Well, better late than never! Here is my experience on making it to the list of Economic Times Young Leader 2018.
I had heard about ETYL earlier, good things from friends participating in it. Basis what I had heard and researched, I found it to be a great platform to test your leadership capabilities against the best in your peer group.
ETYL takes you through a 4-staged assessment process. First two are online processes testing you on your intellectual and psychometric leadership capabilities. Third process being an on-location step testing you on teamwork, structured thinking and communication capabilities. Fourth round is the most interesting, wherein you get to have a conversation with the best of the Corporate World leaders. The process is very well managed, structured and, quite enjoyable. Since we know that a lot of people participate, and competition is tough, getting an email from ETYL on passing each stage is exhilarating.
To be honest, I did not prepare much for the first two rounds. I believe these two rounds are more intrinsic; while consistency is a must for Psychometric / Behavioural stage. Third round revolves around teamwork based problem solving; structured thinking and ability to communicate is important. While its always great to go back to consulting case books, more important is to think and reflect on the various real-life cases we have solved in our careers. I spent couple of days taking notes of various business problems I have been involved in or worked upon, clearly demarcating problem statement, variables, constraints, approach, solution and execution. This certainly helped. I had my third round in Mumbai, where in we were given two cases to solve as a group. One of the case was about advising the Head of Business of a new country on the key problems faced by the company and approach on addressing them. Other case was made of multiple caselets, each one to be discussed and provided a solution for.
My fourth round was an interview / conversation with Sri Rajan, Chairman, Bain & Company India, which lasted for close to 45 minutes. The interview questions ranged from current affairs, my experience in different companies and issues plaguing India. You can never prepare for all these topics, but can just be honest with your opinions. Being well read and forming opinions on current affairs certainly helps. All the interviewers of ETYL final round panel are well experience and great leaders and they can separate fact from farce. Best thing to do is to be honest and share your opinions freely.
Well, soon after the round 4, I got the result. Made it to the list😊. I was elated; my friends and family were elated. The achievement of appreciated at my workplace, from management to team members. The overall process from registration to making it to the list has provided a great learning experience, which I will cherish forever. Kudos to the ETYL team!