I like to experiment with teaching new topics. Today (18 May 2022), I conducted a session on responsible leadership for 40 6th to 8th-grade students. This was a part of an ongoing leadership development camp at Jnana Prabodhini’s Institute Of Psychology. Although responsible leadership training is quite popular in the business world, I doubt if it has been introduced to adolescents.
In an hour-long interaction, students and I explored various aspects of leading responsibly. Especially, we discussed how those in leadership positions should assume responsibility not only towards stakeholders but also toward people, society, and the environment.
By highlighting the role of empathy, compassion, and interconnectedness of lives in leadership, students could make direct connections to local challenges related to group dynamics and global issues such as the ongoing war and climate change.
In the end, students worked in small groups on a hypothetical situation involving student representatives and other students wanting to introduce school-level reforms. Students engaged in collective problem-solving, perspective-taking, and long-term thinking, with a concern for multiple stakeholders.
In the beginning, I was skeptical if middle school students would be able to digest the topic, but prima facie they seemed to have understood the core message of leading responsibly. Despite online delivery, student energy was high throughout the session. I certainly felt some merit in further romancing with the idea of introducing responsible leadership to adolescents. It’s probably never too early when it comes to learning about responsibility!
(In frame: L stands for leadership.)
Aakash Chowkase 