Followership (A Workshop on Leadership)

Article Written by Dimple K Mathew (III MCA)

Conducted by Jibrael Jos

They say something's can’t be taught and they also say something's you need to experience to learn better and so it was on 3^rd July 2015 when we had one good day full of high quality edutainment, where we did not just learn but also enjoy every bit we learnt.

The day began with reflecting that how nature ­ with every living and non ­ living thing inspires us, from the waves that rise in the sea displaying it’s strength to the dragon flies that soar over the waters and A light house that is a “ A ray of hope “ , and a rock that said “never let it go”. Everything that is around us teaches us a lesson.

 

As we went down with the flow we understood how important it is to listen, because everyone can speak, but how many do listen? We had many entertaining sessions like every group had to memorizing couple of countries and capitals in a minute and then choose correct option on the question paper. Also we made a bridge with newspaper it was a group activity again, we solved the jigsaw puzzle of a world map in group and understood the importance of group work, like quote goes “united we stand and divided we fall”.

We also were given various tasks group-­wise where we had to in act that we are in a train or in a fruit shop without speaking and the others had to guess . Then JJ sir taught the Steven Covey concept of interdependence, where we can remodel our lives from the state of dependence to interdependence(via independence), it is where we need to break ourselves and make ourselves into something more valuable. He elaborated on the seven habits which can help us be more effective people.

For some Life is a complex concept where you need to achieve success with enormous formulas ,for some it is a song you just sing it and life passes by, but for few Life is all about giving and attaining happiness , because the feeling of being selfless is over all the success you have achieved.

We all had a pizza lunch together. Next was a video featuring Robin Sharma a specialist. The leadership traits as per him are :

I    ­Innovation
M­  Merchant of Wow
A­  Authenticity
G­  Guts
E­  Ethics and Excellence

The day’s last task was a mime where the students were divided into 2 groups and they have to act on the various situations. In all it was one of the most fabulous day we had at Christ University, and we will cherish this memory all through our lives. Thank you Sir for all that you did and you do.

In the morning when I left for the college I was envying my roommates as they were sleeping, but now I realize the day was all worth it. One of the best days in Christ University!

Some Feedback

"After yesterdays workshop I was all puffed up with energy. I took up your advice of writing journals and started a blog" Jonathan Fidelis Paul

"It was an awesome experience sir. .thanks a lot" Sindhu A

"It was an AMAZING session sir!!!" Tony Mathew 

"I am not the same person I was yesterday :-) I feel happier" Vincy L

Followership : Kengeri : CUFE : 2013

Christ University, Department of Computer Science has always taken initiatives in organizing various Workshops and seminars for the students with the aim of molding fine professionals for the country along with curriculum. A Followership Workshop was organized on 29th November 2013 to inculcate the knowledge and understanding of basic aspects of leadership for success.

In the discussion of leadership, often the leader is the star. With so much recent attention on the importance of leadership, it can be all too easy to forget that an exceptional leader must be accompanied by individuals who willingly support a leader toward success, this requirement makes followers just as essential as leaders. To reap the benefits of successful teamwork, we must understand that people have to take the role of leader and of a follower at different times as per requirement. If we do not follow our leaders how do we expect our followers to follow us. “Lead by example” implies that as leaders we need to follow.
PARTICIPANTS
The workshop was well attended. 24 Participants from Computer Science and IT Department attended the Workshop. The theme of the Workshop ‘Followership’ was new to most of the Participants but all of them were very active and the program was very lively. The workshop was conducted by Jibrael Jos, Assistant Professor (Computer Science Department Christ University, Bangalore) and Prof. Balachandran HOD of (Computer Science Department, Christ University, Kengeri).
METHODOLOGY
The one day work shop covered both theoretical aspects and practical aspects of followership by mainly focusing on various Practical Sessions.

Ice Breaker
The Workshop commenced with an Ice Breaking session which was well designed and facilitated which resulted in the effective starting of the training session by learning about the objectives of the event.

