low-preview-93876 feature hmc indiahikes dhaval dayara bugyal  193876 feature hmc indiahikes dhaval dayara bugyal  1

Collaborative Leadership Programme Now Open to All Working Professionals!

Collaborative Leadership Programme Now Open to All Working Professionals!

Category Experiential Learning

By Swathi Chatrapathy

2025-01-21

After running wonderfully successful collaborative leadership programmes for working professionals in 2022 and 2023 (read the report here), we have opened up another such programme this year after multiple requests!

If you don’t know, the Collaborative Leadership Programme is an outdoor experiential learning programme we have been running for the students of a few of the Indian Institutes of Management for the past 12 years. Participants engage in a 4-day programme in the Himalayas that is designed to foster collaborative leadership skills.  

The Indian Institutes of Management (IIM) of Indore, Lucknow, and Bangalore have found it so useful that they offer it as a credit course to their students.

But we see collaborative leadership as more than a skill management participants need.

A team activity as a part of the Collaborative Leadership Program. Photo by Jothiranjan

Most modern workplaces require you to have collaborative leadership. 

Top professionals are expected to collaborate, work across teams, gain trust with mutual respect among team members and collaborate with other stakeholders as well. Emotional intelligence and relationship-building skills have become central to a professional’s growth. 

We’re sure you may have already noticed this at your workplace.

The interesting thing is that the world’s biggest organisations and leaders are veering towards collaborative leadership. It is critical to an individual’s growth, and consequently, the organisation’s growth. Earlier, collaborative leadership was expected only of the senior management. In the modern workforce, it is expected even at an entry-level. 

This is where our Collaborative Leadership Program comes in. 

A trek in the Himalayas, which is specifically designed for learning collaborative leadership skills, is an ideal setting for this program. In a short intense span of 4 days, participants take away lessons of collaborative leadership that they can fall back on throughout their professional lives. 

We’ve seen participants take away key attitudes of collaborative leadership: 

  • Investing time to build relationships with teammates
  • Building trust through honest and transparent communication
  • Handling conflicts in a constructive manner
  • Being empathetic and inclusive
  • Sharing control and avoiding power struggles
  • Creating an environment that enables others to lead in their area of responsibility
  • Building connections with other teams and stakeholders
  • Being able to leverage the diversity in a team and tap its collective intelligence

Participants in the Collaborative Leadership Programme. Photo by Jothiranjan

These are behaviours that usually come with years of practice while working with a team. With the Collaborative Leadership Programme the learning is condensed quickly. The impact is immediate and long-lasting. 

This is because of the way the program is designed and facilitated. 

What happens on the Collaborative Leadership Programme

In this specifically designed experiential learning program, competing teams have to plan and execute their own trekking expedition in a remote part of the Himalayas. 

The trekking expedition, under our supervision, requires them to reach a high point, usually a summit, and return down to the base camp safely. Most participants have never trekked in their lives. 

In this trekking expedition, participants are completely out of their comfort zones. They are forced to confront situations and overcome challenges that they have never encountered before. Each day is designed to inculcate collaborative leadership skills in a progressive way. 

Overcoming these challenges tests and develops participants’ skills of collaborative leadership.

Participants getting ready to start their trek as a part of the Collaborative Leadership Program. Photo by Jothiranjan

When and where is the programme happening? 

We have opened up only one date, April 10th–15th, 2025, for the Dayara Bugyal trek. 

Programme fees

The fee for the programme is Rs 15,950 + 5% GST. 

It includes the programme fee and all expenses for the stay and food for the 4 days of the programme.

At the end of the programme, all participants will receive a certificate of collaborative leadership

Who can join the Collaborative Leadership Programme? 

This programme is open to university students, students of professional courses, and young working professionals who are interested in a programme that is ideal for networking, testing their own leadership skills and building a more collaborative approach.

If you are a manager and would like to organise a special programme for your team, please email Ms Mrudula Joshi, our Programme Advisor at the Indiahikes School of Outdoor Learning (InSOUL), at mrudula@indiahikes.com

How to register for the Collaborative Leadership Programme: 

Here is the link to register for the Collaborative Leadership Program - https://indiahikes.com/registration?batchId=9152

We have a limit of only 18 members and will not be opening any more groups. So register soon. 

Please contact me if you have any questions about the collaborative leadership programme.

low-preview-967144bb e399 4814 bc3d be5bba90c7fd swathi chatrapathy 2967144bb e399 4814 bc3d be5bba90c7fd swathi chatrapathy 2

Swathi Chatrapathy

Chief Editor

About the author

Swathi Chatrapathy heads the digital content team at Indiahikes. She is also the face behind India's popular trekking video channel, Trek With Swathi. Unknown to many, Swathi also writes a weekly column at Indiahikes which has more than 100,000 followers.

A TEDx speaker and a frequent guest at other events, Swathi is a much sought after resource for her expertise in digital content.

Before joining Indiahikes, Swathi worked as a reporter and sub-editor at a daily newspaper. She holds a Masters's in Digital Journalism and continues to contribute to publications. Trekking, to her, is a sport that liberates the mind more than anything else. Through trekking, Swathi hopes to bring about a profound impact on a person's mind, body and spirit.

Related Videos

low-preview-hqdefaulthqdefault

"Why Is It Unique Trekking With Indiahikes"

low-preview-hqdefaulthqdefault

"4 Best Rhododendron Treks In The Indian Himalayas"

low-preview-hqdefaulthqdefault

"How to go about Trekking Post COVID Recovery"

FAQs