Growing up, I was a lethal combination of a student: front-bencher personality with back-bencher attitude. Geeky but cheeky.
I was a voracious reader, I’d take notes, was a fast learner, knew most answers, would take initiative, homework and notes were always mise à jour; and was a distinction student by and large.
On the flip side, I’d often be a menace and a distraction for the class, chatty, making jokes, frequently punished, often the prankster visiting the Princi’s office fortnightly.
My grades were always top-notch, and extra-curriculars were even better: I’d win every trophy and award there was, and bring laurels to my Alma Mater. Open House days were a complaint/venting match between my teachers and parents; which would each time end in “she’s a menace, but she’s a sharp student and the school’s pride”
I quite basked in and cherished the sweet spot of the love-hate relationship I shared with my school and teachers.
Now, why am I telling you this this fine morning? Because as a professional in the corporate world, working the learning and development space, I am who I am because of the student that I was.
Allow me to explain…
I use the “student Vahista” as a filter.
Right from the design stage, to the instructions, to the execution, to the delivery- my “front-bencher” personality geeks out to create session designs; while I use my “back-bencher” personality to critique and pre-empt all the tangents the session could go to. Accordingly, I re-word the instructions, add a few filters, re-work the flow and design if needed, to make the session as water-tight as possible. This technique has helped and saved me from losing face and cutting a sorry figure at work.
There’s always a lineup of several backups, and preps are underway for the whackiest possiblities, and how to manage them.
Its an excellent way to fire-wall the session to the best possible way. The rest, I leave it up to fluidity and group rhythm.
This backbencher syndrome, though often demonised, has worked like a blessing for me in the training and development space.
And my answer to the million dollar question “how do you think you can handle the hard nuts?” is “because I was one, too”
The Backbencher Blessing (in disguise?)