Self-Belief

“Believe you can and you're halfway there.”  Theodore Roosevelt

The first session of the workshop was aimed at inculcating self-belief in the Participants. They were assigned to perform certain tasks to understand the importance of Self-belief or self-esteem which is the main ingredient for making success.
Leadership Traits
Leadership is one of those nebulous terms, the traits that make up a good leader can vary depending on the organization, team, manager and work environment. Prof. Balachandran was the resource person for this session on the topic Leadership Traits. He spoke about the various leadership traits and above all the main message conveyed to the participants were that a leader should be good follower.
Concept Leadership
Second half of the Followers Workshop started with the Concepts of leadership. The session dealt with the main leadership concepts and this was made clear to the participants with audio visual clips.
Team Work
This session was the core of Followership workshop where the all the participants worked for a common goal in their teams. Here they learned about various aspects of follower- leader relation. The session focused into the key areas of team work. All of the teams came up with innovative ideas and creativity. The learning outcome of this session was understanding the ability to contribute to task and goal accomplishment through supportive, technical, interpersonal, and cognitive skills. Followership is not a challenge to the captain’s authority. Good followership is proactive without diminishing the authority of the captain.
The group was divided into three teams and each team trying to complete a model of a ship in  45 minutes.
Goal Setting
Goal setting involves establishing specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-targeted goals. On a personal level, setting goals helps people work towards their own objectives. The Last session of the work shop stressed on the importance of goal setting which is the way towards organizational and personal success.

Followership 5 @ MTech Christ University, Kengeri

Copy of CUFE Report

 

On the 13^th of September, the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, CUFE had organized a workshop on leadership skills. The event was a collaborative effort of Prof K Balachandran, Head of Computer Science & Engineering and Prof Jibrael Jos. Prof Jibrael Jos, presently a faculty in Department of Computer Science, Christ University, Hosur Road, has over 12 years of industry experience in the area of Business Intelligence, Project Management, Recruiting and Training.

A group of 24 students, both from M Tech 1^st and 2^nd years had taken effective part in the workshop. The workshop was a day-long session that began at 9 in the morning and went on till 4 in the evening. The leadership workshop, termed as “Followership” workshop, was filled with many activities that were not only aimed at bringing out effective leaders in the participants but also giving them insight on how to be good team players. The session included events like Think First, Thespian Walk, Leadership Traits, Building from Scratch and many more, in which the students were divided into teams and were given challenges. Prof K Balachandran took a session on Leadership Traits; he used a blend of a Image based presentation, Individual Introspection and Group Interaction to drive home the key traits of a leader. Towards the end of the session, Prof Jibrael Jos had the students identify not just their goals and aims but also their habits, strengths, weaknesses and many more factors that could help them recognize their individuality and entrust upon them the urge to reach their goals.

It closed at 4 pm as an eventful and beneficial workshop for the students, who have stated it to be both fun and educative workshop- one of the like they would look forward to

"I like the “Cricket Stadium Making” in which we have spent time on planning, designing and implementing it with our peers", Amresh Kumar

"You sure inspired us with the small things that matter a lot", Kanthi Aradhana

Followership 4 @ Christ University

Leadership Workshop for M.Sc/MCA Students
Conducted by Jibrael Jos
Date : 14 - Nov -2011
Participants : 16 students


Agenda

• Followership
• Self Belief
• IPS
• Leadership Traits
• Building from Scratch
  
  Conducted some different kind of activities to make participants realize the importance of team work, planning and time management
  
  The enthusiasm of the participants was very heartening. Two foreign students added a different flavor to the workshop, bringing in their insights. A very talented bunch of student, they had a task to build a 3 feet long bridge using thermocol plates, glasses, straws, rubber band, glue , paint, thread etc. Time Limit was 30 minutes. Both the teams did a wonderful job.

The workshop included Theater Based Games, Verbal, Numerical and Analytical Puzzles and activity based games. The idea is that different leaders emerge for different areas. Some students are creative, some are more disciplined, some have good speaking skills, some can act and some can dance. Students get a chance to both lead and follow.

Followership : A Leadership Workshop

Conducted a Leadership Workshop entitled “Followership” in Christ University on 17 December for MCA and M.Sc. students

I intentionally kept the attendance as optional and since it was a holiday, I got a small select set of students. My target was twenty but was more than happy to get sixteen who were willing to spend a day for this workshop.

The workshop was called “Followership” as I strongly believe that Leadership ad Followership are strongly connected and a person cannot be a good leader if he is not a good follower.

The workshop as usual included games and team activities. This time I included two videos in the sessions. Like the last time it did have an exercise using Theatre, additionally I got dance in to add a new dimension.

