VOLUME VI – CHAPTER V
DO YOU HAVE SELF-ESTEEM, SELF IMPORTANCE?
Your moral values should be defined not by the place you work or the people you work with. A friend of the author had occupied high posts in the State and Centre. Once when he had to work with (“Under” in the political language) a very big politician who was a language chauvinist, he changed his name into the local language form and when he left for Central Service and knew he would not return to State Service again changed his name and back to the original form. Twice the author met him within a gap of one year. During the first meeting he told the author,” your Chief is no match to our Leader” (he was in the state service that time). During the second meeting he told the author “Next month I am going to release this book in praise of my Leader” (He had shifted to Central service that time). Just be yourself. That will take you to the top
There are two words – one will take you to the top, the other will take you to disaster.
Self-esteem – Born of self-knowledge, Knowing who you are and what you are. This is not concern but understanding of one self. This was in ample demonstration in Barack Obama, President of U.S.A during his visit to India, This helped him always to hold his own during his meetings with leaders of other countries.
Self-Importance – An Air of “Do you know who I am?” Ego in its Himalayan proportions. A tendency to look down others with a “I Know All” attitude. A Principal known to the author treated the staff with scant respect. He spoke to other Principals with disdain and contempt. The staff got totally estranged with their Principal. The author started keeping a safe and respectable distance from him. The net result – in course of time that Principal became a total “isolate” in sociological terms.
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VOLUME VI – CHAPTER VI
INVOLVE ALL STAKE HOLDERS
You have to invest trust in the next level, otherwise “the middle level will stay frozen in deference and the junior level is lost in volume” as Radhika Gopalakrishnan, Business Head of Hewitt Leadership Consulting put it.
Satish Pradhan, Head HR, TATA motors says that leaders today have to move from “I will lead the flock” to “I will build leaders” who will take our school to great heights. You should be able to pick people in judicious fashion, enable and push them to do great things” you as a leader should be a teacher. To reach the top you require to develop two capabilities:-
1) One, you should develop new idea.
2) It is necessary that you should make your management buy-in that idea.
Unless people who matter are excited and convinced about your idea, it will not take off. This is the advice given by John Kotter Konosuke, Matsushita Professor Emeritus of Leadership, Harvard Business School in his book “Buy-in”
For example, the author whenever he wanted to try a new idea, he took all steps to rope in people who should okay that idea. The Asst. Commissioner (immediate boss) should never be overlooked, side lined or bypassed or not kept in the picture. Your idea has to be routed through this person; otherwise the big boss will not touch your idea even with a barge pole, the Commissioner who should give the final approval, the Accounts Officer (who should not raise any objection on cost grounds), the staff who will be involved in it, your own office manager who is capable of sabotaging it if he is also not taken on board the discussions and your staff association secretary who may paint it as an overload.
When the author proposed to implement the Open Book Exam at Sambalpur, he convinced the Chairman of the local management committee Sr.R.N.Mohanty, Revenue Divisional Commissioner who became quite enthusiastic about the idea. Next the author spoke to the Editor of the local newspaper ‘Samaj’ and he splashed it on the first page. Then he told the teachers of class IX that he would sit with them and prepare the question paper. He spoke to the Asst. Commissioner at Patna and requested him to recommend the proposal to the Commissioner. Finally he spoke to the Commissioner when he visited New Delhi to attend the meeting of the Exam Reforms Committee. In the meeting he said, “There is a tendency in students to copy. Why don’t we make the irregular regular by having an Open Book Exam?. Miss. Ahalya Chari, Commissioner and an academic of repute immediately appreciated his idea and told the author (Whom she knew even earlier) “an experimental idea-please go ahead. We shall look forward to the results of this experiment”
So, only after taking all concerned aboard, he set sail.
Similarly for having the “Lighting ceremony” – farewell for class XI students, since it was something new to the Naval Base Cochin. The author set up an organising committee and requested the President, Secretary, Treasurer or “NOWA” – Naval Officers Wives Association (Wives of the Station Commander, INS Vendruty Commanding Officer and Staff Officer Education respectively) to be the Patron, President, Secretary of this organising group. This suited the culture ethos of the Navy. Once these 3 ladies plunged head long into the logistics of this function all the Officers became excited about this novel function. To add a touch of greatness the author got Sr. T.S. Avinashilingam, first Education Minister of Tamilnadu and Member of Rajya Sabha (with whom he had worked for many years before joining K.V.S) as the Chief Guest
Dr.Navathe Regional Officer, KVS was a Sanskrit scholar and Sr.L.O. Joshi I.A.S Commissioner knew Sr.Avinashilingam. Cdre Inder Singh, Station Commander was much pleased when he was requested to preside with Sr.Avinashilingam M.P as Chief guest
To him it was great opportunity to take a M.P around the base and show him their work and achievements.
