A 4-week Cohort-based Course (CBC) for your new managers to build their playbook for setting goals, leading people, making decisions & solving problems
This CBC is a partnership between Gaurav Singh and Co.labx.
The New Manager Academy
The quickest way to transform your new managers into adept leaders, without building your own MBA program
Cohort 9 begins on 19th August- Register Now!
Who Is It For
First Time
Managers
Star individual contributors who will manage people & projects for the first time
First Time
Founders
Founders of early and growth stage startups who are leading a team for the first time
Experienced
Leaders
Who have learnt management on the job & now want to level up in a structured manner
What People Are Saying
“Whether you are a new manager or someone who has been managing for a while, this course is brilliant for contextualising management theory and frameworks. It is interactive and applied, and the Q&A at the end of each sessions helps you to get further clarity
Nikita PatelCEO, Fortify Health
on how to tailor the frameworks to your own experience and workplace. As someone who learned management by doing and not through a formal training, I found this experience incredibly valuable, as it provides a training of sorts that builds confidence on what you are already doing well, and also how to improve your management style.”
“The NMA is absolutely a must-do for ALL our managers - not just young managers! I truly believe the art of great management is a difficult and rare commodity even among experienced managers. We’ve been a part of NMA for 2 cohorts and it’s a great program, designed for any manager who is looking to become better at managing people”
Nikhil PurohitAVP - Operations & Marketing, Neptunus Power
“I am so glad and grateful that I got to be a part of this very insightful training session - NMA. I loved the facilitator, his rich experience of people management comes out effortlessly in his examples. Also, each concept is so vast in itself but I believe the team has got expertise in making it concise enough to fit into a 90 mins session...great work on that as well.
Divya SinghHR Manager, The Souled Store
So nice to know that some of these concepts we are currently practising but were so unaware of its impact and ways in which it can be enhanced.
I feel empowered as a Manager now and now there is constantly a mental template I will refer to while interacting and coaching my team 🙂
Thank You Arhan, Monica, Saahil & Shruti and bounties of thanks for Gaurav!”
“I think everyone can learn something from this course, if you are a new manager you will take away essential tools, strategies, tricks and hacks to make yourself and your team efficient, effective and develop a bond that will last a life time. If you are an experienced manager, this will jog your memory and help you reconnect with some of the things you may have forgotten and/or give you new ideas to better your management skills benefiting yourself, your team and your organization.”
Karan BabbarSenior Manager- Regional Partnerships, Teach for India
“One of the most crisply structured courses I have ever attended! There was a good mix of new managerial approaches (that I found value in implementing) and known approaches (that reinforced what I am implementing). Super concise information dissemination (essentials-only session slides), super effective way of capturing takeaways (playbook cards), and super relevant real-world connects (wish there were more of these). I would recommend this course for anyone managing people for the first time and being scared about it (like me) and for anyone looking to hone their managerial approach to deliver high-quality results and nurture high-quality teammates. While my managerial practices did not magically transform within the course, it has given me long-term direction. Much appreciated, Gaurav Singh and Team Co.labx 💜!”
Shramanth RajarathnamProgram Design, Inqui-Lab Foundation
“If you are anxious about how to manage your new team, if you are a first time manager, if working with adults is a challenge for you - then this might be the course for you.
Gaurav ChauhanProgram Manager, Young Artiste Private Limited
Personally, I loved Gaurav's facilitation. The energy is amazing, he spends the right amount of time on every topic. The slides were super cool, and I find them an extremely usable resource, something I will keep coming back to. Loved the optional QnAs, I think that brings out that element of what online spaces usually miss, and gives the option of connecting with him and just thought partnering.”
“Gaurav is an incredible instructor - he has just the right balance of energy, subject knowledge, and practical smarts. The course was well-organised and useful, regardless of whether one is presently managing a team or hoping to do so in the future. What I loved most was that the team iterated each session's delivery based on feedback from the previous session, and that I could come away with a personalised playbook of learnings that resonated with me.”
