Tribute to Prof. Neharika Vohra
By Tejal Rathod, 3TP SLP 2018
Ms. Tejal Rathod (right) with Prof. Neharika Vohra (left)
Tell us how this Professor left a deep impression on your life.
‘White Privilege’ is an often-used term to signify the advantages one has in the Western world over those of other ethnicities and backgrounds. Similar to this, a brief test was conducted by Prof. Neharika Vohra during the Organizational Behavior class of 3TP SLP 2018. The test is intended to assess one’s privileges and provide a gentle reminder to senior leaders, recognising the importance of being self-aware, a foundational skill for developing emotional intelligence to better manage high-performing teams, collaborate, and contribute to the larger vision of an organisation. This Self-Assessment was a game-changer and perspective-shifter, revealing that while we all have to deal with a lot of ambiguity and relational dynamics in a demanding work environment, our privileges lead us to lose touch with our human x-factor, i.e., maintaining our humility while being human at work. It made me realise while rushing through our days, from one meeting to another, from one goal to another, from one year to another, we seldom take a meaningful pause to reflect and internalise what we already have and how can we actively and intentionally give more of that, in terms of humanity, humility, understanding, encouragement, acknowledgement, appreciation, elevation, to support our immediate and far reached teams. This memory keeps me coming back to humbly count my privileges, providing me with a much broader perspective when I am stuck in a rut of micro-issues. It was a simple exercise, but it powerfully shifted the mindset by throwing light on my less acknowledged blind spot and challenged some of my unconscious biases. A sign of a true teacher is in knowing what foundations are shaky, and Prof. Vohra knew exactly where to hit the nail for all of us present in the class.
Any particular incident or memory of him/her that you want to recount?
Post the test, our fellow participant in the class raised a fair question about not having the capacity to remember such privilege in the moment, but it was all expressed in an entitled and deprecating way. The class immediately was filled with a sense of unpleasantness, but what came next was a response that was stern, assertive, yet deeply sensitive, and drenched in humility from Prof. Neharika Vohra. For me, it was an exhibition of the greatest balance between feminine and masculine characteristics. This was a superwoman moment for me, where I realised that it is possible to reconcile these supposedly opposite deep-rooted characteristics and behaviors while maintaining the decorum of professionalism and personal integrity. In that moment, she was inspired by being a role model of reconciling supposed juxtaposes. With all due respect, I also ended up giving her a dear title in my head, ‘The Iron Woman’!
