Women-in-Leadership

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Women-in-Leadership

5 Feb 2019
- Aanchal Popli
- Student Life
NGO, Social Innovation, SOIL Days, Women Leadership

“Only one man in a thousand is a leader of men- the other 999 follow women”– Groucho Marx.

When it comes to leadership, great leaders will always have some qualities in common. Great leaders are people who have outstanding managerial capabilities combined with energy, enthusiasm and lots of vision for the future. Women have certain innate strengths, such as creativity, collaboration, and communication that make them highly effective in their approach to work. Women in leadership roles tend to come from a more interactive, cooperative mind set, which creates a stronger spirit of teamwork among their peers and subordinates.

All you need is to identify your unique talents, understand what you bring to the table, and then make sure your voice is heard.

Stint at EY:

Just after my graduation, I got an opportunity to work as an auditor with one of the big four consulting firms. It was a turning point for me. It is well said that your first job teaches you the lessons for life and pulls you out of your nutshell. Getting into a professional services firm was easy for me as I possessed the necessary skills but to sustain in such a competitive environment, one needs a lot of courage. I learnt that as a Leader, your topmost priority before getting onto any task is to face yourself and accept that you don’t know, would then help in gaining the trust of other people. This learning helped me develop professionally and personally.

Soon, I decided to upskill myself and I joined SOIL. And I also got the scholarship under the ‘women-in-leadership’ criteria which motivated me to contribute further.

Let’s share a smile!

One Effort that added value to someone’s life:

Leaders are those who has the power to listen to others. As a part of project assistant in NGO, I got the amazing task to hear the stories of abandoned people and help them in reuniting with their families.

Having received a call one fine day (26th Dec 2018) from an unknown number, I picked it up and a soothing voice which was full of blessings said “Dr. Aanchal”, Main Ghar Pahunch Gayi (I have reached home)!!! I was overwhelmed.

The story started when I interacted with a 72-year old lady named Geeta, who got separated from her family and was brought to an NGO. She had been there since last 3 years and eagerly wanted to meet her family members. But nothing comes easy in life!

Exactly what happened to Geeta Aunty. She had several dreams in her eyes and was alive only with a wish to see her family again but with no clue or contact of the place she belongs to!!

As part of SOIL’s Social Innovation Program, it was my regular visit to Earth Saviors Foundation on a Wednesday. While cleaning the beds of the inmates at this NGO, God gave me a direction where I saw this lady crying badly. I went to her and offered her food. The pain in her eyes and the way she hugged me gave me the strength to stand for her and put all my efforts in reuniting her with her family. I don’t know how I gathered the courage to talk to the authorities and headed her file to “n” number of places.

On my every visit to NGO, I made every possible effort to counsel the lady to make her recall some of the details of her hometown. We shared a great bond during the time and she became just like my grandmother who laughed with me, who loved me, who ate with me. I was able to get some of the details which I could further trace and connect to her family members. The patient listening, the efforts, the creativity, the inner strengths made everything made it possible.

I would like to thank SOIL for having given me this opportunity, which enabled me to add value to Geeta’s Aunty life!!!

Leadership starts from within….

– Written by: Aanchal Popli, PGPHRL | Class of 2019