Youngistaan Foundation hosts masterclass on ‘Leadership for young women’

Hyderabad: Observing the theme of International Women's Day 'Women in Leadership’, Youngistaan Foundation’s Gender Program organised the 'Masterclass on Leadership' to orient young women on leadership roles. The session was facilitated by Shrikant Sinha the CEO of Telangana Academy of Skill and Knowledge (TASK) and Shruti Gaddam of TASK, and featured senior women leaders Anjali Bhole Desai, Senior HR and OD Advisor and Manisha Saboo, AVP and Development Centre Head of Infosys Hyderabad SEZ (Pocharam) who addressed the 300+ young female audience on topics around leadership.
 
The two-hour webinar covered the essential skills that young women need to be equipped with to become effective future leaders. The webinar also took the 300+ participants through important lessons that are required to understand leadership and make good decisions to become good future leaders.
 
The major topics addressed included: good leadership practices to incorporate, the importance of leadership thinking, the different types of leaders and self-development for leadership. A common theme throughout the webinar centered on the focus a young person should have in order to manage their work and achieve the best results possible.
The event was live-streamed on all Youngistaan Foundation social media platforms including YouTube, Twitter, Facebook and Zoom.

Addressing the topic ‘How to Be Your Own Leader’ Mrs Anjali Bhole Desai, Senior HR and OD Advisor shared that “self-reflection is one of the most underused and powerful tools for success. It provides us with continual feedback which is very important in helping us become good leaders.” She also encouraged young women to create a simple to-do-list to tackle the problem of having too little time.

Manisha Saboo, AVP and Development Centre Head of Infosys, Hyderabad SEZ (Pocharam) engaged the audience by asking them the difference between a manager and a leader, and debriefed the concept of ‘Leadership in Today’s World, What Does it Take to Become a Leader’. She encouraged everyone to dream big in life. If their dreams are not scary enough, they are not worth it. 
 
Shrikanth Sinha, CEO of TASK insightfully shared that “when you train a woman, you’re training an entire generation”. He went on to share that “whatever resources a person has, it is important to understand and utilise it well; this is the first quality of being a leader. Women, of course, are the most resourceful people in any organization”. He outlined 6 important leadership principles to follow:
 
1)      Be true to yourself
2)      Be true to your purpose
3)      Be self-driven
4)      No shortcuts to hard-work or smart-work
5)      Be focused
6)      Be aware of the dos and don’ts that you would like to follow
 
“Focus on a career, not merely a job” was Shrikant Sinha’s advice to young people asking questions about their future career paths.

Appreciating the time and effort of each of the speakers, partners and participants, Mr. Arun Daniel Yellamaty, the founder of Youngistaan Foundation said “People don’t know how much you know until they know how much you care. Become a leader who is the hardest working person in the room, who treats everyone with a touch of kindness, care and identifies the strengths of each and every one in the organization.”

The session was interactive and each of the speakers spent ample time taking questions from the young female participants on their specific topics. This Q&A session gave the young participants the opportunity to speak directly with accomplished and experienced women leaders about education, career and leadership skills and significantly, made important mentor connections with each of the speakers.

Soumya, a student pursuing her Masters in gender studies and an attendee said “This is a one-of-a-kind session and I have not attended these kinds before. I learnt the fact that in order to be a great leader one can only start it small because leadership is a continuous process and not a one time achievement”. Dheera, a student of a government degree college said  “Today's Master class on leadership was the most apt and needed session for me as well as the other young students. The speakers and their respective approaches to leadership have widened the understanding of me and my goals. The smog around 'me' has cleared a bit, making me more self aware. This has been a very fruitful experience”.

In observance of International Women's Day, Youngistaan Foundation is hosting a month-long campaign to Enable, Orient, Sustain young women in leadership roles. The 4-part webinar series is hosted in partnership with Indian School of Business, Telangana State Police, Women’s Safety Wing and Telangana Academy of Skill and Knowledge (TASK).

The first webinar was a panel discussion hosted on the topic ‘Women in Leadership roles’. Renowned women leaders such as Sumathi Badugula, IPS, DIG, Women Safety Wing, CID, Telangana State Police, Upasana Kamineni Konidela, Founder of URLife, Managing Director - Family Health Plan Insurance TPA Ltd, Vice Chairperson CSR - Apollo Hospitals Group, Supriya Yarlagadda, Executive Director at Annapurna Studios, Akhila Yadav, Sarpanch of Madanapuram village in Nalgonda district in Telangana, Kausamb Manjitha, CEO of Kubric were part of the panel to enable 700+ young women to become future leaders.
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