Deepika GhoshLead - Workplace Inclusion, Changeinkk
“After this course I realized how many things I have been doing wrong for so long! This made my decisions more clear, made me more efficient and I feel less stuck in situations.”
Sahil KapoorSenior Software Developer, GreyB
“I found the course to be quite succinct and actionable. The frameworks shared throughout the course are actionable and can be implemented from day 1. The pace of the course was perfect and covered almost all the components that are necessary on a daily basis for the managers.”
Prasad BogamDirector of Research, M&E, Fortify Health
“Gaurav taught us about many different aspects that go into being a manager from psychological aspects to practical tools.I will use many of the tools he gave us in my career going forward even before I manage people.For example, a tool he gave us for decisions, by labeling the decision types as doors. I have already used this to cut down on the time I take when making minor decisions.
George WhyteBusiness Analyst, World Wide Generation
Gaurav had good slides that were easily understandable as well as great audience interaction. He brought in the theory and then backed it up with practical examples.
We were also put into squads after the lessons to discuss with other attendees the topics covered in the lesson. This was beneficial as it required that we take in the info so we could adequately discuss it with others as opposed to just being a one-way lesson like normal online lessons.
I believe all new managers at WWG would benefit from Gaurav's lessons.”
“Firstly the simplicity with which the trainer waltzed through the content was a skill that one can/must take up as managers. The content was so useful on many levels. It is the little things that matter the most to new managers which in many organisations are taken for granted, and it is these simple tools in form of processes well shared and explained by Gaurav that actually go a long way for a manager new or old. These processes and idea-shares are what every manager secretly yearns for, New Manager Academy is a must attend!”
Rhea WillibrordAssociate Director, St. Willibrord International School
“Thank you Gaurav, for sharing your wisdom, experience and expertise with us. It was one of the most useful courses I've done so far. Entering into the role of a new manager, the task can often be very daunting and there's usually not much formal training there. But the frameworks and tools shared by you will surely help in my journey for many years to come.”
Parul TulsyanSenior Manager - Head of Digital Marketing, Ashoka University
Cost
Sign-up your managers, individually or as a group, at the price-points below (*exclusive of applicable taxes)
Early bird till 27th July 2024
Cost
Sign-up your managers, individually or as a group, at the price-points below (*exclusive of applicable taxes)
Early bird till 27th July 2024
Common Challenges All New Managers Face
Your manager was a star individual performer. But they are struggling to deliver similar results in their new role. New managers like them often struggle with these 6 things:
Setting Goals
Poor prioritisation & unclear goals lead to misaligned & confused teams
Leading people
Micro-manage or under-support people resulting in low team satisfaction & manager burn out
Making decisions
Unable to make high quality decisions in challenging situations with imperfect information
Solving problems
Solving the wrong problems or solving them with short-term fixes
Managing time
Struggle to break down work, set clear expectations & manage various parallel projects
Collaborating
Weak collaboration with their own manager & other teams
But it’s hard for young and growing companies to support their new managers
Senior leaders are busy, HR has many other pressing matters to deal with & most companies can’t spare the time & money to build their own internal training team.
That’s where we come in.
Top Features Of Our Cohort-Based Course
High quality curriculum
Only the most critical concepts new managers need via tons of relatable examples & case studies
Hands on learning
Over 50% of time is spent in applying the concepts & getting feedback. Open-ended Q&A for participants to discuss their contextual challenges
Tangible end product
Participants leave with an action plan of how to implement the course learnings in their everyday.
Peer Community
A great set of peers on a similar journey who support each other
How It Works
It’s a 4-week online course where Week 1 is offline engagement for course preparation and community engagement, with remaining 3 weeks consisting of:
2 live sessions/week
(1.5 hrs each)
Here’s what a typical live session looks like:
- Opening & Setup (10 mins)
- Content (50 mins): 4-5 key concepts with tons of real-life examples
- Synthesis (10 mins): A moment to pause, process, and ask questions
- Squad-time (15 mins): 4-member breakout groups for people to learn from peers in similar roles & domains
- Closing (5 mins)
2 Q&A and coaching sessions/week
(0.5 hrs each)
Highly interactive AMA-style spaces hosted immediately after the live sessions (optional for people to join).
