“THE LEADER IN ME” ORIENTATION FOR TEACHERS (2018-19)
On the first day, the staff of SBA were divided into groups and discussions were initiated on leadership, effectiveness of being a leader and the common paradigms. The five highly effective paradigms of leadership, potential, change, motivation and education were described. These were interspersed with short captivating videos. Dr. Kannan Gireesh stimulated the groups to come up with their own ‘team name’ and a ‘motto’, based on which he conducted peppy games, which helped the teachers to develop their audio-visual and kinesthetic skills.
In the afternoon session, Dr. Kannan introduced the Seven Habits with actions. The first habit, “Be proactive”, was explained. The positivity of using proactive language in everyday conversation was stressed upon.
Dr. Kannan Gireesh led the groups through the remaining Six Habits. Based on the second habit, “Begin with the end in mind”, each of the members was motivated to form his/her own personal mission statement. A short video was displayed to explain the third habit, “Put first things first”, followed by a group discussion, which helped in prioritizing the duties. The fourth habit, “Think win-win” was instilled into the minds of the faculty through an energetic game. A related case study taught the importance of having an ‘abundance mentality’ and considering other’s wins before one’s own. The listening skills of the participants were then tested through small games and group activities, in keeping with the fifth habit, “Seek first to understand, then to be understood”. In the afternoon session, the facilitator continued with the sixth habit, “Synergize”, through another game, which inculcated the principles of creativity, cooperation, diversity and humility. Finally, the seventh habit, “Sharpen the saw” was highlighted. It means investing in oneself by regularly renewing the body, mind, heart and spirit in order to maintain balance in life.
On the third day, the morning session was a continuation of the seventh habit, “Sharpen the saw”, where Dr. Kannan Gireesh guided the groups through an emotional cleansing. Each group had a sharing time, followed by laughter therapy, which refreshed the minds and helped sharpen the saws of all the participants. Ms. Jeba, one of the Live Life Education team members, led the staff through the process and implementation of “The Leader In Me” for a whole-school transformation. They were taught how to create a leadership culture, align academic systems and to teach leadership principles through various methods. On the final day, the orientation programme was closed with the distribution of certificates. Photos were also taken. All the sessions were vivacious and kept the staff involved and interested.