MOTIVATION ISN’T ABOUT BEING STRONG, IT’S ABOUT BEING WISE AI CAN’T REPLACE YOU AT WORK. HERE’S WHY.
8
RETHINKING THE MBA IN THE AGE OF COMPLEXITY Alon Rozen
12
GLOBAL MBA RANKINGS CEO Magazine
DREXEL LEBOW'S RETURN ON EDUCATION
Drexel University
18
AI CAN’T REPLACE YOU AT WORK. HERE’S WHY.
Valery Yakubovich
HOW TO EMBRACE THE USE OF SELF CONCEPT FOR IMPACTFUL LEADERSHIP
AT DREXEL UNIVERSITY’S LEBOW COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, our AACSB-accredited Executive MBA (EMBA) and Executive DBA (DBA) will provide you with diverse perspectives and support while you learn how to develop evidence-based solutions, drive organizational change and lead a better world.
Drexel LeBow’s executive programs offer:
• A cohort model.
• Part-time, hybrid formats.
• Research-active faculty at an R1 university.
• Leading-edge curricula and industry connections.
• A diverse, global network.
LEARN MORE »
“I was blown away by the caliber of my cohort. Upon meeting them, I knew that my EMBA education would come from both the professor and the classroom experience.”
KARLA
TROTMAN,
EMBA ’15 President and CEO Electro Soft Inc.
The program’s culture of care stood out — showing there is more than an academic process, there is actually a family — and the beauty is it goes across students, lecturers and all administrative team.”
NATHAN BROWNE, DBA ’23 Regional Director
SaturnFive Consulting
UNIVERSITY OF LOUISVILLE GRADUATE BUSINESS DEGREES: ACCELERATED PROGRAMS FOR AMBITIOUS LEADERS Stephen Swan
38 PERSONAL, WORK AND LARGE-SCALE: HOW TO COPE WITH CRISIS
Sue Musson
43 HOW TEAMING SUPERCHARGES COLLABORATION Stanislav Shekshnia and Sergey Vorobiev
48 LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
CEO
Victor J. Callender
Group Editor-in-Chief
Alexandra Skinner
Sub-Editor
Krysia Whicher
Subscriptions
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Designer
PENTA Limited
Financial Controller
Anthony Gordon
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Steven Whitaker
Features Writer
Amber Callender
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ceo-mag.com / Spring 2024
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“Welcome to the 2020s of business education where tech-aware leadership, rather than finance-adept management, is the primary takeaway of the new MBA graduate.”
In the 1980s, the primary motivation for doing an MBA was probably a desire to master marketing, as that was seen as the shortest career path to the C-suite. In the 1990s, it was a desire for well-paying jobs in finance that drove many to pursue an MBA (with the exception of marketers who were being promoted and realised that (oops!) they knew nothing about marketing). With the rise of the MBA as a foundational rite of passage for the “serious” (read ambitious) manager, the 2000s blurred the lines as finance and marketing, but increasingly entrepreneurship, equally became the prime motivators for pursuing a business degree.
After the global financial crisis, finance as a career lost much of its lustre; however, a deeper understanding of, and fluency in,
corporate and project finance became even more important for anyone looking for a strategic role in any business.
Fast forward to today’s business reality in which we have fully entered the age of complexity. A new reality in which we don’t (and can’t) even understand the tech we use on a daily basis. A case in point, there is not one person on the planet that understands just the hardware in an iPhone, let alone the software, the interconnections (between hardware, software, apps and services) and the many layers of interoperability. Not even Apple can fathom it all – which is why no matter how much they test a new version of iOS, there are always bugs that need to be
“While
fundamental financial (and marketing) skills are still necessary arrows in a business graduate’s quiver, they will no longer suffice to gain entrance into a C-suite increasingly populated by engineers who are at ease with advanced technologies.”
squashed (the reality is similar for Android users). This is the new normal, and we need to come to terms with it. If the 737 Max is grounded today, it is largely due to the fact that today, for the first time, the complexity of a plane is such that no amount of computer simulation and controlled flight testing can recreate all real-life circumstances a pilot can encounter. And despite this truth, Boeing or Apple cannot admit that complexity has gotten ahead of us because it would freak us all out. We still want to believe, and pardon the metaphor, that there is a pilot flying the plane.
Overcomplicated?!