Lasting anywhere between 30-60 mins, these give managers an opportunity to share contextual challenges, ask personal questions, and be coached and mentored directly by Gaurav.
2 hrs of independent work-time/week
While we minimize the amount of pre-work before live sessions (keeping in mind the busy schedules of most managers), we strongly encourage all participants to block time post the live sessions for some independent work.
In our experience, managers who have found the most value in this course do the following:
- Connect the content to their own experience and reflect on it
- Apply specific concepts & tools with their own teams
- Meet as a group with other participants from their own Org to share their application and learning
A community WhatsApp group
At the very start of the course, all participants are onboarded onto a WhatsApp community group where they can:
- Access bonus content & resources
- Ask clarifying questions
- Respond to polls and share their learning
- Celebrate their progress & quick wins
Here’s a quick teaser of Gaurav in action at the New Manager Academy!
A High-Quality Curriculum
Here’s a quick breakdown of the topics that will be covered across 6 live sessions
Role of the Manager & what does success look like
- 1 North Star that will make you a great manager & leader
- 4 Hats you will wear as a manager
- 3 Foundations that create great teams
Goals
- How to use the unused powers of Goals to:
- Motivate your team & unlock creativity
- Align & focus your team
- Build team ownership
- How to avoid the biggest mistakes managers make with Goals:
- Pursuing the wrong goals
- Creating unintended consequences
- Make & forget your goals
Planning
- How to become a better planner
- What to do if you are going to miss a deadline
- How to plan complex and fast moving projects
Decision making
- How much time to spend on a decision?
- How many people should be involved in the decision making process?
- What should their roles be?
- How to run an exemplary decision making process?
Ideation
- What’s a research backed way to ideate
- How to anticipate and prevent failure
- How to generate buy-in for your idea
Bringing the best out of people
- How to adapt your Leadership Style
- How to build a culture of Excellence
- How to build a culture of Growth
- How to build a culture of Ownership
Handling tricky people situations
- How to give the right amount of support
- How to handle poor work & mistakes
Meetings
- What to do if you have too many meetings
- How to run great meetings
- What are the most important rituals and meetings for our North Star
Creating feedback loops for yourself
- Feedback from your team
- Feedback from your manager
- Creating your Action Plan
Built Around Your Concerns
My managers don’t need more theory
- Our course is less theory, and more action and application.
- We’ve curated a small but powerful set of concepts and frameworks that have been pressure-tested in the real world.
- Also each week, participants will spend about 50% of their time practicing & applying the lessons in their specific context.
Large group trainings don’t work
- We are also not fans of auditorium-style lectures. That’s why our sessions are highly engaging and interactive, with participants spending time in small groups. The aim is for them to get lots of practice & feedback.
- Also, each live session will have an additional 30-60 mins of optional Q&A. This is a chance for participants to bring up their context-specific challenges & we will support them in solving them.
My managers are very busy
- Our course has been built for working professionals and takes into account their busy schedules. We have an in-depth understanding of the daily lives of young managers and hence we have designed the course to only take 4-6 hours of commitment each week.
I’m not sure which of my managers might be a good fit for this
- We recommend that you first identify the types of managers in your organization who would be best suited for this online course. This would include:
- Your first-time managers (who have recently transitioned into a people management role)
- Your early managers (who have spent 2-3 years in the role and are ready for a level-up in terms of mindset & skill)
- Your high-potential individual contributors (who you would like to groom for the future)
- Once decided, we strongly recommend that you share an open invitation with these managers (as opposed to a mandate), asking them to opt-in based on their own aspirations, needs, and bandwidth. This allows participants to align their own motivations with what the course has to offer and create the maximum value-add for themselves.
