A Sudden Fragrant Flower

A great meeting naturally invites more reflection.

With uncertain ideas flying around even on the morning of meeting day (Monday) as to whether to have a meeting at all, and if so how! (thin attendance owing to many travelling members being the predominant reason) I hadn't in my wildest imagination expected the sensational session that was to follow as evening came.

And I must confess that the skeptic fox in me raised his head relentlessly as we approached meeting time - he reasoned: how can anything fantastic come about without adequate preparation?
For we know from experience that preparation always precedes a near perfect session - the only kind of session  worth attending.  However as much as I continue to believe in the value of preparation, I must point that both Sunil and Uma demonstrated  beautifully during Monday's meeting  another value that I most devotedly advocate: that our life experience and learning too, when consulted with commitment and sincerity can help us come up with a fragrant flower that can match the products of good preparation, which we can then offer to those around us. 

The session started with an enlightening address by Hari who donned the hat of the TMOD for the day. In his opening address Hari pointed to some facts w.r.to the prevalent economic climate -facts that leaders must ideally consult in order to take informed decisions. It was heartening to hear the audience agree that this information was of immense value. Following this Hari agreed to do a session titled "Reading the Budget"

And then came the sessions on Leadership done by Sunil and Uma  - and it must be remembered that it was originally Uma’s idea of choosing a Leadership topic with members facilitating discussions around the topic - thus with the compass of their wisdom guiding them, Sunil chose to facilitate a discussion around Leadership Styles while Uma chose Emotional Intelligence. 

Here are some of the knowledge and learning  I gleaned during the exciting, collaborative, joyous and engaging sessions: and please do add your thoughts in the comments section. 

 
Discussion 1:  X or Y?
Discussion Leader: Sunil
Sunil succinctly introduced the X and Y theory of  human motivation created and developed by Douglas McGregor 1960s. He described how these  theories described two contrasting approaches applied by managers. The general assumptions of Theory X being that  strict supervision, external rewards, and penalties were key while in contrast theory Y purported that motivating by using job satisfaction encourages workers to approach tasks (basically without direct supervision).

It was interesting to see how Sunil explained Maslow's hierarchy of needs pretty thoroughly when the need came for it, although it appeared to not have been part of his original plan. This to me demonstrated the value of reflecting time and again on what we have once learnt so that it comes handy during an unexpected time.  

Having explained the theories, Sunil opened the proverbial Pandora's box by asking members to comment on their preferences w.r.to leadership styles giving justifications for the same. 

What started as a gentle conversation soon almost took the form of a fierce and impassioned discussion touching not just on the theories that Sunil referred to but rather to a range of other related subjects such as the contradiction in the theories, whether or not they are to be treated as obsolete considering the swiftly changing modern world and at one point - hold your breath - even Donald Trump.

But it all certainly accounted for much learning, fun and reflection with Sunil making notes on the board and cleverly steering the discussion into hitherto unexplored territories. Here is the last word by members which hopefully gives an idea as to  how it all went: 

Uma: We cannot have a blanket theory when it comes to leadership.
Hari: It all depends on having a good system that includes cultivates good leaders and followers

Padeep: These theories will not be obsolete in the near future. They will always have value
Ram: Fundamentally these theories hold value however they have to be constantly tested considering the ever changing times. 
Saaj: A balance must be sought however never loosing sight of employee at all times

Sunil concluded his session pointing to the diversity as well as to the commonness in opinions.

Then came Uma who it must be pointed out was presenting at our club for the first time  - and I believe all will agree - has established herself as a tremendous resource for our club. 
Uma’s chosen topic was Emotional Intelligence.
She started with the clearly articulated Aristotle quote - "Anybody can become angry - that is easy, but to be angry with the right person and to the right degree and at the right time and for the right purpose, and in the right way - that is not within everybody's power and is not easy"  which was not only powerful because of the wisdom it encapsulates but also because it superbly captured the essence of Uma’s topic. 

Her introduction to the topic was laced with interesting anecdotes - the most vivid to my mind being the one concerning her trip to Salzburg, Austria wherein the ever cheerful Driver of her hop-in hop-out tourist cab set her thinking with is consistently positive demeanor. Was interesting how she referred to the gentleman as "an urban ambassador of good behavior".

She further went on to describe two important aspects of Emotional Intelligence:

a. Understanding and managing our own emotions
b. Understanding and managing emotions in others

This was followed by an interesting activity of knowledge sharing concerning the "Why" of emotional intelligence. At one point in response to query  on assertiveness, Uma went on to depict assertiveness using creative X and Y axis plane. This was very interesting. 

Uma further explained the five elements of emotional intelligence based on one of the foremost theorists in the field -  Daniel Goleman:
1. Self-Awareness
2. Self-Management
3. Motivation
4. Empathy
5. Social Skills

She further went on to introduce another activity titled, "How do you demonstrate EI in daily life"
which accounted for another deep round of contributions and learning. 

Uma finally concluded by adding that one of the exercises the audience could practice before an impulse to orally react could be to reflect on the following questions before reacting:

a. Does this have to be said?
b. Does this have to be said by me?
c. Does this have to be said by me now?

Both of the sessions were for approximately 50 minutes each - which was a great pointer to the time to be allotted for such sessions in the future.

Members all agreed we must have more such sessions in the future.

Accordingly the for the next sessions it was agreed that we will have the following fragrant flowers:

1.     A session titled "Reading the  Budget" by Hari - 50 minutes

2.     A workshop titled  "Humorous speech-making" by Sunil - 50 minutes

Looking forward to your thoughts, feedback and comments.