This “overcomplicated” world, as described by Samuel Arbesman in his book of the same name, tries to reassure us. His main message is that technology is now at the limits of our comprehension, such that we need 1) to understand this and 2) take a new approach in our approach to this complexity. We should not fear technology, yet we should not revere it blindly either. Rather, Arbesman suggests we should take a double approach - that of the physicist (who looks for universal theories, rules and frameworks) as well as that of the biologist (who explores nature to understand and clarify the nature of phenomena). This overcomplicated world requires tech-aware leaders and managers who can effectively navigate, communicate and innovate as physicists (top-down) and biologists (bottomup).
This new era and approach require a new mindset. This mindset is similar to what Leonard Mlodinow refers to as an “elastic mindset”. In what he terms our “whirlwind era” – typified by a rapid pace of change, accelerating technological progress, and a VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, ambiguous) environment – flexible thinking is now required to survive.
If, as educators, notably in business schools, we want to prepare a new generation of MBAs to manage and lead in the workplace of today and tomorrow, it is clear that we need to rethink the MBA curriculum. While fundamental financial (and marketing) skills are still necessary arrows in a business graduate’s quiver, they will no longer suffice to gain entrance into a C-suite increasingly populated by engineers who are at ease with advanced technologies.
Tech-aware is the new requisite for entry into the C-suite
While understanding technology and making technology-based decisions can no longer be delegated to the CTO or CIO (the CEO, Board, and entire C-suite must become tech-aware or suffer the fate of being excluded from the key decisions facing companies today), you would be hard-pressed to present me with any startup founder who does not spend the majority of their time on technology. That is just their reality, whether they like it or not, whether intended or not. Cloud-based and on-premise technologies, e-marketplaces, e-commerce, e-payments, dematerialisation, digital transformation, coding languages, websites, search engine marketing, database technology, AI and machine learning, chatbots, open-source and proprietary software, applications, apps and APIs – these are just some of the issues and questions facing almost any founder today. And since no one can master all that sits within this highly technical spectrum of technologies, leaders with elastic thinking are required.
As we enter ever more firmly and durably into this new whirlwind and overcomplicated era, it is clear that we need to prepare our managers and leaders differently. Closer to home, as we thought about how to redesign our Global Executive MBA for this new era we realised 1) that technology management and tech awareness need to figure much more prominently; 2) that finance and accounting, and some of the other MBA fundamentals have become sufficiently “commoditised” as to be teachable mostly online; 3) that leadership in the form of elastic thinking and neuroplasticity needs to be an integral part of the programme; 4) that innovation, lean entrepreneurship and design thinking are key underlying skills in developing flexible thinking; and 5) that participants should face an array of real-world corporate tech challenges in order to ensure that they can stress test their new skillsets in the workplace rather than in the classroom. Possibly, even more interesting, we realised that the “learning contract” needed refreshing.
The new learning contract – weighing Being heavier than Knowing
Whether at university, business school, or any other learning institution, the typical implicit learning contract is that you will learn a lot (Knowing) and, in the process, with the help of soft skills, also improve as a person (Being). There seems to be a Paretolike distribution such that all curricula are designed for 80% knowing and 20% being. We realised that in an accelerating tech world, the half-life of knowledge is rapidly shrinking, such that the curricular balance should be rejigged 80-20 in the other direction with being the main component. Moreover, we realised that the content of both being and knowing needed to evolve.
In this new era, and given the incredibly prominent role technology plays in complexifying our daily lives, it seems we need to design a curriculum that is adapted to a VUCA new normal. What I refer to as the new VUCAT (T for technological) era. In this era, the learning contract and the content of its components require a serious rethink.
The Knowing component of education needs to change. Whereas, until now, business schools taught hard skills that had a somewhat long half-life, the speed of business change, driven by the acceleration of technological progress, means that the skills we learned even five years ago are already outdated. So hard skills per se are a moving target and, let's be frank, are now readily packaged for consumption and accessible online more than ever before. So, what is really needed is the new soft skill of learning how to continuously learn new hard skills. Whereas lifelong learning was a "nice to have" business schools offered alumni, it is now imperative to survive and thrive in the new VUCAT business arena. When our technology is too overcomplicated to master, the question of relevant skills we should and can teach business students about technology is one that keeps many of us in education awake at night.
If you look at the top business books being released, many of them are focused on the convergence of multiple new technologies that will further accelerate the pace of change in domains as varied as agriculture, carbon capture, communication, finance, health, insurance, manufacturing, and mobility. No manager can be expected to master even a sliver of these technologies, yet harnessing their combined potential will define the winners and losers of the coming decades.