Meet Your Instructor
About Gaurav
Gaurav Singh is the founder & ex-CEO of 321 Foundation. Over a decade, he scaled 321’s programs to 200,000+ Students, 20,000+ Educators & 2000+ Schools. A 2019 independent evaluation found that in just 1 year, 321 was increasing student learning 4X compared to the control group. As CEO, he raised ₹ 40 Crores & grew the team to 75+, making 321 one of the biggest education non profits in India. For his work with 321, Gaurav was awarded the prestigious Ashoka & Echoing Green fellowships.
At 321, one of Gaurav’s obsession was building a great team culture. A key to this was building a team of exceptional leaders. Gaurav spent a lot of his time training 321’s new managers & that’s where the first version of this course was developed. Those managers have since gone on to take leadership positions at several leading organisations. Gaurav has conducted leadership talks & trainings at TEDx, ISB, Teach For India, Teach For All, Acumen, Ashoka, Echoing Green & Central Square Foundation.
Past Partners
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the course schedule?
The upcoming cohort will run for 4 weeks, with Week 1 of offline engagement and 3 weeks of 6 live sessions, starting on Monday, 27th November 2023, and ending on Friday, 22nd December 2023.
The week 1 of the course will be around getting the participants acquainted with the upcoming 3 weeks through some offline exercises and community engagement. Offline her means the participants can do these exercises at their own time in the week. They do not have assemble anywhere for week 1.
The live sessions will take place on Zoom on Tuesday & Thursday evenings from 6-730 pm IST (Indian Standard Time). The optional Q&A will run for 30 mins at the end of each live session.
What is the time commitment?
We understand your managers have busy schedules and have designed the course structure keeping this in mind.
Live sessions will take place on Tuesday and Thursday evenings which allows participants to wrap up their workday and commitments.
Outside live sessions, participants can block time for their own independent work-study and engage with the WhatsApp community at their own convenience.
Overall – we estimate a time commitment of 4-6 hours per week for your managers.
How should I select managers from my Org for this course?
We recommend that you first identify the types of managers in your organization who would be best suited for this online course. This could include:
- Your first-time managers (who have recently transitioned into a people management role)
- Your early managers (who have spent 2-3 years in the role and are ready for a level-up in terms of mindset & skill)
- Your high-potential individual contributors (who you would like to groom for the future)
Once decided, we strongly recommend that you share an open invitation with these managers (as opposed to a mandate), asking them to opt-in based on their own aspirations, needs, and bandwidth. This allows participants to align their own motivations with what the course has to offer and create the maximum value-add for themselves.
What happens if a participant misses a live session?
Video recordings will be made available within 24 hours of the live session. They can watch the recordings & get upto speed.
What is your cancellation & refund policy?
We want your investment in the New Manager Academy to be 100% risk-free.
If your managers engage with the course materials, attend the live sessions, yet are unsatisfied in any way, we will refund your purchase.
And if you find after enrolling that your Org schedule is busier than you thought, we will roll your managers forward into a future cohort at zero additional cost.
However, part of what makes the New Manager Academy work is the financial accountability. If your managers do not engage with the course materials or fail to take action during the course, this does not qualify for a refund.
I am a new manager and I am excited to get onboard. How do I proceed?
In many cases, companies have a formal PD policy for employees and a budget to cover the same. In other cases, there might not be a formal policy in place but an openness & desire to support employees with their growth & learning.
Either way, the first step for you would be to check with your manager or HR to see if this is an option.
If yes, we would be happy to support you to make the ask and get a reimbursement. You can write to us (email below) with your request and we will get back on next steps.
What if I have more questions?
You can shoot an email to our course partner Prithviraj Chaurasia at [email protected] and we will get back to you within 48 hours time.
