Interview with Debolina Dutta | Life and Behavioural Coach | Certified in Child Psychology and Developmental Psychology | Founder and CEO at Manners N Beyond LLP
As part of our relentless pursuit to identify and share with our community some of the unique and compelling startup stories from the ecosystem, this weekend we spoke to another passionate women entrepreneur Debolina Dutta to understand more about her journey, her vision and the way forward. She is certified in child psychology and developmental psychology, Life and Behavioural Coach and the Founder and CEO of Manners N Beyond LLP. Let’s learn more about her incredible journey so far!
Excerpts from our exclusive interview with Debolina:
We are aware of your contribution to the ecosystem, talk us through your background and your journey, please;
I have a degree in child education and also internationally certified in child psychology and developmental psychology. I am a life coach and a behavioural coach for all age groups. I love working with children and Gen X.
I hail from Kolkata and did my schooling from Modern High School for Girls and college from Rani Birla, under Calcutta University.
‘Manners N Beyond LLP’ is such a unique name; talk us through more about it, please. Our audience would also love to know what kind of problem you are solving?
Today’s children are born in an increasingly modern and fast-paced world where love, respect, friendship, empathy, honesty, sincerity and manners get side-lined in the rush hour. Manners n Beyond LLP inculcates these social and emotional skills in our children through modern interactive techniques. We help lay the foundation for children through value-based learning.
Our Lifeskills curriculum empowers young people to take positive action to participate in their communities, engage in continuous learning, protect themselves and promote health and positive social relationships.
Indians have a value system that is time tested through centuries, but the fact that India has fared very poorly on various indexes based on these value systems is hugely disconcerting.
These studies go on to show that the value system we or our parents and grandparents grew up on, is getting corroded to such an extent that the role models of the current generation are no longer upright, honest, hard-working people, but sometimes people who have used questionable means to earn their wealth and fame.
Manners n Beyond is a company that we started in 2014 with the vision of imparting manners and values to children (toddlers to teens), using play-way methods. We are India’s first fun grooming nurturing school for children focused on imparting life skills education.
Our mission is to teach children across all sections of society to recognize and practice these good values and manners through meaningful and sustainable methods. We want to make these value systems a part of their DNA to enable them to realise their full potential.
MnB Next, is a vertical that imparts emotional well-being programs, for corporate employees. We have separate programs for blue-collar employees called, ”आप के हित में” as well as the mid-management and Gen X called ”Goodness Gracious Me”
In our 2 hours interactive program, we cover topics such as empathy, team leadership, resilience, grief, recovery, stress, anger and anxiety, happiness at work place, gratitude, self-worth, work-life balance and growth mindset.
We use various techniques like storytelling, art therapy, songs, roleplaying exercises and games to conduct these workshops!
We also have teacher empowerment program on emotional well-being and mindfulness.
How do you manage to keep going despite the challenges? What drives you?
I love my work. Life coaching can change lives and we have changed many lives. Challenges are a part of life.
One needs to have grit, determination and resilience to overcome challenges every day. One needs to rise above obstacles and accomplish results!
Who do you believe has been the biggest source of motivation in your daily life?
Most individuals see their dreams as not achievable. Or they don’t take enough time to think about what they want. We assist children and Gen X in realizing their passions and talents and then work with them to set their goals.
Through our teachings, we motivate them to move forward toward a more meaningful, joyous and satisfying life. This has been my biggest source of motivation.
What about your journey makes it satisfying/exciting?
We transform lives every day. Isn’t that exciting?
What are some of the strategies that you believe have helped you grow as a person?
> High self-esteem
> Courage and the ability to take risks
> I am extremely resilient and have tremendous belief in myself
> I am empathetic
In your opinion, what are the keys to success?
1) Resilience and never give up!
2) Raise your standards to create change!
What advice would you give students and young professionals who want to have a successful career?
~ Read, read and read! Learn new things every day. Increase your base of learning and don’t have a fixed mindset.
~ See problems as a challenge and don’t have the fear of failure.
BrilliantRead is committed to bringing stories from the startup ecosystem, stories that reshape our perspective, add value to our community and be a constant source of motivation not just for our community but also for the whole ecosystem of entrepreneurs and aspiring individuals.
Note: If you have a similar story to share with our audience and would like to be featured on our online magazine, then please write to us at [email protected], we will review your story and extend an invitation to feature if it is worth publishing.
