Reflection – Journey of Mindset Transformation

Challenge & Selection

I am part of a residential learning ecosystem where fresh hires undergo experiential learning for a period of 90  days. Post the training, the learners head to respective work locations and start working on customer projects.  The real-world challenges cannot be solved through the traditional engineering mindset alone. While learning by  doing is the core of our pedagogy, the need to bring in a sense of belongingness and enculturation is a critical part  for an organization to sustain and grow. Transforming the mindset of young graduates who are just out of college  by channelizing their energy towards meaningful outcomes has been a huge challenge.

On Campus, the way we perceive/treat the staff who take care of it is so different when compared to our own  house and dear ones. At times, we have seen people deliberately trying to show authority as they pay for the  services. An easy example would be the way people treat staff performing odd jobs. I would like to share one of  the activity, which resulted in creating a sense of belongingness and care for the staff who took care of campus.  Design thinking tools such as storytelling, Empathy map and journey mapping were part of the activity.

While everyone is in their own journey, we tend to ignore and empathize with our peers or colleagues for various  reasons. My endeavor or end goal was to make an impact on mindset using design thinking. The learners were  divided into smaller teams of 7-10 learners and asked to have empathy-filled conversations with the staff such as  housekeeping, nature keepers, canteen , security personnel etc.

Importance of Empathy was shared with the learners along with an overview of core concepts such as empathy  map, value proposition map, desirability & feasibility. The learners were also informed about the innovations led  by Design thinking with examples and stories.

While the staff had challenges such as redoing bed’s and maintaining campus clean, the challenge has always been  in terms transforming and bringing a sense that the campus belonged to each of the residents. The small team of  learners spent time talking to the staff and noting the observations and findings. The team also brainstormed  different aspects of the work and challenges.

Insight and Approach

While I started to observe teams and their conversation with the staff members, I was surprised to see learners  having a conversation in local language, as most of staff members were not conversant with English. I could also  see both the sides getting emotional as they listened to their journey, stories and aspirations.

Post the activity and my interaction with the learners, I found that the stories they heard, struck deep. It helped  the learners realize the effort it takes to do the job day in and day out and the challenges faced by the staff  members. The most beautiful aspect of this workshop is that this activity/ exercise led to various initiatives and  behavioral changes. It did not turn out to be another policy or set of rules to abide. Instead, the learners decided  to cascade and own responsibilities batch after batches. A “Good Deed” that enables a learner to experience the  journey of a staff member for few hours during their stay on campus was born. The result was astounding resulting  in the learner taking equal responsibility to keep the campus clean and treat it as his or her own. The learners took  turns and picked activities that empowers as well as reduces rework for the staff members. While the outcome  has been multifold, my favorites are – making your own bed, pushing back chairs after use, keeping things where  they belong and give way for others. Culture now lives on campus and everyone gets to experiences it.