Cost
Sign-up your managers, individually or as a group, at the price-points below (*exclusive of applicable taxes)
Early bird till 27th July 2024
Cost
Sign-up your managers, individually or as a group, at the price-points below (*exclusive of applicable taxes)
Early bird till 27th July 2024
What people are saying
“NMA has helped me deeply reflect on my actions as a manager. After understanding my managerial style, I had a comprehensive list of well researched, easy to apply contextualized practices to go back to. I already am applying so many practices consistently. My managees have shared that they have seen me put in a lot of effort lately to bring more structure and feedback to our team.”
Geetika AroraSenior Manager, Simple Education Foundation
“The New Manager Academy team has done a great job putting together the most valuable learnings and insights about how to be a NorthStar and work through a team. Throughout the sessions, Gaurav highlights methods and tips that seem simple to begin with but can be immensely transformative when applied in day-to-day operations. I have personally learnt a lot from this course and have already started applying the lessons at my workplace - finding these learnings and insights to be quite invaluable.”
Sheenu WilsonSenior Fundraising Associate and Community Mobilizer, Guardians of Dreams
“I liked the way this course was presented. The people management part was the one which I liked the most. In my opinion, this course is great for people who are yet to become managers and even for new managers. Also, it’s a very good course for new organizations to setup their managing processes.”
Juhi VyasManager - Data Management, Fresh Gravity
“The New Manager Academy introduced me to some simple, yet powerful practices that are helpful in my journey as a new manager. With a well-curated curriculum and outstanding facilitation, the course unites a group of individuals from varied professions, in their learning journey and enables them to wear the hats of a player, coach, manager, and leader.”
Lakshmipriya RAssociate - Operations, Indus Action
“I deeply enjoyed the nuance that the course brought in, around the situations a manager faces in their day-to-day journey. The experience was full of learning and serves as a guidebook for managers!”
Pratik DaveLead - Growth & Partnerships, Educational Initiatives
“The training was very informative and provided valuable insights on effective management techniques. The instructor was engaging and made the material easy to understand. I appreciated the hands-on activities and real-life examples used in the training. I feel more confident in my ability to implement what I learned in the session in my everyday work as a manager. The session was well-organized and provided a great opportunity for networking with other managers.”
Reena KumariPlacement Coordinator, NavGurukul
“I just wanted to share a quick note and let you know that you guys do a really good job. I have just started building my own team and realized that people management is one of the hardest skills in corporate culture. These workshops have helped me understand that I am not alone who faces problems in being a good leader. The workshops have helped me see things from a different lens.”
Sankalp SinghaniaSenior Research Analyst, GreyB
“I'll learn to think creatively thanks to this course. It makes me consider how to put myself in others' shoes and how to collaborate with my team more effectively. Gaurav expertly outlined the many behavioral types and how each necessitates a unique strategy for management. I am delighted now that I have learned how to significantly increase all of my management abilities, including problem-solving, empathy, and team communication.”
Tony ZachariaManager, Neptunus Power
“The course was nice and crisp. With Gaurav's guidance and examples, it was great learning. Have already started implementing a couple of tools and it is really helpful for me and the team as well. We have started growing and taking on new challenging projects.”
Vinit KachchiSr. Associate Data Analyst, The Souled Store
“Loved everything about the course - content, facilitator, support, resources, iterations after feedback, squad time, and session timing being rightly planned. Would surely recommend this to my peers. Thank you for this amazing programme. Going back with a lot of learnings and confidence to implement these at my workplace.”
Akhila NookalaProgram Designer, Inqui-Lab Foundation
“The content offered as part of the NMA was very well knit together & comprehensive. One lesson led to another which gave a 360 degree view of how to become a better manager and a better team member.”
Harshit TakkarAssistant Director - Strategic Initiatives, Ashoka University
“I have known Gaurav for over a decade now. He has always been a deep learner and thinker. His learning lens is extremely broad—from lived experiences in challenged communities to reading from business, art, philosophy, psychology, history, etc. In addition, he has built exceptional teams throughout to help execute the vision. The teams he led always appeared to have that special energy and gleam that only comes through shared purpose, understanding, care, and ownership. Like others, I feel I learn and grow in his presence. And that’s before we start a conversation, which is always riveting and enlightening.”
