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Hello, My Name is Aniruddha. Currently Pursuing my MBA in Aviation Management. This Padlet will portray my reflections of what Leadership & teamwork means for me.
Being in MBA the curriculum was filled with group projects that has tested not only my skills as a leader but also as a good team member which I believe lies at the core for being a good leader.

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aniruddha-b-71b47b140/

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Leadership is perhaps one of the most important trait that an MBA graduate should possess. But Is Leadership only about giving orders and getting job done? Far from that to be honest.
My Personal belief is of the fact that a leader is he/she who carries everyone towards the goal equally. He identifies the skills, strengths, weaknesses of his peers and utilizes them to get the job done.
On a personal front a leader cares about his peers, makes their problems his own and owns up to the mistakes committed not only by him but his own teammates.
Personally, I believe I am a leader who has my teammates take the lead, give their ideas and execute them. I am the type of leader who believes in encouraging and motivating my peers to make their own efforts instead of instructing them to do thing my way.
Perhaps one of the biggest virtue of being a leader is to give others an equal chance to showcase their skills.

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This section of the portfolio contains my video resume as one of the part of leadership portfolio.

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This Section will portray a sample cover letter that I have written to the HR Manager of GMR Delhi International Airport for my dream post of Enforcement Officer- Airside Operations
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29 April, 2021

Mr. N Tiwari
HR Manager, GMR New Delhi International Airport
IGIA, New Delhi

Subject: Cover Letter For the post of Enforcement Officer -  Airside Operations

Good Day Sir,
I am writing this Letter with the intention of expressing my interest in applying towards the post of Enforcement Officer - Airside Operations at Indira Gandhi International Airport, New Delhi. I believe I will prove to be a great asset to the team due to my good theoretical, practical as well as interpersonal skills & abilities of working in a difficult environment such as that of Airside
I believe I check off a number of requirements that are being asked by the organizations that includes, good aviation knowledge,  IATA certified Individual, Good Communication, Presentation Skills and strong sense of passion for aviation. But at this time, one of the most important qualities that I bring with me, is a lot of Optimism and Positivity. This is because it is hard to refute the fact that Aviation in India has definitely taken a huge toll on the career prospects due to the Pandemic, and therefore it is now more important to posess these interpersonal skills. Due to the 24/7 rollout of vaccines, it is quite evident that airsides have become busy and that may involve long shifts and odd hours. As explained in my CV, I am very much flexible and would have absolutely no issues with long shifts, odd hours or relocations with no effect on my productivity.

I also bring with me to a certain extent, some level of technical proficiency in the form of a Bachelor's degree in Aerospace Engineering  with internships in multiple MROs and also am a bearer of an IATA DGR CAT-6 Certificate and have trained with GMR Aviation Academy in Airport Operations which makes me knowledgeable towards the various categories aviation industry provides.
Please Find attached my detailed Resume, which will give a further insight towards my education, Internships and other certifications & Positions that I hold.
Thank You for your Consideration. Looking forward for a positive response

Regards,

Aniruddha Balachandran

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To be very honest, My first experience in Leadership started in MBA.From Schooling to my Undergraduation I have always done whatever was asked of me be it from my faculty's side or be it from my peers. But MBA in UPES has made me realize what true leadership means. Given below are some practical experiences where i got to demonstrate & also learn what it meant to be a leader and what Leadership Skills meant in the real world.

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1)  My First Group Presentation given by Dr Githa heggde Mam for her course marketing Management 

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1)  My First Group Presentation given by Dr Githa heggde Mam for her course marketing Management 

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Date- 11 Septermber, 2020
Description: Perhaps one of the most difficult starts for me. Not only did I have to cope up with the fact that I didn't know anything about marketing (Being an Engineer) but also the fact that my teammates were from different branches that is of Aviation and Logistics. Being new, contacting and interacting with them was a difficult task. But through various interaction sessions after a good amount of mingling we were able to come up with a really good presentation for which we got a commendation from Dr Githa Heggde Mam.

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Date: November 4, 2020
Description: My next big test within the leadership scope was when I was selected as a member in the Student Council wherein I was tasked with the objective of working for the betterment of Placement related drives and activities. This vertical hadd taught me what working in big teams felt like. Handling a team of 85 students with almost 20 faculties including Dean mam was not a small task. This was one of the first reasonably big exposure towards leading big teams

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Date: February 2021
Description: Perhaps, my first ever proper leadership role. Udaan was a student club which organizaed webinars, activities and events related directly to the Aviation Domain,. As the co-pilot, hierarchy wise we were considered the co-owners of the club who were involved in making key decision for the club. Immediately after joining me and the fellow co-pilots took some major decisions towards restructuring the entire forum. While were praised for the move there were equal number of criticisms,
Being in this forum I have learned about handling important aspect of Leadership- Criticsms & Conflicts

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Reflections on Leadership Experiences in LTW Project Teams 

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Reflections on Leadership Experiences in LTW Project Teams 

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Apart from the previously mentioned practical Leadership experiences, the Course Leadership & teamwork provided ample opportunity to show what leadership skills meant and provided experiences in various forms that will be explained below.