This is why Being needs such a radical rethink. It now needs to go beyond the usual attribution of “socialisation”, which includes
various soft skills, as well as ethics, to include the latest developments in neuroscience, adaptation, agility, collaboration, creativity, diversity and divergent thinking, intercultural issues, self-awareness and self-knowledge, effective decision-making in uncertain circumstances, situational leadership and situational followership, as well as articulating a vision. In all fairness, most MBAs have added much on this dimension to their programmes in recent years, but we think it is necessary to go much further – and we have.
Technology – yes! But in its proper context
If a bigger part of knowing must now naturally skew from technical to technological acumen and – due to overcomplication – from mastery to awareness, one can be fooled into thinking that technology is the centre of the universe. However, what we are really talking about, at the end of the day, is effective innovation management. It just so happens that technology has become a powerful catalyst for innovation. Technology allows us to do more, to rethink business models, to redesign workflows, and to imagine new approaches. If successful innovation is driven by design thinking and lean innovation (build-testlearn loops), without the increased tech awareness I have alluded to in this article, it is like the parable of the five Indians trying to describe an elephant. We can fool ourselves that we know what we are talking about, but we are actually clueless. Innovating without awareness of what technologies can do and are doing is a form of flying blind (or at least with a blindfold). It cannot lead to much.
This is why we take a different approach at École des Ponts Business School –deemphasising some traditional aspects of the MBA to emphasise more relevant aspects: real-world challenges, new technologies, innovative business models, lean innovation, project-based learning, harnessing collective intelligence to solve current business problems, and a new approach to agile leadership that harnesses advances in neuroscience and emotional intelligence.
Our LeadTech Executive MBA is our best attempt to prepare business students for the agility and understanding necessary to assume effective leadership positions in this new VUCAT world. And clearly, we will have to test and learn, listen and react, learn how to teach (better), and, of course, change and adapt. We need to walk the talk of the new business survival toolbox. Welcome to the 2020s of business education, where techaware leadership, rather than finance-adept management, is the primary takeaway of the new MBA graduate …
“The CEO, Board, and entire C-suite must become tech-aware or suffer the fate of being excluded from the key decisions facing companies today.”
BIOGRAPHY
Alon Rozen is the Dean of École des Ponts Business School and Associate Professor of Innovation & Entrepreneurship.
The benefits attached to an MBA are well documented: career progression, networking opportunities, personal development, salary... and the list goes on. However, in an increasingly congested market, selecting the right business school can be difficult, which is far from ideal given the time and investment involved.
Using a ranking system entirely geared and weighted to fact-based criteria, CEO Magazine aims to cut through the noise and provide potential students with a performance benchmark for those schools under review.
American University of Beirut
American University: Kogod
Arden University
Aston Business School
Auburn University: Harbert North America
Audencia Business School France
Australian Institute of Business Australia
Bentley University: McCallum North America
Boston University: Questrom North America
Brunel Business School UK
Bryant University North America
Business School Netherlands The Netherlands
California State University-Chico North America
California State University-Long Beach North America
California State University-San Bernardino North America
Central Queensland University Australia
College of William and Mary: Mason North America
Concordia University Canada
Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins North America
Darmstadt Business School Germany
Drexel University: LeBow North America
Duke University: Fuqua North America
Durham University Business School UK
EAE Business School Spain
EBS Business School Germany
École des Ponts Business School France
EU Business School Germany, Spain and Switzerland
Florida International University North America
Florida Southern College School of Business North America
Fordham University North America
Georgia State University: Robinson North America
Grenoble Graduate School of Business France
Griffith University Australia
HEC Montréal Canada
Hofstra University: Zarb North America
Hult Internatonal Business School North America
IAE Business School Argentina
Business School Country
IFM Business School Switzerland
INCAE Business School Costa Rica
ISEG Portugal
ISM International School of Management Germany
Jacksonville North America
John Carroll University: Boler North America
Kennesaw State University North America
Kent State University North America
La Trobe University Australia
Lagos Business School Nigeria
Lancaster University Management School UK
Leeds University Business School UK
Loyola Marymount University North America
Loyola University of Maryland North America
Maastricht University School of Business and Economics
