Personal Growth Lab: Breaking the Ice
July 16-20, 2009

The 2009 batch started its Organizational Behavior (OB) course with the Personal Growth Lab (PG Lab) amid the beautiful hills of Lonavala. PG Lab is a comprehensive programme craftedmeticulously to appeal to the instincts and interests of our participants and intends to demonstrate that experiential learning would clarify OB conceptsmuchbetter than classroomsessions.

The course has a rigorous, inbuilt, self-discovery mechanism. Through a comprehensive range of psychometric tools, the course assesses a participant's personality, interpersonal relationships, emotional intelligence, blind spots, learning styles, unique strengths and areas of development .

To appreciate group dynamics, enhance team building skills, and develop into a synergetic team, the participants participated in management games, group work, outbound activities and team events such as the Egg Contraption challenge. Each of these team events also helped the participants know each other better, overcome fears, discover their core identity and thus relate to their social identity with the group. This built strong camaraderie and helped overcome inhibition and tension, which facilitated effective communication and encouraged proactive participation.

The outdoor activities primarily focused on team skills and leadership. The participants trekked and participated in Treasure Hunt and Assault activity, that involved multiple July 16-20, 2009 team-building games. Besides providing them an opportunity to connect with each other, the PG lab helped them appreciate the importance of teamwork, interpersonal trust, clear communication and collaboration. Through Talent Search, each team showcased immense talent through theatre, music, dance and comedy.

Prof. Lata Dhir leads this initiative and is supported by Prof. Virendra Shukla. The visiting and adjunct faculty members conducting the seminars include Prof. Pratima Havaldar and Dr. Mala Kapadia. To provide a holistic perspective, Dr. Suranjan Das and Prof. Abbasali Gabula, faculty from other areas, provided their valuable inputs.

The five day PG Lab ended with the results of the psychometric instruments being mapped on to generic managerial competence. This helped participants identify their strengths and leverage them. The participants also worked on a Personal Developmental Plan based on their areas of improvement. Back at the institute conceptual sessions are provided. Following final analysis, the participants intertwine the concepts with their experiences into a "Personal Learning Paper".