Right after my Bachelor of Dental Surgery (BDS) stint, my first employment was with the Indian Army. My father with his patriotic fervour wanted to see me serving the country, and what can be more purposeful for a young girl than to wear the uniform and salute the national flag. I can’t think of any better way to start ones’ career than this. Till date it remains an Alma Mater that I recall with immense pride. But what I learnt during this tenure, that has held me in good stead, which I think other leaders can benefit from is:

• Safety, honor and welfare of the country comes first
• Honor, welfare and comfort of the men you lead comes second
• Your own safety comes only last

This is a lens which I would urge every leader to wear while working with teams who are endeavoring to work towards a shared vision. Constantly leaders are grappling with the question of how do I influence my teams to work on high priority common objectives, and that is where this 3 dimensional armed forces aspect can be a tool to help them. Outside of this, the Armed Forces works towards building the foundations of leadership, which is the character of a person. They do this by instilling values such as:

• Work Ethics
• Discipline
• Purpose
• Integrity
• Humility
• Teaming

This strong foundation has helped me to explore new horizons, face failure with aplomb, persevere during adverse times with the perpetual belief, that tomorrow is a new day.