Describing my association with NSS might get too lengthy for it has been a long, adventurous and a beautiful journey. I started volunteering with NSS from my freshman year. I still remember every interaction with the enthusiastic kids whom I taught Science and Math back then. From the second year onwards, I was in the Media and Design team of NSS. Along with volunteering, I also got to learn things like managing time and academics. The satisfaction of my work in NSS kept me motivated to remain associated with the people in NSS. I continued as a Department Head in third year and Overall Coordinator (OC) in fourth.

Looking back, the most significant take away for me always has been the skill of managing and handling people. 300 volunteers, 32 activity associates, 10 department heads, 2 faculty coordinators and the 3-tier structure of working really demands the leader to be very skilled in handling people and situations. You cannot always do everything by yourself. You ought to learn how to make people work without having to burden them. The real test is managing your juniors, who have their academics to handle. It is nothing less than running a company without the employees being paid. The difference, though, is that the people working in NSS have always been self-motivated. In my tenure, I just needed to channelise their efforts and motivation to bring out the best of the work. I was fortunate to have a core team which was everready for implementing newer and larger-scaled initiatives. Their enthusiasm often kept me going in my tenure as an Overall Coordinator.

12-membered Core Team of NSS, led by Me and Mainak Saha.

Small things matter. Be it a word of appreciation for volunteers for their work, be it a word of advice from the faculty coordinators to the core team, be it asking casually to the heads about their lives other than NSS, all of these play a crucial role in shaping better interactions with people. People don’t often need treats or monetary incentives to work, it’s such small things that matter over anything else.

In course of my association with NSS, I have realised a few qualities a good leader must possess. Firstly, (s)he should be honest, punctal and empathic. Without these, one might be a good manager but not a good leader. A leader needs to pull his sleeves and get his hands working along with his subordinates. In cases of failure, a leader must be the one to accept the moral responsibility and in cases of success, he should always attribute it to the team. That said, he should not back the wrongdoings of his subordinates and take a bold decision whenever the need be.

Being receptive to others’ thoughts and ideas is something which I wasn’t good at before NSS happened to me. Being receptive to suggestions, criticism or advises doesn’t mean you are being dominated or suppressed either. One must always think from the perspective of the other person, be it co-OC, be it heads or anyone for that matter. Understanding others’ side may solve the problems much faster than you think. Also, a good leader must never unnecessarily point out mistakes which might not significantly affect things. Doing this repeatedly might demotivate the other person to an extent where (s)he won’t participate in decision making.

Never forget the efforts of past teams. Each passing year, the new team does all it can to raise the bar of NSS in whatever way possible. As a leader, one must never blame or criticize the past team(s) for anything that doesn’t seem to work. This is something which I realised only when it was my time to leave as an OC because that is the time when you look back and understand that leading such a huge team is not that easy and the past teams deserve all the credits for whatever NSS today is.

Respect everyone. No matter who the person you’re interacting with is, never think of him (her) as insignificant from any point of view. Respect your co-OC, your heads, your AAs. Give them time personally to know what’s up with them. Build a connect with each and every Core Team Member. As a leader, you mean a lot to the juniors. And thus it becomes your duty to stand upto their expectations. Being a head and OC myself, I know both of their perspectives towards each other. It is however the leader’s responsibility to ensure that every junior in the team is respected and treated equally.

Me addressing our volunteers in Annual Felicitation Cermony on left, Commended by the Dean of Student Affairs for contribution to NSS, IITB on right

I am indebted to NSS for developing in a person I am today. It has been instrumental in building my confidence to speak in front of a large crowd. It has helped me understand that in spite of the ‘progress’ we are doing as a nation, there is still a lot to be done for a majority of our population. We cannot be developed until each one of us has access to proper education, healthcare, food and clean water. As the future of our nation, we must step forward to make a difference using technology or otherwise. I am grateful to NSS for instilling this feeling in me.