Osheen Arora is currently working as a Consultant at Bain & Company in Dubai. She has completed her MBA at INSEAD Paris and Masters in Management at London Business School. Prior to her MBA, she worked at Salesforce India for 3.5 years.
Her long term goal is to have her own management consulting company focusing on the thriving small and medium businesses sector in India.
Osheen’s LinkedIn page
What has your Fellowship enabled you to do, explore, or gain that you wouldn’t have otherwise?
A seeker of knowledge and passionate for ideas that have the ability to transform a life, I am a student of everything I encounter. The fellowship has enabled me to be a student every day and look at the world from a completely different perspective. Experiences, ultimately, form a part of our identity. The fellowship is a community that pushes you to be the best version of yourself. It is astonishing how people from all walks of life come together and connect on so many levels, yet be unique in their own way. For me, the fellowship is my safe haven, it protects me when needed and encourages me to make my own path. The fellowship has enabled me to set goals for myself, explore my strengths and gain exposure by broadening my horizons. It’s a community that focuses on the greater good and wants to leave a positive impact on each other and the rest of the World.
What impact has your Fellowship had on your ability to lead in the 21st century?
Leading in the 21st century is more about being empathetic and showing “deliberate calm and optimism”, along with having a coherent long-term view. COVID-19 has pushed us to trust our teams more and even in times of social-distancing, learn to be dependent on each other. I have always believed in the kind of leadership which empowers others and creates leaders. As a young 21-year old college student, I built a local chapter of a social-entrepreneurship organising focusing on empowering underprivileged women in a small slum in New Delhi and helping them become entrepreneurs. I helped set-up business models focusing on female hygiene and sustainable employment by tapping their existing talents and helped them earn their own income The fellowship has fuelled my belief further. Meeting people determined to create waves of expedient change in their own disciplines and learning from their experiences has helped me focus on the broader picture and ask the right questions. It’s a support network that I can fall back on in terms of being a better leader in this ever-changing uncertain world.
How do you imagine your Fellowship will impact on your personal and professional growth in the next chapter of your life?
In the next chapter of my life, I plan to pursue my MBA from INSEAD and explore a career in Management Consulting. The fellowships’ impact on my personal and professional life is two-fold. Firstly, the ‘leadership retreat’ followed by regular meet-ups act as a refreshing breather, helping me get new insights and positively questioning my belief while expanding possibilities. It helps me view my ideas with the fresh lens. I feel motivated and inspired to choose a new direction that I might be passionate about. The reciprocal learning, discussing new ideas and soaking in various perspectives is what makes these sessions special. Secondly, in the long-term, in today’s increasingly globalized world, the fellowship helps me in developing a cross-cultural competency and awareness about the skills needed to succeed. It helps in broadening my reach and amplifying what I am already doing. The fellows act as a sounding board of my long-term professional goals and provide me with the right resources to achieve them. Personally, the fellowship strengthens my sense of self and defines my purpose and values by reflecting into my internal compass, rather than depending on external factors like fitting into other people’s expectations. I am truly grateful to be a part of this wonderful community and look forward to growing with it in the years to come.