The Netherlands
Macquarie Business School Australia
Marquette University North America
Massey University New Zealand
Millsaps College North America
Munich Business School Germany
Nebrija Business School Spain
Newcastle University Business School UK
Nyenrode Business University
The Netherlands
Oakland University North America
Pepperdine University: Graziadio North America
POLIMI School of Management Italy
RMIT University Australia
Rochester Institute of Technology: Saunders North America
Rome Business School Italy
Rutgers Business School North America
Saint Joseph's University: Haub North America
SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland
Seattle University: Albers North America
Simon Fraser University: Beedie Canada
Spain Business School Spain
Strathclyde Business School UK
Suffolk University: Sawyer North America
Swinburne University of Technology Australia
Texas State University: McCoy North America
The Global MBA
(Technische Hochschule Köln, University of Warsaw and University of North Florida)
Asia, Germany, Poland & North America
The Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM) Mexico
The Lisbon MBA Catolica|Nova Portugal
Business School Country
Appalachian State University North America
Northwest Missouri State University North America
The University of Wisconsin-Whitewater North America
Business School Country
The University of Liverpool Management School UK
The University of Texas at Dallas: Jindal North America
The University of Texas at San Antonio: Alvarez North America
Torrens University Australia Australia
Trinity College Dublin School of Business Republic of Ireland
United International
Business Schools
Belgium, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland
University at Buffalo School of Management North America
University of Akron North America
University of Alberta Canada
University of Baltimore North America
University of Canterbury New Zealand
University of Chile FEN-UCHILE Chile
University of Cincinnati: Lindner North America
University of Delaware: Lerner North America
University of Denver: Daniels North America
University of Exeter UK
University of Kentucky: Gatton North America
University of Louisiana at Lafayette North America
University of Louisville North America
University of Maine North America
University of Massachusetts-Lowell North America
University of Michigan-Flint North America
University of New Mexico: Anderson North America
University of North Carolina-Charlotte: Belk North America
University of North Florida: Coggin North America
University of Oklahoma: Price North America
University of Ottawa: Telfer Canada
University of Portland: Pamplin North America
University of PretoriaGordon Institute of Business Science South Africa
University of Sheffield Management School UK
University of South Australia Australia
University of Tampa: Sykes North America
University of Texas at Arlington North America
University of the Witswatersrand South Africa
University of West Georgia North America
University of Western Australia Business School Australia
University of Wollongong
Sydney Business School Australia
Victoria University Business School Australia
Waikato Management School New Zealand
Willamette University: Atkinson North America
Xavier University North America
*Some data unavailable
Business School Country
University of North Texas North America
Virginia Commonwealth University* North America
Rank Country
1 University of Ottawa: Telfer
The Instituto Tecnológico Autónomo de México (ITAM)
École des Ponts Business SchoolEada Business School Global MBA
France and Spain
IFM Business School Switzerland 5 SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland 6 Rutgers Business School North America
7 The University of Texas at San Antonio: Alvarez North America 8 Maastricht University School of Business and Economics The Netherlands
9 Nyenrode Business University The Netherlands
10 Arden University UK
= 11 Kennesaw State University North America
= 11 Massey University New Zealand
= 12 INCAE Business School Costa Rica
= 12 TBS Education France = 13 Hult Internatonal Business School North America = 13 University of Denver: Daniels North America 14 AIX Marseille Graduate School of Management France
15 Strathclyde Business School UK = 16 Business School Netherlands The Netherlands = 16 Audencia Business school France
17 Grenoble Graduate School of Business France
= 18 University of PretoriaGordon Institute of Business Science
= 18 Drexel University: LeBow North America
19 Pontifical Catholic University of Chile Chile
20 University of Wollongong Sydney Business School Australia
21 Trinity College Dublin School of Business Republic of Ireland
22 Washington State University: Carson North America
= 23 University of Bradford School of Management Dubai = 23 POLIMI School of Management Italy
24 IAE Business School Argentina
25 American University of Beirut Beirut
= 26 Villanova University North America
= 26 EAE Business School Spain
27 The University of Texas at Dallas: Jindal North America
= 28 Marquette University North America
= 28 Georgia State University: Robinson North America
29 Hofstra University: Zarb North America
30 Concordia University Canada 31 United International Business Schools
Belgium, Italy Japan, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland
32 University of Tampa: Sykes North America
33 Baylor University: Hankamer North America
34 Simon Fraser University: Beedie EMBA & EMBA-IBL Canada
