24x7 Leadership Factory

"A Leader is a Dealer in Hope."- Napoleon Bonaparte

AIESEC Hyderabad describes itself, very aptly, as the 24x7 Leadership Factory. Ergo we churn out leaders all round the day. Of course we all have our ways of looking at Leadership, and what it means to us. To some of us Leadership would mean leading 11 young(??) men onto a grassy little ground with the hopes of a Billion cricket fanatics on their back; to some of us it would mean being the hope of a falling country, and changing the world with three simple words, "Yes we can.". To some of us leadership would mean taking care of our little sister, while our parents are out. To me leadership has been redefined to what I've seen over the past 10 months of my life.

I've always been a recluse, to the point that it lead to vanity, without having anything to be vain about. In meeting people, the people that make up AIESEC Hyderabad, I got what was one of the biggest reality checks of my life; that there are people my age, infinitely cooler, smarter and better than I am. And in those people I found my first leaders in AIESEC. They came in many forms, my Executive Board, 11 incredibly diverse people working towards a common goal; my Team Leaders, whom I share a very special bond with, the people who introduced me to 'eXchange' and how we actually are impacting the world through it; my fellow General Body members, each one of them with their own special skill set, dreams, aspirations and visions, who led me through this wonderful path of discovery where I realized how much better the world is for having such people.

One of the greatest opportunities to vision leadership at its best is at a National Conference. June National conference 2009- a week that changed my life; what it stood for, and what it will in the future. As cliche as the whole "Life Changing" expeience may sound, there are few other words that could substitute what I felt during that period. Only maybe if I used a thesaurus. It was there where I saw men and women my age from all over the country united, standing for what they thought their world should be like, living the dream. Taking it to that next big step, taking it to 'Infinity'.

The phase of my life that followed, thanks to my prodigal sense of judgment, was a real hard one. I was going through things I really wasn't ready for. In ways I was spiralling down towards rock bottom, and it was then that I found to what extent the right leaders can impact your life. On a fine autumn evening, on a particularly low day for me, I recall very distinctly, a leader of mine telling me this, " The first person you'll ever lead is yourself. You need to get your act straight."- He told me things I made a very important mental note of, and follow to this day, only to see things around me getting better. My friends at AIESEC Hyderabad helped me greatly, each one of them in their own way, leading me to a better place for myself.

It is in AIESEC Hyderabad and all it stands for that I truly see Leadership, from the people who lead the organization in the literal sense of the word, to those who make every day an opportunity, to lead, to live and to be the best you can be. I haven't been officially on a Leadership Position now, but then I know, for the day I get one, I would be great. I've had the best of the lot.