Girish BhakooChief Investment Officer, TenCore Partners
“A meaningfully curated course that is relevant to the modern-day manager, created by people who have been on a journey to being excellent managers themselves. The course will give you frameworks which are research-backed and tried and tested by the course curators themselves over a decade.”
Aswathy JayakumarCo-Founder, Ayang Trust
“The biggest learning I would take from Gaurav's sessions is how beautifully he captured the participant's feedback and incorporated it throughout the journey. Extremely consistent in improvising the content and in aligning it to the learning needs. Another piece that I really found enabling was the tools shared with us. Very simple to understand, actionable, and can be used across the realms of our work. A big thank you to Gaurav, Arhan, Saahil, and Monica!”
Yogesh VaradkarAssistant Manager - Programs, Antarang Foundation
“I was lucky to have Gaurav as my manager in the early days of my career. In addition to being an excellent role model, he had an uncanny ability to break down any concept to simple, distilled and easy to replicate steps. What I learned from him helped me manage a range of situations - from being responsible for results through indirect management to directly managing large teams. Gaurav is insightful, full of stories and there's an added bonus of humour. He's helped me learn many of the fundamentals that have informed my approach to managing people and projects to drive results. I would highly recommend this course and the opportunity to learn from a knowledgeable and fun teacher!”
Laxmi NairFreelance Consultant - Program Design & Delivery
“I have learned a lot in these 4 weeks...I have evaluated my skills as a manager and I can say with full confidence that now I have tools and methods which can help me in becoming a better manager and a better team member.”
Sunil KatariaDeputy Director IT, Ashoka University
“I was a successful profesional in the US before I moved to India to work with Gaurav. I learnt more from him in 2 years than I learnt in any other 2 year period of my life. After coming back I have started a successful company & a big reason is I just applied everything I learnt from Gaurav. Gaurav showed me a leadership style that I had seen quoted but never demonstrated. He showed me how to build teams that strived relentlessly for excellence, how to use data for decision making, how to align different teams to a common mission & clear goals & how to innovate when your back is to the wall. I also learnt from him the 2 things which are extremely hard for any leader: how to let people go quickly but respectfully & how to get teams to debate passionately but constructively. He is also one hell of a coach who will show you the best in you & then motivate you to deliver on your potential. I was lucky to work with & learn from him.”
Joshua PrudowskyPraxis Institute - Partner & University of Illinois at Chicago - Faculty
“The course helped me to visualize my role holistically. It was very well structured and it broke down actions and ideas that you can go and implement immediately. I enjoyed all the sessions and always used to look forward to them. I highly recommend that people who manage teams be a part of this course!”
Neha KanojiaProject Lead - Large Scale Programs, Alohomora Education Foundation
“Gaurav Singh is one of my favorite sources for learning about learning. . . and about leadership . . . and about management . . . and about strategic clarity. I’ve been a manager and senior leader at large national and international organizations and networks for over twenty years, and I still call on Gaurav to help me grow and develop. Not only does he keep up with the frontiers of management and leadership research he manages to apply them to his work. Even more remarkable (and rare) is his ability to make them accessible and actionable for others. The best management and leadership advice I can give is that if you have a chance to learn from and with Gaurav Singh, take it.”
Steven FarrExecutive Director, Teach For All’s Global Learning Lab
“All the sessions were great, presented very well, the team is doing a great job, few concepts seem to be extremely relevant and as a manager I have implemented those and seen some positive changes in the team's behavior and it is helping in creating a good team culture. I am glad to attend this program, it has helped me in dealing with some of the personal challenges that I was facing being a new/budding manager for my team. All these learnings are extremely useful and will help me in becoming a good manager. Kudos to Gaurav and the entire team:)”
Jayati BhatiaSenior Manager, Ashoka University
“Gaurav is a treasure trove of insights and wisdom. He has an exceptional skill of pouring through tons of material and then presenting it in the simplest, most intuitive manner. He crystalizes complex ideas from theory, his own experience, other people's experience to share tips and insights that are very valuable. I've had innumerable conversations with him discussing leadership, culture, management and much more. Every conversation has left me feeling like I've learnt something new that has stayed with me, I felt truly heard and understood and I've had a lot of fun. Gaurav has built such strong management and leadership practices at his organisation 321 Education Foundation, that led to some of the strongest culture and performance that I've seen across different comparable organisations. It is a pleasure to learn from him!”
