualization is one of the effective tools to achieve whatever you want in your life. Remember, a battle is won twice – first in mind and second in real life.
  • Apply SWOT tool to assess your strengths and weaknesses, and search for opportunities from threats.
  • Work in teams to understand team dynamics and improve your emotional intelligence.  Practice is the most effective way to learn any skill and leadership is not an exception. You cannot become a crackshot unless you lose some ammunition.
  • Take successful leaders as your role model and find out the qualities you admire and imbibe them.
  • Read inspirational books. Most of the leaders are great readers including Abraham Lincoln.
  • Find out the problems that affect the people; create a common cause; influence the people; build a strong team; align their energies and efforts; and motivate them constantly to accomplish your goals and objectives.
  • Delegate routine tasks to others so that you can find more time to undertake challenging roles and responsibilities. 
  • Spread the fame when things go well and take the blame when things go wrong.
  • Learn, unlearn and relearn as the world is changing rapidly. In addition, what works now might not work in future due to increased uncertainty, volatility, complexity and ambiguity everywhere.


Role of Educators

Educators must take initiative to build leadership skills in students to enable students find themselves comfortable to lead at the corporate world.  For instance, they must encourage students to participate in simulated ‘United Nations Assembly’ which is a mock exercise for students wherein students represent various countries in the world and discuss and debate on pressing global issues. They can also discuss the ways and means to ensure global peace and security and maintain ecological balance.  They must encourage students to participate in group discussions to develop leadership skills.


Role of Educational Institutions

  • Organize events, functions, conferences, tours and excursions. Also, conduct industry visits for students to expose them with the practical world to build skills. 
  • Nominate class representative for each classroom to build coordination and leadership skills.
  • Encourage students to participate in NCC, NSS, and NGO where they work with other team members and they are the right avenues to learn team dynamics to build leadership skills.
  • Inspire students to participate in jungle training, mountaineering, or river rafting where they have to work with other members.
  • Teach them how to handle pressure and work under stress to achieve all-round success in this century.
  • Balance both curricular and extracurricular activities as presently Indian educational institutions don’t emphasize on extracurricular activities. Building leadership skills fall in the bracket of extracurricular activities and these skills groom students as well-rounded personalities.

It is essential to build leaders on continuous basis as the Baby Boomers are retiring and there is a dearth of leadership talent in the leadership pipeline globally. Current complexity calls for leaders who can take on challenges head-on.  Hence, it is strongly recommended to include a few courses on leadership development along with soft skills to groom leaders for tomorrow.

Future of any country depends on developing healthy minds in healthy bodies and it requires developing a unique mindset, toolset and skills set among the students. India has less number of leaders when compared with the size of population. Small countries produced the best leaders. What is wrong with India? Why is India unable to produce the best leaders in the world? India had a great leader like Swami Vivekananda who left an indelible mark internationally by spreading tolerance and universal brotherhood. India needs more such Vivekanandas to inspire Indian youth to change their mindset with a proactive and positive attitude to grow along with other civilized and advanced nations in the world.  


Note: This article has been adapted from my award-winning book, ‘Student Leaders: Growing From Students To CEOs.’ Here is the link to purchase and post your review: http://www.amazon.com/Student-Leaders-Growing-Students-CEOs/dp/9351101630  




If you like this article, Like and share Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Professor-MSRao/451516514937414

Read my ‘Vision 2030 One Million Global Leaders’ URL: http://professormsraovision2030.blogspot.in/2014/12/professor-m-s-raos-vision-2030-one_31.html 


Life is great!

Professor M.S.Rao
Founder of MSR Leadership Consultants India
Global Top Gurus 30: http://globalgurus.org/upcoming-leadership-gurus/



Thanks for reading!

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