1) During my first project, the leadership lesson I learned was the core fact that I abide by in order to carry out any and every project. During a group project its always my first task to identify the skills, interests, strengths, weaknesses of my peers to properly establish a efficient workflow among the peers.

2) This experience stands true for almost all the group projects done not only in LTW but other subjects too. I have learned that a single approach i.e. one size fits all approach never works. Each team, each individual is different, and therefore, your ability to adapt to these change is tested as aa good leader. Therefore, being adaptable is also a key feature that I learned is important for a good leader.

3) During my Stint in Student Council, as explained in my Leadership experiences. I gained an important insight as to what true leadership is especially when handling a huge team. The difference is huge when compared to leading a small team with large team. A lot can go wrong within a large team. Bigger the team, more fragile it is. A bigger team is more prone to conflicts, and intended or unintended inequalities. Therefore, it becomes important for a leader to create a safe space where everyone can speak their heart without any conflicts or hatred.

4) During my Stint in Udaan as core Management Member, I realized the importance of making certain decision that is good in long run but perhaps not so much in the short term that may invite hostility or discomfort among the organization peers. It then becomes very very important to lend an ear to the affected and make them understand the reasoning. Being egoistic about the role and your power and choosing to remain silent will only lead the peers to grow more frustrated and lose their loyalty that  will also affect the organization.

5) During my Lectures in both critical Thinking and Leadership, i cam across one of the biggest enemies of Leadership and Decision Making in General that I could relate to very much- Cognitive biases. Although unintentional these biases somehow, creep up and has affected my decision one too many times and thanks to these courses I am now somehow able to minimize these bias affecting decision as much as possible but still not to the level I'd like for it to be reduced to

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Step 1 - What Makes a Great leader?
I believe one should be a good leader first, continuing the deed itself will make him great. A good leader is he who first and foremost is a good team member. He who understands the team well enough their strength,  their weakness, their reservations,  their optimism etc. A good leader is he who cares about his team members. A good leader is not someone who imposes but gives the freedom to explore.

Step 2 - Self Assessment
Since a Lot of my peers suggested that i was a good leader with little criticism that mainly tended to be towards me being pessimistic regarding worst outcomes and being a perfectionist I also took a small Leadership Skill test from the following Link
Link- https://www.mindtools.com/pages/article/newLDR_50.htm
In this small assessment I gained a leadership score of 77/90 that was considered to be one of the top tier scores as per the Assessments Website.

1. My strengths mainly included areas such as Self Confidence, Emotional intelligence, transformational Leadership, Motivating people, managing Performance Effectively & Providing Support & Stimulations

2. However, my weakness was being an Average Role model for people, that I believe should be one of the most important trait of a leader. The ability to follow what you preach. Perhaps its time to reflect more on this and ask my peers as it contradicts what my peers said about me being a good role model to them.

Step 3- Identify Core values
To identify my core values I again took a small assessment that could give an insight as tto what my hidden values were
Link- https://www.mindcoolness.com/blog/find-out-your-core-values/
These were my Top 3 values (The description of each value is taken from the website itself)

1. Hedonism - Thinking, working, training, non-doing, and non-thinking are my main sources of pleasure.

2. Benevolence - I like to be kind to the people around me.

3. Security- Conservative in terms of complete freedom, more focus towards the society & highly protective.

Step 4- Personal Vision Statement
I feel the most important aspect of leadership that I'm currently lacking is the ability to communicate properly and precisely based on each individual. Communication is an important aspect for leadership that I'd like to improve in the short run. While it is also stated that I'm good at motivating people, it also stands true that I cross the thin line between being realistic and being a pessimist that I've been criticized about a lot of time by a lot of people. That is something I would like to work upon.

Step 5- Analysis of Other's Opinion
Luckily, this specific step was given as an assignment for our Critical thinking journal entry, therefore I will be quoting the same response here.
"After buttering my friends and family alike to give brutal and honest feedback about myself, I cam to know a lot of things about myself that i myself didn't knew. Some of my friends mentioned that I came across as someone who could motivate others and that i think Is a great ability as a leader. On the opposite side though, I have also got some really interesting feedback as to what my weakness is. Almost everyone that I talked to has given me the feedback that i was somewhat of a pessimist and that I more often than not always looked at the negative side of things. Although I consider myself to be a positive person, However, it is not to say that the feedback I got was wrong. I always considered negative side of things especially when completing a work more often than looking at the positives because I always think that when something bad really happen one will be ready to face it. However after this brutally honest feedback, i think it is not always good to look at the bad or negative sides, perhaps bad things only happen when you are negative yourself and this is one such ability that i definitely am going to work upon. "

Step 6- Identifying Current and Lacking Leadership Skills
Current Skills- A good team member, Motivator, Ability to determine Individual's personal strengths, weakness, personality etc., Flexibility, Active Listening, Persuasion Skills

Weakness or Lack of Skills - Perfect Communication, Positivity, Creativity , Determine and abolish Team Conflicts

