Tell us about a time when you messed up, and what you learnt from the experience?
In 2019, my team was selected for the finale of the Smart India Hackathon. I was the team leader. We planned to make an Android application and worked hard for months. But, just before 4 days of the hackathon, we got to know that we had to make a cross-platform application instead of an android application that we were making till now. It was a fault at my end because the team leader was sent this information earlier through email and somehow I missed it. Everybody felt devastated and blamed me for miscommunication and being irresponsible. They even decided to quit because it was nearly impossible to complete the new requirement within the given time. They did not want to continue with the hackathon but I was optimistic. I knew the strength of my team and how well they can do even in a little time. I pacified them, motivated them that we can still do great if we will work together. I carefully and comprehensively made a list of tasks that my teammates can do in less time and required for the project. I assigned each one of them specific tasks that they are good at and persuaded them to complete at least that much. They got convinced, started working on their plan, and were able to complete around 80% of the application even in that little time. I learned that even if things go wrong sometimes, being optimistic helps!
Tell us something about yourself that others may be surprised to know about you.
I am a bit emotionally sensitive. People would be surprised to know about it since I have always come up to be strong and bold in front of everyone. I have been a sports person, that too a martial arts person,people expect me to be tough and brave. But I am sensitive. I cry while express my feelings. I over-empathise with people. I even enjoy social service and make people smile.
What have been your two biggest successes in life? What did you learn from them?
One of the biggest success in my life was to win a gold medal at the national level Taekwondo championship representing my state Madhya Pradesh. My years of martial arts training made me capable enoughto achieve that moment and my coach, parents, team and school were very proud of me. From this, I learned that hard work pays off, not immediately but definitely some other time. Second would be my getting an offer from IIM Kozhikode in first list itself. Last year, I couldn't even make it to the waitlist of this college and making it in first list this time was an achievement for me. There were many times of frustrations and anxiety for the whole year of preparation after failing last time. But I did not let those feelings overcome me and tried to work on the things which I lacked last time. I listed out the weakness I had and prioritized giving them more time so as to let away the fear. From this experience I learned the importance of planning and a structured daily routine.
Professionally, what is your ideal image of yourself five years from now? Where do you see yourself?
5 years from now, I see myself as a well-disciplined, strong, and independent working professional. I will be in a leadership position where I will be able to make decisions that impact the organization and society. In five years I will work upon my personality and getting to a position where I will have the power to influence decisions and make them right.
What is the one skill or characteristic you possess that you are most proud of, and why?
I am most proud of my leadership and people management skills. This gives me confidence that makes me think I will be a great leader and lead the world to a better place. When you lead a team and make them feel comfortable under your leadership, you see a healthy and happy environment. When I was young, I always used to see my Taekwondo coach managing students. He was so empathetic towards each one of us as well as strict at the right times. I used to think that I will be such a leader. Today, I have led many teams and held positions of responsibility. Each and every time I yearned for team satisfaction and then succeeding.
In your opinion, what skills or qualities does a successful manager possess?
A successful manager should be empathetic, a good leader, and honest with the team. He/She should understand the team well, their strengths mainly and deploy them at the right place to get efficient results. He/She should always be open to new ideas and appreciate the good work. The team should feel at home working under him/her. This means that the manager should always try to create a positive and healthy environment for the team.
Tell us about an ethical dilemma that you may have faced, and how you resolved it.
Once, a very good friend of mine requested me to make a wireframe of an android application as a help for her assignment. Wireframe when runs, looks the same as an android application user interface. The problem was, she was supposed to make an actual android application and not just a wireframe. Her motive was to deceive her android teacher by not showing her the functioning of the application in terms of actual coding which she was supposed to do, but only showing the user interface. This would have been wrong on my part as well as hers. Making the wireframing would not take more than 2 days, but I wanted her to learn that language since it would have helped her a lot not only in that assignment but in the future also since she wanted a career in the technical domain only. She was just procrastinating even when she had 10 days left with a deadline and wanted an easy way to get the grades. If I wouldnt have helped her, our friendship would have been jeopardized. I analyzed the situation properly and had a talk with her in a very careful manner. I explained to her how learning android programming will help her and how fun it is. It would take time for her to learn and then do the assignment, maybe she wouldnt be able to complete an assignment on time, but she would for sure have a skill added on her CV. After a long talk she agreed.
If you were the CEO of any company of your choosing, which company would you choose and what would your first action be as CEO?
I would like to be the CEO of ZS Associates. I have seen the upper management and leadership make various rules like "no-meeting Fridays" and "no meeting after 9 pm" etc., but inherently people are not following that due to which there is a lot of problems of work-life balance disruptions for employees in the company. As a CEO, I will work on the working hours policy and the rules related to meetings to be strictly followed. If a person is working more than the defined hours, proper overtime compensation would be provided (but this would be limited to a few times in a month).
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Check The List Of InsideIIM’s 50 Most Promising Incoming Students 2021 Here!
For the Class Of 2022, we are back with the 8th season of InsideIIM's Best 50 - India's Most Employable MBA Graduates - Class Of 2022! If you're graduating from a B-School in 2022, you're eligible to take part in this competition! Grab the chance to bring out your best side and impress your recruiters and peers. Take the opportunity to show the world why you are special, on your own terms.
If you're using a web browser (Mozilla or Google Chrome), then you can take part through this link. Otherwise, please download the Kampus App (Android | iOS), and head over to Competitions.
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