In a world where leadership often feels like a skill reserved for adults, what happens when we start nurturing it in children – not through textbooks, but through Football, Music, and LEGO?
Enabling Leadership (EL) is doing exactly that, but how?
By working with local government schools and low-income private schools across four countries, they are leaving a lasting impact on this world, but that also means there is deep pedagogical work happening on the back-end and that’s where my interest lies.
As someone raised in an environment that emphasized experiential education, I’ve always believed in its power. How are lessons created and taken to children? How do they ensure these sessions are relevant, inclusive, and developmental?
To explore this, I reached out to EL’s Build team, eager to learn how they foster leadership on the ground
From my very first session with my mentors, Rashmi and Aparna, I was drawn in. They didn’t just introduce me to the programme – they broke down the nuances of lesson planning, clarified the intent behind each activity, and showed me how EL is constantly evolving to meet children’s needs.
That’s when I began writing lesson plans for Grade 4 students across India.
Let me be honest – it wasn’t easy. (Thanks, Rashmi and Aparna, for the warning!) I spent hours brainstorming, reflecting, and empathising. I kept asking myself: What can I bring to these children that feels real, relevant, and meaningful to them?
I wanted to make it contextual, not just conceptual.
And then something sparked in me, the typical light-bulb moment – I began typing, backspace was my most-used key. I reached out for support whenever I was stuck and we did it together until I began building the muscle of doing it myself.
Through the year, as the overall programme was going through a methodological shift, I participated in their Beginning of Year (BoY) training with the team in late May 2024, followed by volunteering for the Mid-Year Showcase 1, where I learnt high-leverage things such as:
How the teaching faculty is trained
The deep-rooted culture the organisation sustains and how it impacts the classroom and children
The impact scale and critical evaluation process of the programme for improvements
How leadership skills are being transferred to children through the sessions
Soon, I found myself applying the very leadership skills EL hopes to cultivate – through my own work!
I also received the opportunity to support the planning of the Regional Finals in Bengaluru, the final step before the national-level ELevate competition. From coordination and event planning to layout and digital design, I am developing a whole new set of skills.
This wasn’t just about building curricula anymore – it was about building myself.
As I reflect upon this year-long internship, I see my journey as a story of change. A story of change within myself. Through this experience, I’m constantly learning a plethora of skills, methods, modes, mediums and much more such as:
Building purposeful curricula – empathising with children, designing with intent, considering all stakeholders, and developing facilitation skills.
Collaborating in a team – contributing ideas, brainstorming, listening, and building empathy toward different working styles.
Letting go of attachment to my work and being open to change – understanding that everything is done for the benefit of the programme, not just my ego.
Without my mentors, this definitely wouldn’t be possible, so I’d like to acknowledge all the time and effort they have spent on me and are continuing to spend on me to help me become the best version of myself.
I’m grateful to Rashmi Verma, my mentor at Enabling Leadership, with whom I had some of the most insightful conversations, my meetings with her truly sparked discussions on key concepts of the programme and beyond.
I’m grateful to my mentors at school, Sreeja Iyer and Minesh Happy, without whom I’d not be able to take as much as possible from this experience and contribute actively through the year. I am deeply grateful for their support and faith in me.
Unconventional methods – when grounded in empathy, adaptability, and creativity – can produce extraordinary outcomes. I’ve seen how leadership can be taught in classrooms through Football, Music, and LEGO, and how the culture-first organisation is constantly adapting and developing the programme to what children need.
As I move forward, I carry these learnings and experiences with me. I’m excited to keep building, learning, leading – and discovering both myself and my purpose – one block, one beat, one goal at a time.
Thank you, EL Team – for being such an important and integral part of my journey.
Abhinav Jandhyala is a dedicated student at Sparkling Mindz Global School in Bengaluru, India, with a keen interest in leadership, advocacy, and social impact. Over the past year, Abhinav completed the EL Build Internship, where he played a vital role in developing and refining lesson plans for multiple program levels, assisted with LEGO sorting at various locations, and supported mid‑year and regional showcases. His hands‑on involvement in training workshops and event execution has not only deepened his understanding of educational development but also exemplified his commitment to teamwork and positive change.
