Maynard Leigh India: Getting Closer To Our Roots

By 12th July 2017

The clock strikes 5.25pm and there begins a sense of restlessness here at Maynard Leigh in New Delhi. One half of the team enthusiastically waiting to shut their laptops and head to rehearsal; the other half sinking deeper into their chairs panicking about design deadlines and client emails. A fine mix of ‘yay’ and ‘nay’ has filled the air every evening for the last six weeks. Nevertheless, reaching the rehearsal space brings a fresh wave of air for all of us and we forget our personal and professional worries.

A few theatre exercises have us running around and shaking our energy, releasing a surge of vitality. The clock strikes 5.25 pm once again. Now it is the 19th of April. The Maynard Leigh India team gathers on stage at Alliance Française for one last time this season. Holding each other’s hands and feeling the butterflies - it’s finally show time. Looking at the faces around, we remember all the tears and all the laughs we shared while devising this beautiful production. We remember the vivid, heartfelt stories we shared with the team - sometimes with animation, sometimes with shyness.

These stories helped us understand each other and work together better as a team. This is what creating our annual theatre production - Jufasnia - looks like. It’s a project to provide a stage for everyone in the team - from the finance team to the stage managers, business development and associates. The entire community get to share the spotlight together. The play was devised together by the team, inspired by images and situations that the cities we inhabit throw at us. Maynard Leigh Associates uses theatre techniques to inspire people all over the world. Our annual theatre productions play a significant part in our personal, as well as professional, development plans.

Our leaders, Vivek and Steeve, hold a lot of confidence in staying as connected as possible to the craft that has hatched the very existence of this organisation. It is of prime importance to practise this craft ourselves, so as to reinforce the principles we base our learning and development work on. Steeve also reiterates this by saying, “For me, one of the most important aspects of Jufasnia was that it was devised, improvised, and the story was owned by the ensemble because they created it. I found our associates constantly connecting their experiences in preparing for Jufasnia to what they see, hear, feel, and work on with the leaders in the corporate world.” Vivek believes that in order to perform well, one needs desire. He highlights the need to rock the boat with love, care and purpose rather than instilling control mechanisms and strict regimes.

Using our own stories and personal experiences to devise the piece allowed us to take ownership of the production, feel connected to it, as well as learn to work collaboratively. It facilitated us to build an ‘ACE team’ by people bringing all of themselves to the project, implementing whole-hearted appreciation, giving permission to make mistakes, and generating supportive relationships. Thus, Jufasnia truly embodied Maynard Leigh’s key purpose of unlocking people’s potential. Neel Chaudhari, a celebrated Delhibased stage director, guided us through this priceless journey and steered the Jufasnia ship. His leadership style has been one of our biggest takeaways from this experience.

Being his usual calm, composed self, Neel brought the team together every single day. His leadership involved no authoritative speeches or setting rules, but revolved around the need and desire to work together passionately and with the utmost determination. Jufasnia is now a massive part of our lives. It holds a place in our hearts - a place so rare and exclusive. This journey has taught us things about all walks of life - it has taught us to empathise, to be emotionally intelligent, to communicate better, to lead effectively, and to work together as a team. It has taught us to share with one another, to overcome professional stress, to keep up with packed schedules and sleepless routines, and to discover our own selves. As Vivek says, “A team that plays together, stays together.”

Nevertheless, reaching the rehearsal space brings a fresh wave of air for all of us and we forget our personal and professional worries. A few theatre exercises have us running around and shaking our energy, releasing a surge of vitality. The clock strikes 5.25 pm once again. Now it is the 19th of April. The Maynard Leigh India team gathers on stage at Alliance Française for one last time this season. Holding each other’s hands and feeling the butterflies - it’s finally show time. Looking at the faces around, we remember all the tears and all the laughs we shared while devising this beautiful production. We remember the vivid, heartfelt stories we shared with the team - sometimes with animation, sometimes with shyness. These stories helped us understand each other and work together better as a team. This is what creating our annual theatre production - Jufasnia - looks like. It’s a project to provide a stage for everyone in the team - from the finance team to the stage managers, business development and associates. The entire community get to share the spotlight together. The play was devised together by the team, inspired by images and situations that the cities we inhabit throw at us.

Maynard Leigh Associates uses theatre techniques to inspire people all over the world. Our annual theatre productions play a significant part in our personal, as well as professional, development plans. Our leaders, Vivek and Steeve, hold a lot of confidence in staying as connected as possible to the craft that has hatched the very existence of this organisation. It is of prime importance to practise this craft ourselves, so as to reinforce the principles we base our learning and development work on. Steeve also reiterates this by saying, “For me, one of the most important aspects of Jufasnia was that it was devised, improvised, and the story was owned by the ensemble because they created it. I found our associates constantly connecting their experiences in preparing for Jufasnia to what they see, hear, feel, and work on with the leaders in the corporate world.” Vivek believes that in order to perform well, one needs desire.

He highlights the need to rock the boat with love, care and purpose rather than instilling control mechanisms and strict regimes. Using our own stories and personal experiences to devise the piece allowed us to take ownership of the production, feel connected to it, as well as learn to work collaboratively. It facilitated us to build an ‘ACE team’ by people bringing all of themselves to the project, implementing whole-hearted appreciation, giving permission to make mistakes, and generating supportive relationships. Thus, Jufasnia truly embodied Maynard Leigh’s key purpose of unlocking people’s potential. Neel Chaudhari, a celebrated Delhi based stage director, guided us through this priceless journey and steered the Jufasnia ship. His leadership style has been one of our biggest takeaways from this experience. Being his usual calm, composed self, Neel brought the team together every single day. His leadership involved no authoritative speeches or setting rules, but revolved around the need and desire to work together passionately and with the utmost determination. Jufasnia is now a massive part of our lives. It holds a place in our hearts - a place so rare and exclusive.

This journey has taught us things about all walks of life - it has taught us to empathise, to be emotionally intelligent, to communicate better, to lead effectively, and to work together as a team. It has taught us to share with one another, to overcome professional stress, to keep up with packed schedules and sleepless routines, and to discover our own selves. As Vivek says, “A team that plays together, stays together.”

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