Are we a nation of “HERO” Worshippers?

On the day of “Teacher’s Day” – Thank you to everyone who have positively impacted who I am today. Now my #reflection for today, though connected is not entirely on #teachersday.

This situation listed below is hypothetical and the reflections are my own. Any similarity with a situation around you, is purely coincidental ??.

Ruskin have been fortunate to be part of a very engaging learning group, led by an energized and innovative facilitator for the last few weeks. He could feel the positive vibes, and as a learning and development professional there was a lot to learn from how the session was being conducted. Ruskin and his batchmates have all in their private chats (cannot name the tool or else they have to pay me royalty) and in the virtual chat window visible to the world (I don’t repeat the same Gig twice ??), expressed their appreciation for the facilitator. The way Ruskin described his experience, I could almost sense how the class feels that this is the best they have been engaged in a long time and secretly the batch had found their new “hero” (Name of the facilitator withhold purposely, not to be confused with noncoherent writing ??).

At a discussion point in the class, Ruskin had a question which he wanted the facilitator to clarify. His question was “Is it feasible for you to tie the theory you are explaining to us today, with how you use it for designing your session for us”? To Ruskin’s surprise, he heard the first response from a fellow batchmate “Bond” (equally energetic and with a hint of baritone). Bond willfully (at least we will assume that) forgot Ruskin’s question, however was effusive in “Praising the facilitator”. Sir, he continued (with gulp in his throat) – You have been a role model to me and to many of us in this class. We love the way, you teach us and how you use innovative techniques to teach us. I want to be like you, one day, This was them met with a lot of “I agree” and “you are the best” responses from some of the batchmates (like Sydney, Chetan, etc.).

To all the praise, the “facilitator” said thank you and closed the conversation by saying: Ruskin, I hope that clarifies your question. Ruskin was confused with the response, however did not want to burst the bubble of love. He used the virtual chat option to give a thumbs up sign (now you might have guessed the tool). (For those who forgot, Ruskin’s question was on learning theories in action and not on innovative techniques – now read again the answer he received).

While Ruskin recovers from the heart break, it did give rise to three questions for me:

1. #Are we so blinded by who we like that we don’t seem to believe that they may have “BLIND” areas?
2. #Any answer received is considered a good answer (agreed, we need to hear voices), however is there a need to deliberate before we decide? When emotions run high, most of us don’t want to be caught in the fringes and chose silence as our defense.
3. #Are we all in the business of showmanship? While, it might have its obvious advantages, for how long is a question that bothers me. #managingmoment vs #managingreality

This is written on a #contemplative #Sunday #afternoon and might not be intellectually stimulating to most (I have my limitations and I am aware ??)

Sumesh Khatua