35 Jacksonville University North America
36 RMIT University Australia
= 37 Spain Business School Spain
= 37 Oakland University North America
= 38 Pepperdine University: Graziadio North America
= 38 Rochester Institute of Technology: Saunders North America
39 Millsaps College North America
40 Aston Business School* UK
41 College of William and Mary: Mason North America
42 The Lisbon MBA Catolica|Nova Portugal
43 Fordham University North America
= 44 Durham-EBS Executive MBA Germany and UK
= 44 California State UniversitySan Bernardino North America
45 University of Texas at Arlington North America
46 Duke University: Fuqua North America
= 47 Suffolk University: Sawyer North America
= 47 Virginia Commonwealth University* North America
48 University of Oklahoma: Price EMBA Energy & Aerospace & Defence North America
= 49 Seattle University: Albers North America
= 49 University of New Mexico: Anderson North America
50 Florida International University* North America
51 University of Alberta Canada
52 Lagos Business School Nigeria
53 Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins North America
54 California State UniversityLong Beach North America
44 Auburn University: Harbert North America
56 Xavier University North America
57 Saint Joseph's University: Haub* North America *Some data unavailable
5 OBS Business School with Universitat de Barcelona, Global MBA Spain
6 Trinity College Dublin School of Business Republic of Ireland = 7 SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland = 7 Nebrija Business School Spain
9 Darmstadt Business School
10
Belgium, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland
15 IAE Business School and Emertitus Argentina
16 Macquarie Business School Australia
17 Virginia Tech: Pamplin North America
18 Griffith University Australia
19 University of South Australia Australia
= 20 POLIMI School of Management: Flex EMBA Italy
= 20 Drexel University: LeBow North America
21 Jack Welch Management Institute North America
22 Torrens University Australia Australia
23 University of Denver: Daniels North America
24 Pepperdine University: Graziadio North America
25 Australian Institute of Business Australia
26 Durham University Business School
= 26 University of Bradford School of Management UK
27 University of Cincinnati: Lindner North America
= 28 John Carroll University: Boler North America
= 28 Instituto Europeo de Posgrado Spain
29 Purdue University: Daniels North America
= 30 Jacksonville University North America
= 30 Florida Southern College of Business North America
31 University of Maine North America
= 32 Rochester Institute of Technology: Saunders North America
= 32 Suffolk University: Sawyer North America
= 33 Rome Business School Italy
= 33 La Trobe University Australia
= 34 University of Exeter UK
= 34 University of Kentucky: Gatton North America
35 Aston Business School UK
= 36 EAE Business School Spain
= 36 University of MassachusettsLowell North America
37 Simon Fraser University: Beedie Canada
Rank Country
38 Washington State University: Carson North America
39 American University of Beirut Beirut
40 Central Queensland University Australia
= 41 Spain Business School Spain
= 41 Central Queensland University Hyperflexible MBA Australia
42 Victoria University Business School Australia
43 Marquette University North America
44 RMIT University Australia
45 Kennesaw State University North America
= 46 University of Delaware: Lerner North America
= 46 California State UniversitySan Bernardino North America
= 47 Kent State University North America
= 47 University of Louisville North America
48 American University: Kogod North America
= 49 Oakland University North America
= 49 Bryant University North America
50 California State UniversityLong Beach North America
51 The University of Texas at Dallas: Jindal North America
52 University of North CarolinaWilmington: Cameron* North America
53 California State University-Chico North America
54 Seattle University: Albers North America
55 University of New Mexico: Anderson North America
56 University of North CarolinaCharlotte: Belk North America
57 Colorado Technical University North America
58 University of Michigan - Flint North America
59 Georgia WebMBA (Columbus State University, Georgia College, Georgia Southern University, Kennesaw State University, University of West Georgia, Valdosta State University)
North America
60 Hofstra University: Zarb North America
61 Swinburne University of Technology Australia
62 Bentley University: McCallum* North America
63 University of Louisiana at Lafayette North America
64 University at Buffalo School of Management North America
65 Auburn University: Harbert North America
66 Xavier University North America
67 Loyola University of Maryland North America
68 University of North Texas North America
= 69 University of WisconsinWhitewater North America
= 69 University of Baltimore North America
70 University of Oklahoma North America
71 Appalachian State University* North America
72 Florida International University* North America
73 Australian Institute of Management Australia
74 University of Akron North America
75 Virginia Commonwealth University* North America
76 Saint Joseph's University: Haub* North America
77 Northwest Missouri State University North America
78 University of Texas at Arlington North America
Based upon accreditation, quality of faculty, geography, and international standing, this year’s Global DBA Listing is designed to showcase the market’s premier DBA providers.
