Leadership development at TAPMI

Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.

- Jack Welch

Leadership is the fulcrum around which most management education is designed. Much like Jack Welch's quote, most business schools' leadership development focuses on enhancing self-awareness and creating future-readiness. Each business school has its approach in this endeavour, with convergence in going beyond the curriculum.  However, barring some of the top B-schools, the approach is often reactive, where interventions are added without considering their relevance. Here, T.A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) differs from most institutions. TAPMI has an integrated approach towards leadership development focused on transformational leadership. 

T.A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI) has consciously chosen the path of transformation in leadership development. In the approach that spans across the programs, the difference at the macro level is brought through a common vision with inputs from industry and academia. The vision steered by the Director, the Curriculum Committee, and the Advisory Boards of the respective programmes are then shaped under the stewardship of Dean-Academics. The Dean and the other major functionaries ensure the actions align with the institute's mission and the current industry needs. The needs span ability to transform (where companies face major shortcomings as per the recent McKinsey research) and faster adaptation in the VUCA world. The endeavour starts with the selection process itself, proceeded by a set of activities aimed at self-awareness at the commencement of the program. This is followed by specific programmes and interventions over the two years.

The needs span ability to transform (where companies face major shortcomings as per the recent McKinsey research) and faster adaptation in the VUCA world. The endeavour starts with the selection process itself, proceeded by a set of activities aimed at self-awareness at the commencement of the programme.

The self-assessment process is steered by the Leadership Assessment and Development Centre (LADC), concurrently supported by mentoring through the Faculty Advisory System (FAS) and engagement in student activities. LADC has pioneered a unique model for leadership assessment that covers motivational drives, personality traits, interpersonal behaviour and readiness for transformational leadership. Each student is administered a battery of tests, and a report is prepared based on the various scores. This is followed by a one-on-one advisory with a trained faculty who explains the scores in the context of the respondent's readiness for leadership roles. The advisory delves deep into the student's areas of strength, improvement and possible challenges and culminates into a personal development plan. There are follow-up sessions based on the interest of the concerned student. TAPMI has developed its protocol of the linkage between the tests and the process of advisory based on best practices in psychology. More than 40 faculty members have undergone rigorous training and certification in administering, interpretation and advisory on the tests. The institute has also invested in training over 10 of its faculty members as executive coaches for this purpose. There are no examples of advisory for all the students across a range of  tests with a focus on leadership.

TAPMI has developed its protocol of the linkage between the tests and the process of advisory based on best practices in psychology.

The FAS system is meant to act as the platform for regular interaction and guidance for the students. With respect to student activities, TAPMI has consciously chosen to redefine it with the strong support of a Chairperson and Co-chair. Their role is to make the students think big  and discourage them from reducing the activities to mere event management. The Chairperson encourages the student to think big and develop ideas and programmes that will have a significant impact on the stakeholders of the society. TAPMI funds most of the activities except student events partially or fully funded through sponsorship. The specific need for faster adaptation is addressed through participation in industry-based live projects, which are mandatory for some programs.

The Young Leaders Programme is another unique initiative that provides select students with the opportunity to work directly with C-suite executives for at least three months during the last leg of their study.

 The overall leadership development process at TAPMI has been based on conscious choices. This approach has given good results and provided the students with enough guidance and tools for development. Despite the high levels of time and resource investment, TAPMI endeavours to further strengthen the process so that our students become the catalysts of transformation in these changing times

About the author

Prof Animesh Bahadur is the Professor - HR, Organizational Behaviour & Communications Area at T.A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI)

 

 

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha