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Leadership according to me is deIined by the choices and actions one takes in liIe. It can be
as small as leading a group oI school students in March-past, bringing a change in liIe oI set
oI people by being social or spiritual leader, and can be being a business leader who leads in
the marketplace in the modern world and have made an impact in one way or another.
Initiatives with a vision a desire to bring change along with discipline, enthusiasm and
dedication to the cause deIine a leader. Everyone gets diIIerent opportunities in liIe to be a
leader in their own work and they very well play their role as a leader by being the best in
what they do.
I too have been presented many opportunities in liIe to meet a cause. In Iew I succeeded and
in Iew I Iailed. The below two situations describes my past leadership experiences and
provides a glimpse oI the leader within me. These situations showcase my ability as a leader
and learning`s Irom those situations.
SITUATION- 1- MOTHERSON
uring my tenure oI 26 months with Motherson I has a varied experience oI technology oI
diIIerent product categories as product support/Application Engineer, Initially I was product
support engineer with manuIacturing cutting tools oI which trading items were manuIactured
and customised as per the requirements in Japan and then imported to India whereas the other
types oI tools were manuIactured completely in the manuIacturing Iacility In house in Noida.
I was later given the complete responsibility oI the Technical and commercial support oI a
new product in the Motherson`s product portIolio- Cutting tool holder. I was the only
technical support engineer Ior Pan India. It was a huge responsibility as Iirst time I had a
sales target to achieve and a huge sales team oI more than 100 sales engineer to drive who
were not dedicatedly appointed Ior selling that product and at the same time where not
Iunctionally reporting to me.
I had to start with making a base data Ior the all sales leads, and possible organizations where
there was an application oI manuIacturing such products where a requirement was a high
precision cutting tool holder. My total work experience was only one year till then just aIter
engineering degree so it was really a tough call as where to start and which direction to drive
the steering. It took me more than three months to prepare the whole data base along with the
routine work oI enquires etc.
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A continuous coordination and Iollow-up was required to be done with all the Sales engineers
to motivate them to sell it and make them understand the product and make sales happen. I
went to many manuIacturing plants with the sales Engineers to make a presentation on the
product to the plant head as well as to the shop Iloor workers. I also got opportunity to start
many promotional schemes in coordination with principles in Japan based on the
requirements I inIerred are in India, oI which Iirst one did not work out and the second
promotional schemes was a huge success.
Being responsible Ior the Pan India sale oI a new product and in the end oI the second halI oI
the Iinancial year I was able to achieve the given sales target owing to the success oI the
promotional scheme and creating awareness and interest in the sales team to sell the new
products Ior the beneIit oI adding huge amounts to their individual sales target was one oI the
most learning and enriching experience oI my liIe.
The experience oI working independently under the guidance oI my Manger and the General
Manager I have learned a lot about the planning and execution. How to handle a situation,
when things do not work according to the plan as the Iirst promotional scheme was a Iailure.
I also learnt that to get a work done Irom the people who do not have Iunctional reporting to
you one needs to be Iirm and aggressive while being polite and respectIul at the same time.
The people skills, Planning, ability to handle a Iailed promotion, time management and to
work as a team and connect more people to that team to achieve a bigger target are my key
learning.
SITUATION- 2- AID INDIA
I joined AIINIA Gurgaon chapter while I was working in Gurgaon. I wanted to work Ior
the under privileged kids and AI was an NGO operating Ior the basic education oI the poor
kids oI the construction workers and the Iamilies oI rag pickers residing in the Jharsa village.
Although joining AI was an accident and a coincidence, but I Ieel privileged now as the 8
months while I was associated with this NGO which is completely volunteer driven
organization I had the most enriching experiences oI my liIe.
I started as a volunteer Ior the community connect program where on weekends a team oI
volunteers went to the houses oI the children who came to study at the schools (isha and
unnati). As during weekdays all oI the volunteers who were also working in diIIerent
I LEAD ASSICNMENT {LEADERSHIP STUDIES] Novembei ,

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organizations did not had time to go to school and monitor the progress oI the students who
were taught by the teachers (they were paid to teach Iull time) so on weekends the progress oI
the children were monitored. I was presented with the opportunity to become the school
coordinator Ior Unnati and I accepted the responsibility.
Initially it was really diIIicult to manage the things at school with a Iull time job at a
corporate. All the Sundays and Saturdays were spent while working Ior Unnati. To
understand the small and big needs oI the children and then arranging Ior the things required
by taking an approval Irom the treasurer oI the Gurgaon chapter. Many times I had to visit the
school beIore going to the oIIice.
The health oI the children was a major concern aIter we Iound out that the absentees are
increasing due to illness. I had planned Ior a Iree medical check-up oI the students Ior
understanding oI hygiene and heath. Once the idea was discussed in the volunteer meet the
Chapter coordinator suggested to have a medical camp not only Ior kids at isha and unnati
but Ior all the schools at the Gurgaon chapter. It was diIIicult to have at one common location
Ior the entire chapter as diIIerent AI schools catered to children Irom diIIerent villages in
Gurgaon. So Iinally it was decided to get a team oI doctors and have health camp Irom
morning to evening in one day at diIIerent locations in time slots.
The AI Noida committee had one dentist associated with the team so I coordinated with her
to help us to have more doctors on the board Ior conducting the health checkup in Gurgaon
and she too agreed to volunteer Ior the same. It was really hectic to visit diIIerent doctors in
Gurgaon in the evening to ask them to volunteer Ior the cause. Many doctors denied to work
Ior Iree but it was not possible Ior us to go pay them heavy Iee Ior the budget was really
small Ior an NGO. It took almost a month and Iinally we had an amazing successIul event
with three doctors on the team to volunteer Ior the cause.
On one Sunday we had 3 health check-up camps in Gurgaon in diIIerent villages Ior the poor
Kids, the checkup was Iollowed by a small discussion with the Iamily oI the children by the
volunteer to educate them Iurther and make them understand the importance oI simple Iacts
like hygiene and healthy diet.
I also could get an approval Irom the chapter head Ior sanctioning some amount Ior buying
medicine Ior the children whose parents could not aIIord it. Many children were given diet
supplements, vitamins and Iew were given worminIestations medicines.
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The Medical checkup camp turned out to be huge success and since then it is being done in
every 3 months at all the schools in the AI chapter oI Gurgaon and Noida.
When I joined this NGO it was merely an attempt to some social work but as I got more
involved it showed me diIIerent aspect oI liIe all together. Never in my liIe I imagined to
have tea with a rag picker but when I went to their homes I was welcomed with so much love
that I could truly realize that iI I am able to make a diIIerence to even one liIe I am
successIul. I learned giving the power oI team work and commitment to create a diIIerence. I
learned so much Irom the small children and the volunteers. Perhaps leadership is something
which is as much "caught" as it is "taught".