At KV Coimbatore the author was informed on Monday that the Chairman of KVS and Union deputy minister of education would be visiting Coimbatore in the week end Friday and a nice program should be made for him. Immediately he called a meeting of the PGTs and asked them what could be done. They suggested a few things.
- Bihar flood relief work is going on now, we can contribute money, clothes and medicines
- Sometime back the Minister had requested that all Schools should help the poor children by organising a book bank
- Our P.M has recently said that we should be proud of our own scientists
- Last week we have received a letter asking us to celebrate the 35th anniversary of UNESCO
We can combine all those four into a nice function
The author gave flesh, blood to those ideas by saying that,
- Money, clothes and medicines can be collected through students and handed over to the Minister who may be asked to hand over the cartons of clothes and medicines to the Station Manager, Indian Airline (A Parent) for free transportation to the Governor of Bihar at Patna
- All the schools of Coimbatore Educational District may be asked to exhibit their Book Banks.
- We have already collected photos of 24 Indian Scientists. We can have a Scientists Gallery opened by the Asst. Commissioner who is a Scientist.
- We can organise an Inter-School Teachers Symposium, an exhibition and a cultural program relating to UNSECO by the schools of Coimbatore town.
The author said he will request the District Collector to instruct the CEO, DEO and Municipal Commissioner to join and also request the Director of School education (Tamil Nadu) Mr.J.A.Ryan, a good friend of his to issue administrative instructions to his Dept Officers. The Collector shall preside and the Airforce Station Commander will be the Guest of Honour.
The staff approved these ideas.
The author spoke to the District Collector, Director of School education and then spoke to the Commissioner and Asst. Commissioner without delay through the help of the District Manager, Telephones.
On Friday a big function with 300 headmasters of Coimbatore and Nilgiris Districts was organised. The key to success was getting the District Collector and the Director of School Education on his side. When the big cats are in your bag, the small fish automatically come into the net. It is on such occasions that your networking comes in handy to your rescue, but it is important to give due credit and honour to the Officers on the spot like the District Educational Officer, the Chief Educational Officer, the Municipal Education Officer because it is only they who have to help you get things done in the field.
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VOLUME VI – CHAPTER VII
THESE ARE ROLE MODELS FOR YOU
The present times put you in a fork situation – you are caught between the need to act fast and simultaneously be cautious not to repeat past mistakes. It is essential to build the strongest possible team. For each dept get the best candidate. A friend of the author started a new school. His aim was not to make a profit but give the best education and as he was not short of funds, found out the best senior teachers in established schools, lured them with better monetary incentives as well as other perks. At the start itself the school looked like an established school.
In KVS when the KV Ashoknagar was started, the author get the Asst. Commissioner to transfer senior primary teachers from other city KVS there so that they can lay strong foundations.
In Schools like TVS Lakshmi at Madurai, run by TVS group or Tirthapthi High School, Ambasamudram or Paramakalyani College, Alwarkurichi run by the Amalgamations Group or T.I High School, Ambattur run by the Murugappa group or MCT.M.Pethachi School, Luz, Chennai run by the Pethachi family or the Chettinad Vidyashram run by the Chettinad Raja family or Rangammal School run by the JKK group of Kumarapalayam, the groups’ values get reflected in the Principals and Staffs.
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TODAY the student-world is tossed in confusion; not only in confusion but in downright insanity. They wear white clothing; but the hearts are still dark.
Heads are full of evil thoughts
Ears are open for scandal-tales,
Eyes delight in peeping unseen;
Minds crave for wicked plots;
Reason pursues plan to cheat.
When Vidya perceives these in man,
It will not stay a moment there.
When this is the condition, how can one earn Vidya? Of course, man’s present situation and status are determined by his acts and thoughts in the past. – Sathya Sai Baba