Venil AliSenior Director - Programs & Scale, Antarang Foundation
“I have worked closely with Gaurav for the last few years and took over as CEO of 321 Education Foundation from him. I saw first hand the amazing team & culture he had built at 321. Out of many things he did well, one in particular was how groomed 321’s new managers. His unique gift is that he is able to extract insights from all his readings & experiences & then present them in a simple & relatable manner. I have seen young managers in 321 lap up his sessions and then go on to apply the learnings with aplomb. Now if Gaurav is starting a course in management, I would say just go for it. I wish I had this opportunity when I started out as a manager.”
Gayatri RPCEO - 321 Education Foundation
“In over a decade of working, Gaurav has been by far the most influential manager I have ever had. He was the first person to help my realise my potential as a manager & gave me that responsibility. He invested a lot in me, was very patient as I developed my managerial skills & gave me lots of support & space to grow. Some of the most critical things I learnt from him: how to give quality feedback, building systems that create high performing teams, setting thoughtful goals and how to manage up & sideways. Remarkably he gave this kind of support to not just me but many other young managers like me. I'm able to do what I do today, becuase of all the learnings from our time together. In the 7 years that Gaurav managed me, he gave me learnings that I will apply for the rest of my life.”
Aadi RungtaProgram lead - Education policy @ Govt. of NCT of Delhi, The Education Alliance
“Gaurav is an outstanding leader. He is incredibly good at analysing situations, thinking strategically, creating powerful solutions, aligning people & ensuring implementation. As his manager, I admired the strong learning loops he built for himself which allowed him to get good very quickly. What’s been amazing is to see that he has managed to build teams that do the same. His teams learn from local & global contexts, are reflective, error correct rapidly & produce amazing results. I think a big reason for this is Gaurav’s ability to break down his own practice & teach it to his team. He has the rare combo of being a great leader & a great teacher.”
Tomos DaviesCOO, Frontline
“I have seen 4 kinds of leaders in my life: those who can tell you what good leadership is but can’t do it themselves, those who can do it but can’t explain it, those can do it & explain but not all the time & the rare category who can consistently demonstrate great leadership through their actions but also help new leaders understand & do it. Gaurav belongs in the 4th category. I worked with him for nearly a decade & saw him show great leadership every single day and also teach dozens of new managers how to become capable leaders themselves. I personally never saw myself as a leader. But Gaurav was able to see the potential in me that I couldn’t see myself. He gave me the responsibility to lead a team & then supported me intensely to become the best leader I could. He taught me which weaknesses to fix & which to ignore, how to prioritise when everything seems urgent, how to handle the messiness of people management & how to always keep improving. At 321, I led large scale programs & now in the UK I lead programs which impact people across the entire country. None of this would have happened even I had not been managed & groomed by Gaurav. If there is 1 person I owe most of my professional success to, it is him.”
Rima BistDirector of Program, Brilliant club
“I spent 8 years closely working with Gaurav as my manager & leader, yet I still wish I could get more from him. He played different roles at different times: my manager, my manager’s manager but was always a mentor & role model for me. The key thing he did brilliantly was to absorb the global best practices about management & leadership from the best books, leading experts & self reflection. He then helped all of us at 321 Foundation apply these best practices by putting them in simple systems, communicating them powerfully, constantly modelling them & supporting us all the way. He taught me how to make better decisions, manage complex projects, handle pressure situations & bring out the best in myself & others. Universe-full of gratitude falls short of what he’s given me!”