Students seemingly enjoyed the workshop and gave good feedback. Conducting it was fun. The Agenda included

• · Self Belief
• · IPS
• · Leadership Traits (Based on Stephen Covey / Robin Sharma)
  
• · The Road Ahead

The Games included

• · One To 50 Team race
• · Thespian Walk
• · Fairy Tale Enactment
• · Choreograph a dance
• · Listening
• · 7 UP
• · Mirroring

The students showed great leadership potential. Some are already leaders in many ways. The dance and play they put up was pretty awesome. As a follow up of this workshop all the students took the initiative to organize a Christmas Party on the 22^nd Dec.

Thanks to JP Sir(HOD) and Rajeshwari Maam(M.Sc Coordinator) for all the support they gave for the initiative.

Thanks to Dannie, Kavyashree and Kareem for the logistic / planning support.

Leadership Traits

Jibrael Jos, Ash Wednesday 2009

Context: What are leadership traits, Steven Covey puts forward seven traits. The people mentioned are all whom I hold in high regard and what I put here is only my perception with my limited interaction and my limited understanding.
Leadership and Followership are connected, if you do not believe in the system, your company, your practice how do you expect your team members to believe in you.
If you do not follow the strict path ( I do not think we need to) but then why do we expect others to toe the line we draw.
If you do not stand up to change the things you want changed you should not expect your team members to take onus.
Leadership is 90% Action and the remaining 10% is thinking what else to do.
Steven Covey puts forward seven traits of a leader
They are continually learning:
Subroto Bagchi, a major percentage of the books in the library are from his collection and the collection is not random one, it shows the person is a thinker and innovator (or is striving to be one). Closer home there is our very own Srikanth, Derick and Senthil who show the same trait. Learning is not just from books it comes from experiences, people you meet and concepts you develop. It is from both eyes and ears !!
They are service oriented:
Leaders see life as a mission. Ashok Soota comes to my mind but my favorite is definitely Mahatma Gandhi, people followed him by the thousands not for his oratory skills or for his style or for his looks. I believe a good leader needs to be closer to reality (real world) rather than lofty words and high altitude have to the point words and positive attitude.
They radiate positive energy:
Krishnan is a very good example as when he is around rarely does one feel any negative vibe. I remember once I approached with a serious problem of something which I thought we have “committed and we could not technically deliver “. I had been fretting on this problem along with the team for more than a month. But talking to him I was able to abstract the problem and within next couple of days had a meeting with customer and they agreed that yes this same problem was definitely not in scope!!
Siva Vajjala is another person who has impressed me a lot for those who have interacted with him I do not need to elaborate and those who have not I do not think my words can be the paint or this document a canvas to capture the person.
They believe in other people
This according to me is the key to Radha leadership style, she puts immense trust in the people who work under her and once she gives the task she is not trying to guide them, check on them or show them the way. She intrinsically makes the person in front believe he can do it.
They lead balanced life
I have not come across many who does this ! The best people who comes close to this in my experience in MindTree is Suresh H P and Raju Dani
They see life as an adventure
Some people may think that I am a maverick who does 18 trips in 18 months fits the bill but actually Steven Covey is talking about people like Sanjoy Roy. He is my role model when it comes to this trait as I chickened out with TPM role he has moved from Manager to Pre Sales (US) to Operation to Pre Sales (Proposals) to Account Manager. What a journey and behold the trail he set ablaze.


They are synergistic
This is closer home to what I see myself as a leader, I have found that a team of ‘n’ minds are much-much stronger than ‘n’ independent minds and once you get the chemistry going miracles are sure to follow.
They exercise for self renewal
Exercise four dimension of human personality
· Physical
· Emotional
· Mental
· Spiritual
Most of us are playing the role of leader but I am sure none of us can say we are there yet
Why don’t you get the feedback from your team (anonymously) working with you on these seven points and see where your rating stands against theirs. If you are married get it from your spouse and you may discover a new dimension to leadership and followership
On a scale of 1-10, where 10 is Excellent, Rate the following for Mr. Zing Wing
· Learner
· Service Oriented
· Radiate Positive Energy
· Lead Balanced Life
· Synergistic
· See life as an Adventure
· Exercise for Self Renewal