Use management skills for collective good: Kiran Bedi

The auditorium at the Hyderabad-based ICFAI University was spilling over with students, who grabbed every single spot, including the stage itself, to learn leadership lessons from the former IPS officer, Kiran Bedi.

If gratitude to the country can drive the youth to take initiative and leadership, then the future of the country is in safe hands, said Bedi, who was speaking on ‘Leadership, management and governance in nation building’.

Leadership or its absence is the critical aspect which makes or mars the course of a nation, said Bedi according to a press release from the university. Bedi was invited to the ICFAI campus for the talk conducted by 'Newswire', a student club of the ICFAI Business School.

In her interaction with the students, Bedi encouraged them (students) to use their management skills for the collective good of fellow countrymen. She was clear that often corruption may be facilitated by the political and bureaucratic leadership, but the private sector also plays a significant role in abetting corruption. Bedi urged the students to show leadership in fighting corruption whether they chose to be bureaucrats or they join the private sector.

Corruption is not just about swindling money, but is also about any form of abuse of power, Bedi said. According to her, corruption primarily is a distortion, and a malaise that affects the efficient working of systems.

She encouraged the students to use their youthful energy to first study and understand the problems of those who come to them and then use the skills they are acquiring in the University to systematically and professionally address them. Citing instances from her own personal and professional life, she tried to convince the students that no obstacle is large enough to stop a determined leader who is sure of his or her calling.

Kiran Bedi’s interaction with the students was witnessed by Mrs Sobha Rani Yasaswy, the President of the ICFAI Society, Prof J Mahender Reddy, the Vice-Chancellor, Directors, Deans and Faculty Members.