Going back to a classroom in midlife is a curious experience. You walk in carrying decades of experiences, lessons, successes, failures, and a fairly strong belief that you’ve “graduated” from formal learning. Then someone hands you a workbook, introduces a course facilitator, and suddenly you’re wondering whether to sit in the front row or hide at the back.
The difference this time?
My classmates are not fresh graduates, figuring out their paths. They are accomplished women who have already carved out their own niches. Leaders, professionals, entrepreneurs, athletes, and changemakers. Women who have dared to dream, built their journeys, and are still hungry to learn more.
As part of the debut India cohort of the six-month leadership programme by R&A, powered by DP World India, I find myself once again in the role of a student. And surprisingly, I am enjoying it.
Perhaps because this isn’t about acquiring another certificate. For me, it is about unravelling what comes next. It is about creating structure around years of experiences, integrating diverse learnings, and understanding how everything I have done so far can come together more meaningfully, and not just for myself but also for the women and communities I work with.
I am particularly looking forward to the individual coaching sessions. We often spend years collecting knowledge, opportunities, and experiences like books on a shelf. Coaching, I hope, will help me understand how to arrange those books into a library that serves a larger purpose.
One of the most fascinating aspects of this cohort is the diversity of women it brings together. Meeting women from the world of golf has been inspiring. Here are individuals who are constantly pushing themselves to reach the next level, understanding that growth is never a destination but a continuous process.
The women-to-women conversations have been equally illuminating. Some share openly and vulnerably. Some observe quietly. Some arrive with confidence, while others carry invisible reservations. Every woman brings her own emotional landscape, her own story, her own way of engaging with growth.
What strikes me most is the possibility that women can nurture, collaborate, and rise together without constantly competing. Imagine what becomes possible when experience is shared generously, when success is celebrated collectively, and when growth is viewed as abundant rather than scarce.
Of course, not everything has changed since my student days.
There is still that tiny voice wondering whether the “teacher” will ask a difficult question. The only difference is that today we call them facilitators, coaches, or leadership experts. The butterflies, however, remain exactly the same.
Yet unlike our school years, learning now feels far more collaborative. We are not merely being taught; we are learning from one another. Every conversation or a breakout room leaves a message; it becomes a lesson. Every story becomes a case study. Every challenge becomes a shared opportunity for reflection.
As I begin this journey, I feel grateful for the opportunity to return to a classroom not because I need more answers, but because I have better questions and learnings to share and imbibe.
If the energy, openness, and brilliance of this first gathering are any indication, the debut India cohort of the R&A programme has had a sparkling start. And perhaps that is what leadership truly is: not arriving at a destination, but remaining curious enough to keep learning, no matter how many classrooms life invites you back into.
The most powerful words in learning and staying relevant are not ‘I know’ but what else is possible, the ‘whys’ of choices we make.