#VishwasListens
What is Vishwas?
Vishwas, launched in 2015, is an initiative dedicated to the mental well-being of the participants of SPJIMR, centered around the idea of trust. We aim to create a space wherein individuals feel ‘psychologically safe’, and can have proactive conversations around hope, resilience, and optimism. Such open communication, in turn, leads to improved motivation, determination, open-mindedness, and an appreciation of things that truly matter in life.
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Enhancing awareness about mental well-being while simultaneously creating and facilitating symbiotic growth via genuine human connections are objectives that go hand-in-hand. Vishwas, therefore, aims to inculcate the importance of empathy and listening in interpersonal relationships.
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Nurturing psychological safety in organizations can lead to enhanced engagement, drive, and performance, and could, in turn, prove to be the cornerstone for innovation in the corporate world.
#VishwasListens
Our Origin Story
"A few years back a student came to my cabin and said that when he enters other professors’ cabins, he seeks answers for finance and marketing, but when he enters my cabin, he comes with the ‘Vishwas’ that he will get answers to life. This got me thinking that there could be others who are seeking the same answers. How could I reach out to them? That was the genesis of Vishwas.
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With over a decade’s experience as a professor, I have had the opportunity to interact with students and understand how they think and feel, while as a psychologist, I have been able to make deeper connections with these young minds and understand their concerns on a more detailed level. Additionally, as a consultant to various organizations, I have also realized the need for psychological safety and well-being in the corporate space, more so in today’s day and age.
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While it is considered a hygiene factor among B-schools and organizations to maintain a counseling cell to address student or employee concerns, a more proactive approach to working towards psychological safe spaces via conversations and mutual respect is a relatively new concept, born out of a human-centric approach to the mental well-being of people. That is what Vishwas has grown to become." - Prof. Lata Dhir
#VishwasListens
How we are impacting others
The availability of psychological safe spaces, wherein people can have honest, agenda-less conversations gives rise to feelings of hope, optimism, and genuine interpersonal connections. During the COVID-19 lockdowns, while scare words such as depression, anxiety, and fear had taken the foreground, Vishwas continued to reach out to people and offered a space to share stories.
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What started as agenda-less conversations turned into crucial interactions in the form of “Weekending with Vishwas”, wherein people soon opened up about their vulnerabilities in a judgment-free space full of individuals displaying mutual respect. A multitude of other such initiatives have existed prior to WWV, and the intangible essence of openness, belonging, and empathy that accompanies the idea of Vishwas has far outweighed any kind of impact that may be quantified by tangible numbers.
#VishwasListens
THE WORLD IS A COFFEE TABLE
Participants from SPJIMR come together to discuss their life stories over coffee. Until now, around 10 such sessions have taken place.
The People
The initiative is led by licensed psychologist, core Organisational Behavior Faculty, and Group Head of Design Thinking, Dr. Lata Dhir (M.A., M.Phil., Psychology, Ph.D.) With over 30 years of teaching experience across the best business management schools in the Asia Pacific, she has been instrumental in designing various unique pedagogy at SPJIMR, including the design & development of Leadership Labs & Personal Growth Lab. She is closely assisted by qualified research associates. and a two-tier cross-program student body, termed V2 (which comprises participants from the second year of the PGDM program and first year of PGPM, GMP, PGPMW) and V1 (first year PGDM), who work on the ideation and execution of the events and initiatives. The selection process for V1 is interest-based, wherein, participants need to submit a statement of purpose and exhibit a passion for the purpose through various rounds of applications. The V2 team is selected at the end of the academic year from the existing V1 team, on the basis of exhibiting empathy for the cause and agility in execution. V2 team works primarily as mentors to the V1 team.