Country
Aberdeen Business School UK
Abu Dhabi University United Arab Emirates
Antwerp Management School Belgium
Aston Business School UK
Athabasca University Canada
Audencia Business School France
Baruch College, City University of New York: Zicklin North America
Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston North America
Beirut Arab University Lebanon
Birmingham City University UK
Bournemouth University UK
Business School Lausanne Switzerland
Case Western Reserve University: Weatherhead North America
Centrum PUCP Graduate Business School Peru
City University of Hong Kong China
Concordia University Canada
Copenhagen Business School Denmark
Creighton University: Heider North America
Crummer Graduate School of Business at Rollins North America
DePaul University: Kellstadt North America
Drexel University: LeBow North America
Durham University Business School UK
Ecole Des Ponts Business School France
Emlyon Business School Global DBA Asia Track China & France
EU Business School Germany, Spain and Switzerland
Florida Institute of Technology: Bisk North America
Florida International University North America
Franklin University North America
GBSB Global Business School Spain
Georgia State University: Robinson North America
Grenoble Graduate School of Business France
Harvard Business School North America
Heriot Watt University Edinburgh Business School UK
Hong Kong Baptist University China
Hult International Business school North America
IE Business School Spain
ISM International School of Management Germany
International University of Monaco Monaco
IPAG Business School France
Jacksonville University North America
Kennesaw State University: Coles North America
Kingston University UK
Lagos Business School Nigeria
Leeds Metropolitan University
Leeds University Business School
Liverpool John Moores University
London Metropolitan University
Manchester Metropolitan University
Massey University New Zealand
Northumbria University
Nottingham Trent University UK
Nyenrode Business University
Oklahoma State University
Pace University: Lubin
The Netherlands
North America
North America
Paris-Dauphine PSL University France
Business School Country
Pepperdine University: Graziadio North America
Pontifical Catholic University of Chile Chile
Rennes School of Business France
Sacred Heart University: Welch North America
SBS Swiss Business School Switzerland
SDA Bocconi Schoool of Management Italy
Sheffield Hallam University UK
St. Ambrose University North America
St. Thomas University North America
Swinburne University of Technology Australia
Teesside University UK
Temple University: Fox North America
The Durham DBA at Fudan Fudan
The Global DBA Durham-Emlyon UK and France
The University of Liverpool Management School UK
Thomas Jefferson University North America
United Arab Emirates University UAE
United Business Institutes Belgium
United International Business Schools
Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy and Japan
University College Cork Republic of Ireland
University of Bath UK
University of Bedfordshire UK
University of Birmingham UK
University of Bolton UK
University of Bradford School of Management UK
University of Calgary: Haskayne Canada
University of Dallas: Gupta North America
University of Florida North America
University of Glamorgan
UK
University of Gloucestershire UK and Germany
University of Hertfordshire
University of Huddersfield
University of Manchester: Alliance
UK
UK
UK
University of Maryland Global Campus North America
University of Missouri-St. Louis North America
University of North Carolina-Charlotte: Belk North America
University of Otago Business School New Zealand
University of Pittsburgh: Katz North America
University of Portsmouth UK
University of Pretoria:
Gordon Institute of Business Science South Africa
University of Reading: Henley Business School
UK
University of Rhode Island North America
University of South Florida: Muma North America
University of Southern Queensland Australia
University of Surrey
UK
University of Tampa North America
University of Western Australia Australia
University of Wisconsin-Whitewater North America
Victoria University Business School Australia
Virginia Tech: Pamplin College North America
Vlerick Business School Belgium
Walsh College North America
Washington University in St. Louis: Olin North America
Zurich University of Applied Sciences Switzerland
Ensure it’s AMBA-accredited.
Be in brilliant company
MBA students on AMBA-accredited programmes are required to have at least 3 years prior management experience, making for quality networks and applied learning.
Crafted with
The high standard of AMBA-accredited MBAs is certified by highly experienced Business School Deans and Directors - Experts assessing Experts.
Invest in education that stands the test of time
AMBA-accredited schools have educated MBAs to AMBA standards for a minimum of 3 years and usually over 10 years.
Be part of a priceless network
AMBA-accredited MBA programmes require a minimum of 500 ‘contact’ hours, ensuring face-to-face learning and strong relationship-building.
