Guest blog by Gehna Rai Nandwani

One of the major highlights of my Booth experience has been LEAD – Leadership Effectiveness and Development – both participating in it as a first-year MBA (“1Y”) and facilitating it as a second-year MBA (“2Y”).

LEAD is a two-week long immersive course, held during orientation that invites you to explore who you are as a person and as a leader. It’s Booth’s only required course. Beyond the curriculum itself, it’s also one of the best ways to connect with your peers early on, form meaningful relationships, and ease into the Booth community before the academic quarter begins.

The course blends self-reflections, interactive discussions, and experiential activities that center on the core leadership functions of self-awareness, communication, team building, and inclusive collaboration. From group simulations to a field-day-style activity, everything is designed to push you to reflect, receive feedback, and understand how you show up in a team.

As a 1Y, LEAD encouraged me to pause and introspect – something I hadn’t done in years. I found myself asking questions like: What do I value? What are my strengths and blind spots? How do others perceive me? It was both refreshing and vulnerable to explore these questions in a supportive environment surrounded by people I had just met but already felt connected to. LEAD helped me recognize that leadership is about authenticity and awareness.

That first experience left me wanting more. I looked up to my LEAD Facilitator – so confident, calm, and self-aware – and I realized I wanted to cultivate those same qualities. That motivation inspired me to apply to become a LEAD Facilitator, and it turned out to be one of the best decisions of my Booth experience.

The LEAD Facilitator (“Facils”) community (around 40 out of 700 students) is one of the most supportive and inspiring groups at Booth. As Facils, we work closely with Leadership Development coaches and take the Hogan Personality Inventory (HPI) assessments – a set of scientifically validated tools that help uncover our workplace strengths, values, and potential derailers. With the guidance of our coaches, we create personalized development plans: how to flex certain behaviors, strengthen areas that challenge us, and sustain growth and development long after the course ends.

At the same time, we’re also building the LEAD experience for the incoming 1Y class: finalizing the curriculum, refining presentation decks, running practice sessions for our modules, and coordinating logistics – all while creating some of our best Booth memories. Before becoming a LEAD Facil, I thought I was settling in well at Booth, but since then, I’ve realized I’m truly thriving. I’m deeply grateful for the friendships, mentorship, and community this experience has given me – and I’m confident that these relationships will last a lifetime!

For me, LEAD has been transformative. I’ve learned to be more intentional in how I react to emotions and situations. When I feel a strong emotion – positive or negative – I now pause, reflect, and ask myself why before responding. That small habit has changed the way I lead and connect with others.

For prospective Booth students, my biggest insight is this: LEAD is not just a course – it’s a journey inward. It’s your first opportunity to pause and reflect deeply, understand your unique leadership style, and build genuine relationships with your classmates. Whether you’re an extrovert or an introvert, a planner or a dreamer, LEAD helps you uncover what kind of leader you want to become – and gives you the tools to start that journey.