Harsh SwaminarayanPeople Lead, 321 Education Foundation
“In my two decades of professional journey I have seen the difference good leaders can make. They shape organisations and their people for the now & for the future. I have known Gaurav for a long time & he stands out for his commitment to lead and not just manage, even more demanding for a young social entrepreneur. It has been inspiring to see his commitment, both in word & action, towards people and institution building from the earliest days of 321. Gaurav has approached his own leadership with a keen & curious mind, and always made the time to perfect it in practise!”
Shaveta Sharma KukrejaManaging Director, Central Square Foundation
“Gaurav is a teacher through and through. His ability to simplify complex concepts and make them relevant to a specific context is phenomenal. When I worked with him I experienced first hand what it was like to be led with a no one left behind attitude. He drew on his deep and varied knowledge to ensure each individual was walking with him and could see his vision clearly. Every interaction with him was inspiring and stretched my thinking. I’m so fortunate to have had him as a mentor.”
Gunjali SinghCEO, SVP Mumbai
“I have known Gaurav for a long time & been able to observe his leadership closely. I admire 3 things I have seen him do better than most leaders. Firstly he is able to navigate the difficult decisions & tricky situations that leadership involves through the lens of the big picture mission. This allows him to respond & not react to the multitude of difficult challenges every leader faces. Secondly, he thinks deeply & critically about issues before forming an opinion. So he & his team have deep conviction in their decisions & are comfortable in going against the norm. Thirdly, he has always been at the cutting edge of thinking about management & work. For example, he moved 321 to a remote work setup even before Covid began, he started using modern goal setting methods like OKR before any other non profit in India & has been far ahead of most organisations in making learning a continuous process which scales with their team. He has certainly inspired me to apply these things in my own roles over the last decade, ranging from Senior Leader to CEO.”
Pooja WarierChief Revenue Officer, Apolitical
“Gaurav has a track record of building exceptional teams, driving exceptional outcomes and helping people find their greatest potential, all the while tackling some of the hardest problems facing society. Gaurav taught me how to manage myself so I could manage others, how to be nice while pursing ambitious goals, how to balance accountability & autonomy for my team & how to motivate others to work towards a common mission. The 4 years I spent at 321 working with Gaurav have been the greatest education I have had so far. I attribute a huge part of my subsequent success to Gaurav. Every one I know who has ever worked with him feels the same way.”
AnukshiProgram manager, Upraised
“You won't find a greater expert than Gaurav Singh in leading change, managing people, designing processes, and achieving results. Crucially, he understands the principles, and knows how to put them into practice. And he shares his wisdom with empathy, humility and a hunger for greater learning. Across five years and two totally different jobs, his guidance has been invaluable, and has transformed how I approach my work. You won't regret signing up to learn more from him.”
Harry Fletcher WoodHead of School Surveys, Teacher Tapp
“I have known Gaurav for over 10 years and seen his evolution as a leader. When we first met, he was a guy with a plan, and I was privileged to have a front row seat to see him lead the execution of his plan into a 75-person organization. What I appreciated the most about his journey was the commitment to understanding ideas, sourced from a lot of different fields, and seeing how they could be used in service of improving education for all children. Gaurav is deeply curious, a master synthesizer of ideas with the ability to convey complex thoughts simply, and one of the best teachers/trainers I have met”
Azad OommenCo-Founder, Global School Leaders
“I have never grown more under a manager than I grew when Gaurav was my manager. He is passionate about helping people achieve their potential & I learnt a ton from just watching him lead our team. He is also a gifted teacher who is able to balance explicit teaching with letting you discover the lessons on your own. When I became a manager I just applied everything I learnt from him & that massively accelerated my growth as a manager. Even now when I run into leadership challenges, I ask myself “What would Gaurav do?”. I would highly recommend any opportunity to learn from him”
Arnab DattaSenior Counsel, Employ America