In this episode I am in conversation with Ms Seetha Murty, Director, Education, at Silver Oaks Schools, Hyderabad and Vishakhapatnam, former Principal, Silver Oaks, The School of Hyderabad, and former President of Association for Heads of IB World Schools in India. She was identified as the Top 5 leaders in the Lead India contest held by The Times of India, Hyderabad in 2007. She has spoken at three TEDx events and is an avid blogger (www.coveyhabits.blogspot.com) besides being a trekker in the Himalayas for the last 10 years. She also drives a civic and social responsibility programme in Silver Oaks called 'Me and My Country, We Grow Together'. You can hear Seetha talk about the changing landscape of education in India, her experiments with building 'Character First, Competence Next' in the students at her Schools, New Education Policy and its merits, the impact of technology on learning, the evolution of 'Solo Taxonomy' from 'Bloom's Taxonomy', the role of parents and teachers in grooming the children, the challenges for the schools, internationalising the 'mindsets' of Indian students, students as change makers, preparing the students for future jobs, re-skilling and other important topics concerning education in India. Seetha can be reached at directoreducation@silveroaks.co.in and one can visit her website at www.seethamurty.com.

In this episode, we speak with Rahul Shah, ex Senior Consultant DDI, former faculty at NMIMS and Founder of Transformers - a chain of change makers. Rahul has 23 years of diverse experience in the corporate sector in areas of sales, HR, training, consulting and coaching. He is helping teenagers and young adults to overcome constraints and become successful leaders. You can hear Rahul share his thoughts on what had shaped his thinking through school days which helped him in becoming a successful professional. He goes on to define career based on his rich experience and how he navigated career transitions from one role to another in different functional areas of sales, HR, training and coaching. He share his trials and tribulations and shares practical tips on managing challenges during career transitions. He also explains how his efforts are making a difference to the lives of teenagers, parents, young men and women. He goes on to stress upon the importance of career guidance and coaching from experienced coaches rather than from novice flu-by-night operators. Rahul is a cross-cultural coach and facilitator. One can reach out to him for more information at www.coachrahuls.com or email him at vtransform@gmail.com.

In this episode, we speak to Sapan Shrimal, creator of Mindfulness Index - the first of its kind assessment based adoption of Mindfulness to accelerate performance, wellness, culture and leadership. Sapan brings out how he founded Monk@Work and went about helping organisations to imbibe mindfulness practices, behaviours and tools to attain deep and sustained transformation. He also talks about various myths and misgivings about mindfulness which prevent people and organisations to unleash the tremendous potential of mindfulness. He cites various examples to drive home the importance of mindfulness and explains the Triple Trait Model of Mindfulness for greater understanding of the practice. He also explains how they went behind designing the MEx (Mindfulness Index) assessment tool to ensure highest degree of validity and reliability. Sapan further explains how people and organisations can take the avail of this assessment and how his staff can assist in interpretation of results and follow up coaching for improving mindfulness. One can visit www.mindfulnessindex.com for further information or call them at +919667963837 or email them at connect@mindfulnessindex.com.

In this episode, we are in conversation with Ms Smriti Goel, an accomplished executive coach and a learning and development professional with 26+ years of international experience in Europe, Asia, Middle-East and Africa. She runs a consulting firm ‘The Coaching Anchor’ which helps leaders and organisations in achieving their business goals by designing creative solutions unique to their needs. Smriti is passionate about making a difference to the women community. She has created and conducted personal leadership programs for women such as Femme Phenomenal, Women of Influence etc. Her signature program ‘Mind Over Matter’ has helped women from different walks of life to conquer their limiting beliefs and transform their lives. She is an Executive Coach in a Big 4 consulting firm for (last 3 years) in Hyderabad amongst other assignments. Smriti completed her coaching qualification from Coaching Development UK and is an accredited Professional Certified Coach from International Coach Federation (ICF), USA. She has also been trained as a Mentor Coach by Coaching Development, UK. In this episode we discuss Smriti's personal journey and why coaching is a powerful learning and development tool for personal or professional success now more than ever before. She talks about myths and factors that HR can keep in mind while hiring a coach and goes on to explain why coaching is more important for all employees irrespective of their seniority, including CXOs and senior managers.