Vision Search organized a webinar with few eminent people on the topic “Leadership in a Home”

On 8th May, Vision Search organized a webinar with few eminent people on the topic- Leadership in a Home.

The webinar was hosted by Mona Mehra- an Activist and a Work-Home integrator and Vasudha Arora– Principal and a Happiness Life coach.

Leadership means leading people and mostly it is talked about in organization context. The idea behind the webinar was to showcase similarity of various kinds of leadership in our home and in our daily lives.

The speakers included Indu Punj– Founder Stories Matter, Ashok Kamal– President Orient Resins Ltd., Neelesh Kulkarni – Entrepreneur and Author, Vinay Pushpakaran– Business keynote speaker & Marketing strategy expert, Sudhir Dua – Motivational speaker and Soft Skill Trainer, Shonali Ray– Principal & Founder Edvishan.

The format was situation based discussion where 4 situations were shared with the speakers and their view point were taken.

The first situation was about two married people who change over time. In transformational leadership similar change happens, then is it good for people to change?

The response varied from-

• ‘Love’ as a key element for change or husband and wife being two tyres of the same vehicle and should complement each other.
• Marriage oftwo different people one introvertand other extrovert with different upbringing changes them that they learn to handle life differently over time.
• Another view was that basic principal of clear communication, trust and understanding is required and change according to circumstances is good.
• Change is inevitable when living with another person but to have positive change we need mutual respect, shared values and emotional connect.
• We have to be open to change and work on ourselves with mutual understanding. We should be aware of what are the common elements and what are the differences which need to be worked on.

In response to question on self-leadership, the response varied from –

• Evolution of self to become inspiration to others to growth mindset or open mindset is essential for self-mastery. With each situation we can change and transition as you can change with every situation.
• Self leadership means to have individual identity as much as respect for others. Not to lose self in order to please others and to value yourself as much as others.
• Space should be given to two individuals to grow and encouragement from spouse on positive move helps the person grow. It is essential to work on ourselves but should know the purpose and focus.
• Everyone has their own way to evolve as per each preference but it is simpler to evolve by engaging with people.

The second situation question was on instilling values in children. Opinions were-

• ‘First start climbing the ladder you want your children to’ and be exemplary role models and also have the guts to be able to acknowledge to your own children that I was wrong.
• Values come from families and you should walk your talk but children do grow up to have their own perspective.
  Right way of teaching values to kids is by making them respect the house help or people working for you.
• Respecting them during puja or other times teaches them that each human is to be treated with respect and dignity.
• Children when see that parents in disagreement also but that they resolve their differences at the end of the day then they imbibe that we need to stick around and resolve and not run out of marriages. Nobody is perfect and child grows emotionally by seeing and learning to live with negatives and positives both.
• We as parents imbibe and train children in the negatives thinking for people or teach them to tell lies, which might be intentional or unintentional. We need to work on ourselves.
• Children watch and learn and the whole person is understood by them Be genuine in front of your children as to who you are and not what you pretend to be and that genuine self of you will shape the child to be who he/she is. Value system comes from the family.

Mental issues due to home environment was another topic of discussion. General agreement was there are many factors but home environment does have a very significant contribution in mental issues. Time spend with the child and communication came out to be the two main elements for solving the problem. Nature and nurturing both are required to make children a good human being and a happier adult.

• The third situation was on leadership in times of crisis. Crisis happen in each one of our lives and to deal with it, the opinions were –
• In crisis do not get panicky. Be patient and calmly deal with the situation. The thought process should be ‘What next should be done’ to sail thought it.
• Crisis teach us quick decision making or how to communicate quickly. It is these times which teach us what we are capable of.
• Put people first always is the way to handle crisis.
• List out all options and think through each and take the best possible option. Think what can be the worst that can happen and then start formulating the possible course of actions.

The fourth situation was the case of parenting leadership style where one parent was autocratic and other was laizzez faire. In case of dealing with autocratic and laizzez faire parenting style, the opinions were –

• Autocratic parents have their own beliefs and upbringing which might have shaped them and might be doing the same as they have seen. They should not be over protective and have confidence in their child.
• If the child is not sure, it helps to consult the career counselors. Child should be given the guidance but enough space to make their own decisions.
• If child is forced by autocratic father, then they might get to be subdued and become meek and can lose self-esteem and confidence. It is good to let them follow their heart and passion.
• Many laizzez faire parents try to teach decision making by giving free hand so that children make their own decisions and learn from it. But a free hand does not mean no concern. It should be that they are standing at the back in case anything wrong happens and are there to guide the children.
• Leadership style of parents would vary from situation to situation. It is not that one style would fit all. Sometimes when the child is indecisive, autocratic style helps and when the child knows his mind them laizzez faire. Different style like transactional, transformational, autocratic are required in different situations. It is like if a child asks for money from father for business then all the options should be evaluated properly and then go along with the best one. If problem arises, then both are responsible.

The discussion on the 4 situation was very healthy and fruitful and insights shared by everyone were so significant that there was much to learn. The idea behind the discussion was to showcase that similar leadership exists in a home as in offices. If you want to check out the live discussion, here is the link-

https://www.facebook.com/mona.mehra.161/videos/525220252596889