Access the highest quality experts in academia and industry. Faculty at AMBA-accredited programmes are internationally diverse and at least 75% must have a relevant postgraduate qualification.
AMBA is the world’s only MBA-specific Accreditation Organisation, accrediting just 2% of the world’s Business Schools. www.mbaworld.com
In today’s modern world, working professionals need a diverse and adaptable skillset to meet evolving business needs and the rapid pace of technological, global and market demands. To excel in their primary roles and demonstrate proficiency across the business landscape, professionals have been drawn to the MBA, while senior executives aiming for better business outcomes through practical research applications have gravitated toward the Doctor of Business Administration (DBA). But are these expectations being met? CEO Magazine's Editor-in-Chief, Alexandra Skinner, explores this question by talking to Executive MBA (EMBA) and Executive DBA students and alumni from Drexel University's LeBow College of Business about their experiences and the programs' return on education. Through these insights, it becomes clear that Drexel’s AACSBaccredited LeBow College of Business offers executive education programs that equip professionals with the tools to transform their organizations and communities. The EMBA and DBA are designed for innovative leaders, providing cutting-edge curricula, realworld learning opportunities and inclusive student communities. The EMBA program is tailored for executives, entrepreneurs and professionals looking to apply strategic concepts to initiate change, while the DBA program is ideal for lifelong learners who aim to address business challenges through research and advanced problem-solving.
ALUMNUS: Adriana ZupaFernandez
EMBA ‘21
TITLE: Director, Global Sustainability Strategy, Culture, and Engagement
COMPANY:
Bristol Myers Squibb
Q. Why did you choose the Drexel LeBow EMBA program?
As a Philadelphia resident and Drexel Dragon, Drexel was my natural choice. I wanted to contribute to my city and have flexibility. I also wanted a program that would enable me to stay involved in the school beyond my degree.
Q. What were your expectations coming into the program, and did these change over the course of your studies?
I expected to gain more financial vocabulary in the context of business, as that was my weakness prior to the program. I also hoped to gain confidence from the diverse curriculum. What I didn't expect was to learn such a great deal from my cohort. I was able to get cross-sector insights and case studies simply by listening to my cohort members share their experiences. This has served me well – diversifying my perspective as a leader.
Q. What do you consider to be your greatest achievement in the program?
Creating and maintaining lifelong friendships and relationships. Connecting fellow students to new contacts. Building my confidence.
Q. Is there anything you know now that you wish you had known during the program?
It's less about the obvious/traditional career impact and more about growth and development, professionally and personally.
Q. Can you talk about the extent to which the EMBA program prepared you for your current role/position and career advancement in general?
It gave me a more well-rounded view of business and opened my mind to other ways of thinking and doing. I have been in pharmaceuticals my entire career and tend to tackle problems scientifically. The program reminded me that there are other ways to investigate an issue, and as a result, I became more innovative.
Q. Reflecting on your personal and professional growth throughout the program, how has this shaped your career trajectory?
Having an EMBA enabled me to be seen in my organization beyond my role as a scientist. My schooling before the EMBA was very scientific, and I served in only scientific roles. After completing my EMBA, I was given a role in sustainability and more credibility as a business driver.
Q. Do you have any advice for potential EMBA applicants?
Listen and maintain an open mind. Learning can be done in many ways throughout the program, and some of it doesn't occur during your lectures. Extend your hand when it might not be comfortable, as unexpected, impactful bridges will form that will strengthen you professionally and personally.
It gave me a more well-rounded view of business and opened my mind to other ways of thinking and doing.
STUDENT: Gus Pippis
EMBA ‘25
TITLE: Regional Manager
COMPANY:
Polaris Pharmacy Services of Philadelphia & Pittsburgh
Q. Why did you choose the Drexel LeBow EMBA program?
Drexel LeBow offers the perfect blend of on-site, asynchronous and online education. An additional advantage is that a study abroad program is included.
Q. Is there anything you know now that you wish you had known coming into the program?
Understanding the amount of work and effort required. It's a robust and challenging program and cannot be taken lightly. Regardless, it's what we signed up for, making us better business leaders.
Q. Reflecting on your personal and professional growth in the program, how has this impacted your current role?
Integrating the financial topics we've covered in the program into my management practices has enhanced my strategic planning abilities and growth prospects. Simultaneously, these principles have contributed to my personal development as a business leader, enabling me to make informed decisions that are driving long-term success.
These principles have contributed to my personal development as a business leader, enabling me to make informed decisions that are driving long-term success.
