Leadership at Vidhya Vidhai

The unpredicted situation of leading an organization during a pandemic required me to seek support from different mentors and books that could shape my thoughts and decisions. It was that time when I took this book “Good to Great” by Jim Collins over a coffee which influenced  me with great insights on my actions and decisions in the work that I do as a Co-founder and as a Change Facilitator at Vidhya Vidhai Foundation. Leadership has always been my area of interest, It was surprising to explore the different leadership styles of great leaders in great companies and the way it reflected its relevance with School Leadership and Management at Vidhya Vidhai. The three core leadership characteristics that we promote and practice at our work in office and schools are the three “I”

1. Incredibly Ambitious 

I had once asked a School Principal “What is your vision for the school?” His immediate response was “Classroom full of students”–to note, he was definitely working towards it. There were classrooms transformed to Air conditioned rooms, there were brochures and pamphlets printed to advertise the school and that reflected that he was ambitious and working to achieve his vision, which I am not saying is wrong! 

The same Principal after Vidhya Vidhai’s intervention for 2 years when asked about the vision for school, he said “Quality learning for every child”. This time with more confidence and passion, the Principal was able to set high standards in everything that they did in school which definitely reflected the perseverance and the determination to achieve the goal. The gear that helped fix the leadership is the knowledge on right vision for the school which benefits students. An effective School Leader is made up of the right balance of knowledge+skill+attitude.

Knowledge and skills of School Leadership without ambition is a bird without the wings.

1. In-built Humility 

In our very small yet deeply involved journey in school education we have realized that only if the school leaders are highly motivated they innovate solutions for School Transformation. If we see high performing schools, one could spot that these School Leaders have humility as a key characteristic in their leadership style.  We’ve realised that these innovators are aware of their strengths and challenges, open to new ideas and exploration for the betterment of school, appreciate contribution to grow and develop as one unit. A leader with humility encourages a culture of openness, trust and appreciation which cascades the positive energy in the teachers and students to do their best which are also the components that contribute to good performing schools.

True Leadership is when School Leaders continue to strive to improve and build an environment of collaboration and learning. 

1. Indomitable will

When lockdown was unpredictable and school closures were leading to learning loss for many of our students. There were 150+ HMs who came together without any expectations but the will to stand firm and support the students in making learning possible at home. This was a space where I witnessed the unshakeable willingness to volunteer themselves even in the times of crisis for the betterment of the cause the school leaders were committed to. The beautiful element of this leadership is how the external factors do not affect the willingness to give their best for the growth and development of the cause.

As the great saying goes, “I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination.”

Jimmy Dean

We at Vidhya Vidhai, take many such inspirations and facilitate many such inspiring journeys for our School Leaders. Our mantra to make our programme successful is by role modeling the behaviours and beliefs that we expect our school leaders to perform. We’ve realised that when we weave the above mentioned three “I” in the leadership team facilitating change and also the leadership team that is undergoing change, Change is possible and sustainable which directly impacts the Quality of education delivery in schools. 

– Regila Marinus, Co-Founder & CEO, Vidhya Vidhai