Selected as India’s Transformational Leader 2023, Nirvaan Birla, CEO, Birla Open Minds Education Pvt Ltd is dynamic new age leader who has grown with commitment, trust and reliability as the core focus.
In conversation with Nirvaan Birla, CEO, Birla Open Minds
What makes a reliable and trustworthy business leader?
There are various aspects to a business leader’s purview of reliability:
From the point of view of the end users and the customers, integrity and authenticity is most important. Reliable leaders built trust based on consistency of actions, values, methods, measures, principles, expectations and outcomes.
From the workforce aspect, a reliable and trustworthy business leader is one who is supportive towards his workforce and committed towards whom he is serving. One has to be positive and supportive and needs to have an open heart and mind to be an efficient leader. The leader should be ready to go the extra mile to get things done and make the workforce feel comfortable and motivated.
How have you re strategised and adopted to the digital transformations globally?
Change is the only constant and this reality has never been more evident than today with global digital transformations necessitating change at all levels and areas of our lives. Every sector has witnessed a drastic change in the way they manage their day to day operations and the Education sector is no exception. As a result of its exponentially developing technology, substantial advancements are being made in online education in India.
It has been our vision at Birla to bring about revolutionary changes in this sector by introducing various alternatives for different audiences and consumers in the education sector.
Right from online schooling embodying a blended learning system and courses targeting skill development such as coding, to home-schooling – we have left no stone unturned. We strongly believe that modern technologies like machine learning, virtual reality, artificial intelligence among others, can be involved in bridging the vital gaps.
Building a future ready generation across the social strata has always been our vision and Birla group of schools and our tech driven version ‘Birla Brainiacs’ has been consistently striving at achieving this dream of a country that has the privilege of uniform education to one and all.
What are the clear changes that you have made to your journey in the last decade?
The Birla family has a legacy of nation building and has always strived to provide best educational facilities to every stratum of society. Aiming to nurture sensitivity towards the society, economic betterment of people as well as social transformation has been the ultimate goal. The focus is on high-quality, low-cost and replicable interventions to address gaps in the education system.
We offer a teaching–learning environment where students take control over ‘what’ to learn and ‘how’ to learn. We prepare teachers to help them in this voyage.
Our curriculum is in sync with the school curriculum and hones critical thinking, reasoning and memory through practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalised learning dashboard that empowers learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom.
Designed through Preschool to Grade 10, the Birla Brainiacs ‘After School & Home Schooling Program’ aims to provide a balance between the school and guided self-study aiming at providing critical opportunities for children to reach their full potential.
We also understand that there is a need to evolve the present education system to embrace a holistic approach where, apart from scholastic and co-scholastic subjects one learns about the various coping mechanisms and ways to deal with different emotions and challenges without damaging the sense of belonging and self worth. This made us come up with the new subject, ‘Soul Science’ which will help students understand that each action of each one of us has a profound impact on the world.
What is the vision and mission at your current role?
Our current vision is to be a centre of academic excellence in the 21st century by preparing highly-skilled and career-oriented students who are economically independent and innovative while also developing sensitivity towards the economy, society and environment.
Our mission emphasises creating a unique school community that works in collaboration with students and parents to provide quality education in a positive and supportive environment.
How do you draw a balance between target orientation and empathetic and compassionate leadership?
Being an empathetic leader is a skill, and I make sure to keep the targets and deadlines more realistic and easy by starting the projects as early as possible to achieve the results in time. Starting early simply gives ample time to asses and achieve quality results.
What has been your greatest strength and weakness in context of leadership?
There isn’t any weakness in terms of leadership as it comes to me hereditary, and [1] talking about my strengths, I am well-versed in getting projects completed with accuracy and on time. I make sure that I personally asses and provide inputs for every ongoing project by evaluating the current trends and transformations required to make a certain project coherent.
What has been your driving force or philosophy in life?
‘Hard work is a never-ending process that ends all worries.’ It is the simple philosophy of my life and hard work is the driving force that keeps me afloat even during hard times, as it is the only thing that will make everything work eventually, even if the results are unfavourable initially. Even spirituality plays a vital role by being the driving force of my life. Being inclined towards spirituality has really helped me as a human and a good leader.
How do you plan to drive your business at a global level at your current role?
We have been working hard to achieve global recognition for our school, Birla Open Minds, and have even started setting up our feet abroad. We have been in talks to make our organisation enter into some countries that would be strategically beneficial for us to get global recognition, and the UK is one of them.
Your top leadership goals during tough times?
Tough times would last only for some time if you work hard and be committed. My top goals during tough times are communication, assessment and execution. I make sure to communicate with my team and assess the shortcomings before action when everything seems to fall off. Only after assessments and thorough inputs from my team do I execute and proceed with the further process to overcome problems.
Your greatest success mantras?
Work matters, no matter if it is smart work or hard work. So, keep trying until you get the desired result as efforts do not go waste and achievers never haste.
How actively have you been personally involved with corporate social responsibilities? What have you felt driving societal responsibilities?
It is always a great pleasure to be involved in corporate social responsibilities. It gives a sense of satisfaction and pride at the same time. Talking about my personal involvement with corporate social responsibilities, I have been involved in and ideated various programmes to help underprivileged students. We supported the students from Mumbai who unfortunately have lost both of their parents in the pandemic by offering them affordable and quality education through Birla Brainiacs homeschooling. We even distributed tablets/devices free of cost for the students. We often organise camps where our employees coordinate and distribute study material and valuable things for underprivileged students across India. We wholeheartedly aim to support children in becoming the kindest, most capable, and most resilient versions of themselves.
What’s your vision for the industry and the Indian economy?
Birla Open Minds has embarked on a journey to revolutionise education in India, by becoming educational change agent to learners across all educational segments. We promise to build a uniting culture, provide rich education, develop support educational solutions and develop a strong sense of community through each of its multifaceted institutions by nurturing sensitivity towards the Society, Economy and Environment.