Step 7- Action Plan

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Being from an Engineering background, the transition to MBA was definitely one of the hardest. Not because the subjects were different, but because the entire curriculum was based on working in a team with different people for very other project.
Being an engineer, it has always been my priority to practice mathematical equations or solve difficult theorems, however, none of that mattered in MBA. What mattered was how good of a leader you were. And to that extent, the course, Leadership & Teamwork had provided me a great platform to learn one of the most important skill that I wanted to incorporate within myself.
Being a leader is not easy and it is definitely not something that is as shallow as giving out orders. It is so much more than that. UPEs has given me a chance to become a true leader in the form of various club and student council that had tested my skills as a leader time and again. Since first semester I have learned a lot about being  good leader and this semester has only elevated it it further by teaching me the intricacies of this trait.
The main thing I learned about leadership is that 'leader' is not a title but a skill. It needs to be achieved and you must be acknowledged by people around you to be called a leader. One cannot self proclaim which makes this trait ever important in not only corporate but personal world as well.
Working time and again in teams I have grown more and more with each project with respect to being a leader and handling teams. However, it has also taught me to  be a good team member which is equally important that I have emphasized a lot of times in previous posts.
From the past semester, my definition of leadership has changed from Work the Team to Work With the team. While, it is important for a leader to efficiently use the team members to get the job done, it lacks that personal touch that is very important for interpersonal values such as trust, loyalty & determination among the peers. Only when a Leader sits with their members partake in their happiness and sadness, success and failures can a true bond of leadership be established. A leader is he who is trusted and loved by all. He who makes judgements not clouded by biases or personal prejudices but his ability to assess the situation critically.
As I mentioned before Leadership is not a title but a skill, therefore a skill is a process that takes time to achieve. I personally believe while theoretical knowledge helps to some extent, true leadership can only be learned while working on field and doing things on your own. Discovering traits of leadership on your own. Leadership again is not a one size fits all approach. Different people exhibit different leadership skills but that does not mean one skill is inferior to others. Trying again and again, failing are the stepping stones to success. Only when you fail miserably you learn immensely. However, what you learn stays with you the rest of your life.
Throughout my stint in Student council, Udaan & group projects, if there's one thing I learned about leadership its that you should never order people around no matter how junior they are to you. In fact the word order, hierarchy should be kept past when leading a team. I believe a leader is he who gives equal opportunity to his fellow juniors to showcase their talent even if it means jeopardizing your own position.
One of the Greatest example of a true leader is the Indian Cricketer M.S Dhoni. He displays tremendous leadership skills when the going gets tough. His cool-mind and exceptional analyzing skills has given India victories in a number Unwinnable matches. Even after his retirement from the role of captain, the Current Captain Virat Kohli has been seen time and again go to MS Dhoni for suggestions and advices. This is what true Leadership entails. Its not a title but a skill. Title can be taken away but not the skill. Therefore it is important not to be a leader but become one, through a lot of practical scenarios and getting into the field. By taking initiatives and determining what leadership skill works best for you.

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THANK YOU

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Topic: Networking & navigating careers 2.2

On 6th March we had a very interesting & enriching interaction with Mr. Kartvaya Khanna who had been the placement coordinator for many of the prestigious institutes such as BITS Pilani, SPJIMR etc.
He talked about a number of requirements one should have when searching for placements & job. These included

1. A good knowledge of current Industrial outlook

2. Proper Building of CV

3. More Emphasis of placement Preparation

4. And some personal rips and tricks

Mr. Kartavya Khanna gave a lot of tips to build a good looking CV. he emphasized the need for writing a properly structured and neat personal description which is what recruiters usually look at first.
He also mentioned using words that feel powerful in itself while explaining yourself these words could include mentored, authored etc. He also mentioned that all the description be it education background, professional experience or co-curriculars  must be explained in a short and concise way. Introduction part must also be kept short.

Next, me moved on to placement preparation which he though was very important in current scenario owing to high competition among peers.
He explained that first step should always be to identify and research the company you're going for an interview at. Its always good to have prior knowledge about the organization through their website or LinkedIn Pages. It is also important to check the job roles to compare if you really like the role or not.
A very important disclaimer he went on to give was to think twice before answering an interviewer and not to give answers that are baseless. Always have a backup proof that can support your owrds.
Its important also to be well versed in assessment aspects such as quantitative, qualitative, comprehensive and subject skills as recruiters also look for these.
Its important to practice and be prepared for communication assessments such GD or interviews and he motivated us to be involved in a lot of group discussion among peers to improve our skills.

He emphasized a lot on networking and how networking websites such as LinkedIn are proving to be a lot useful now more than ever. the ease of access to industry professional has never been so easy. Therefore, he time and again mentioned to keep a LinkedIn profile handy with well structured profile and to have a minimum of 500 connections to get real use out of these networking sites. He also mentioned about a lot of do' and don'ts on these websites. However, this being an interesting aspect we took Networking as our final group project and included the points Mr. Kartavya Khanna imparted. So be sure to check the group project out.

Finally he imparted some tips and tricks based on his own experience such as
- Soft Skill improvement
- EQ=IQ
- GD practice is important
- Not to be nervous during interviews or GD
- In virtual era, its very important to check your internet connection, lighting, camera, mic before any interview process
- When using networking sites, always be active and build it as per your future requirements.