The Not-So-Ordinary Principal

Who you surround yourself with and what you consume will reflect in who you are and who you can become. Choose wisely!

Wishing you freedom of the heart and mind. 🙂

I am grateful for a lot of things, especially my team. They make me realise every single day how generosity and kindness go a long way. I experience a deep sense of happiness being a part of this community of remarkable teachers, dedicated staff, and inspiring leaders. On teachers' day while we planned something very special for the teachers, the staff sent all the love in fact much more back. As I always say, this is a reflection of the goodness of their heart and mind. And I am the happiest person to have the opportunity to serve them as their leader and a mentor, which most of them call me. I am inspired by the goodness people have inside them, which makes me do more and more as a facilitator; as the Not-So-Ordinary Principal. Thank you, everyone. For everything. For this feeling of happiness. And thank you God, for being so kind. YOUR blessings are countless and way beyond anything I deserve. 🙏

A special message for the teachers of and all the teachers in Pakistan on the occasion of Teachers Day. Your efforts are not going unnoticed. Thank you for being the extraordinary YOU! Thank you for your kindness!

FAQ’s on Kindness:

1.    How would you define kindness?
- Kindness is adding value to someone’s life, without expecting a payoff.

2.    How do I judge who should I be kind to?
- You never judge people whom you want to be kind to because the idea is to inspire people, not to change them. And you never know where, when, and who you might inspire with your act of kindness.

3.    Why does it hurt when the other person is not kind to me in return?
- Because you are expecting a payoff for your kindness. That is practicing manipulation, not kindness.

4.    Can leaders be kind and achieve organizational objectives?
- Yes. Kindness works if you understand what it looks like in the domain of leadership. Kindness is the secret ingredient to happiness. And when employees are super happy, they are super productive. And super productive teams led by a kind leader achieve organizational objectives very efficiently.

5.    At times, we need to hold people accountable, be assertive, and take immediate action. How can I be kind as a leader then?
- Along with Leading with Kindness, depending on the context, you also have to lead with integrity, responsibility, and action.

6.    How can I learn to be kind?
- Be kind to yourself first, because only when you experience and practice kindness can you learn to practice it with others.

7.    How can I be kind to myself?
- Observe your self-talk and observe the people around you. You will get your answers.

P.S: We are celebrating "Kindness Month", in the school. It's inspiring. Sharing a few pictures of it. 🙂

I am excited to announce that I have been selected as a finalist for the prestigious GESS Education Awards Dubai 2023 in the category of "Outstanding Contribution in Education."

The GESS International Awards highlight and reward the quality and diversity of educational products, resources, services, and people, as well as the best educational establishments and the most dedicated members of the teaching profession.

My contributions have only been possible by the love, respect, and support that I have received from the Nordic International School Lahore community of teachers, parents, and most importantly, students. I genuinely and passionately believe in doing the right thing because it is the right thing to do. This attitude, coupled with kindness (which I consider my superpower), has earned me an immense amount of respect from the school community.

I consider recognition like this as a reward by God for being kind in my interactions with the children at school for whom I have worked very hard. Do you respect me? is what I asked one of them recently, and he looked right back and said "yes, because you are always there for us." This very respect allows me to make a positive contribution to the lives of the students by supporting them to design their interior world to be happy. Their kindness, their intelligence, their smiles, their values, and their potential inspire me every day.

My vision is to let them experience an educational journey that is fueled by values of honesty, integrity, compassion, awareness, and responsibility. Their job is to be them and stand in the possibility to make a difference; to experience happiness and fulfillment. And when they are happy, they learn, they contribute, they grow, they inspire. And I simply LOVE that.

Thank you GESS Dubai, Global Educational Supplies & Solutions for the recognition. Service to the people of this country in my small ways is always a matter of great pride for me and will always be.

Moreover, what makes this announcement all the more exciting is that Nordic International School Lahore, for a third year in a row, has also been shortlisted as a finalist for the GESS Education Awards Dubai 2023 in the category of "Community Award for Citizenship". It is an absolute honor to lead this strong and diverse community in Pakistan as the Not-So-Ordinary Principal.

Recently, I had the honor of conducting a workshop on "Integrating Kindness" for the staff . The workshop was about understanding the true meaning of kindness, which is adding value to someone's life without expecting a payoff. From what I have learned through , I wanted to curate an experience where the participants could see what kindness looks like and feels like and, most importantly, how coupled with appreciation it leads to happiness

The main objective behind selecting this topic was to equip the staff with the superpower of kindness so that they could proactively respond to the issue of bullying in the school.

Personally, it was overwhelming to see the response of the participants. I was happy to see how the talk provided them with access to see possibilities. And most importantly, the support to make a difference in the lives of the brilliant children at the school. My wish and desire for this wonderful community is to be safe and happy. Always. 😊

Inconvenient! That’s terrific. Because if everyone can do it, it will never be valuable. it’s valuable because the very inconvenience of it makes it scarce. Your current work, your next project, the road ahead, and the extra effort required to get the work done, if it all appears to be inconvenient, you are on the right track. If it's not inconvenient, you might have to look into your priorities.

Perspectives, possibilities, choices and opportunities which you never know existed, the training programs provide you with a powerful lens to see exactly that. These trainings have had a profound impact in my life and the lives of all the participants who despite their busy schedules choose the inconvenience of attending these programs. Follow for further details and embark on a transformational journey of self exploration and personal development.

I have had the honor of working with the best and the worst. I have worked with leaders who tried their best to bury me to the point where I needed to look at my resume to tell myself you ain’t that bad. The choice I had then and now was to be like them or when I got an opportunity to lead, “Never again” would my team experience what I have seen and felt. So, half of my time in my current role is spent exploring ways to contribute and be of value. “Do you need me for anything? Can I be of any help?” are my trademark phrases around the organization. I work hard and listen harder because there is always a perspective around the corner that is more well-informed than mine. A perspective that allows me to be of greater service and deliver more value.

Stay rebel. Keep falling, but keep getting up. Fail fast but fail forward. Gain your strength from resilience. Most importantly, stay committed to your dreams, no matter how long the journey.

Here is an interesting article I wrote on Resilience if anyone wants to read.

NEVER AGAIN

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/never-again-kamil-majeed/

TOP PRINCIPAL AWARD

It was one of the most touching awards I have received from one of the kindest students and parents. A few things I feel about awards and appreciation:

1. Only a person who is kind can see and appreciate kindness, so all the credit goes to all such kind parents and students. At I have SOOOO many of them, who personally come at every event and appreciate what we are doing for their children. It's an overwhelming experience for me and motivates me to be of greater service.

2. In a society where negativity and pessimism have become the norm, kindness and appreciation have to be more loud for us to hear and feel positivity around us. And look whose inspiring us. Our children.

Please appreciate people around you who are contributing positively to your life, even in the smallest of ways. Thank you, Pareesay, Ali, Mohid and their wonderful parents ._learning and all of the parents, students, and teachers at Nordic to honor me with your kindness. You inspire me. Every day.

May you all be happy. May you all be safe. Always.