STUDENT: Jade Trinh
EMBA ‘25
TITLE: Associate Director
COMPANY:
Global Supply Chain, Bristol Myers Squibb
Q. Why did you choose the Drexel LeBow EMBA program?
I chose Drexel for a few reasons, but the main reason was the demographic. I was excited to get into a classroom with a ~50 percent demographic of strong women and students from different backgrounds to gain different perspectives.
Q. Can you share a specific moment or experience that has significantly impacted your EMBA journey?
The people you meet and the relationships you build within this network are incredible. The friends that I have made here lift me up and help me out. We have each other's backs. We are in this together and want everyone to excel.
Q. Can you talk about the extent to which the EMBA program has prepared you for your current role/position and career advancement in general?
I was planning to leverage my experience in the program to move into supply chain. I am technically trained as a scientist but found
my way into a position in the procurement department prior to joining the program. To my surprise, halfway through the program, I could already express what I had learned and landed a position within global supply chain much earlier than I anticipated. This only skyrockets my growth from here. I am excited to see what else this experience can do for me.
Q. Do you have any advice for potential EMBA applicants?
Assess your situation before you start and ensure you have a personal and professional network supporting you. External support means so much and allows you to give the program 100 percent of the attention and effort it deserves.
The people you meet and the relationships you build within this network are incredible. The friends that I have made here lift me up and help me out. We have each other's backs. We
are in this together and want everyone to excel.
STUDENT: Nadia Khatri DBA ‘25
TITLE: Director, Worldwide Media and Planning, HCP
COMPANY: Bristol Myers Squibb
Q. Why did you want to pursue a DBA, and what made you select Drexel LeBow's Executive DBA program?
I wanted to pursue a DBA because I have a love for learning, but more practically, I wanted to understand how to apply research to solve complex business problems. I found that the curriculums of PhD programs didn't have the same ability to translate into what I do in my career as a media professional, and I am not looking to pursue a new role in academia. This program, versus others I was considering in the Philadelphia area, seemed to be the best fit for what I wanted to do, the best value for the tuition, the fastest track, and most importantly, I already trusted the faculty because I earned my MBA at Drexel a few
years prior. Looking back to when I applied, I believe I made the right decision.
Q. What were your career goals coming into the program, and have these evolved over the course of your studies?
My career goals coming into the program have remained consistent as I've progressed. I aim to make an impact at my company, and the skills I've learned so far help me think about the problems I'm solving more dynamically. Since starting, I've made two career jumps, and both have been positive moves in helping me advance and contribute in visible, meaningful ways.
Q. During the first phase of the DBA, students meet on campus every six weeks for a three-day residency. To what extent has this enriched your learning experience and networking opportunities?
At first, I was a little hesitant about coming to campus for in-person sessions. After the very first residency, however, I realized how important it was to get to know my cohort. We are an incredibly close-knit group with a lot in common, and we have since arranged to meet many times during our required classes. Some of us have even met each other's families! In my opinion, admissions really know how to bring the right people together.
Q. What do you consider to be the highlight of the program thus far or a moment of significant growth?
The most significant growth I've achieved so far is learning how to allow myself time to reflect. Our professors highlighted reflection as a key component of effective research, and prior to the program, I maintained a steady “go, go, go” mindset. I've found that taking pauses, thinking through information, and asking questions are the most beneficial things I can do for myself and my team.
Since starting, I've made two career jumps, and both have been positive moves in helping me advance and contribute in visible, meaningful ways.
uMobi
COMPANY:
Solutions Corp.
Q. Why did you choose the Drexel LeBow DBA program?
I applied to over five institutions, and the draw toward Drexel was instantaneous. From the initial outreach and throughout the interview process, it was apparent that this institution cared for my success and the achievement of my goals. Meetings with the administration team only reinforced the culture of openness and friendliness. What I loved about LeBow was that while the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly, the focus on deliverables and academic rigor was intense. I appreciated this mix, especially given my role as an entrepreneur.
Q. What were your expectations coming into the program, and did these change over the course of your studies?
I was extremely clear about my expectations coming into the program: I wanted to be trained to be a better leader, entrepreneur and, possibly, teacher. My MBA helped me become a good manager, but I needed something different and extra to take on leadership roles at the C-suite and possibly board level in the future.
As the course progressed, I realized I could do far more with my DBA: I could become a scholar-practitioner, wherein I could pursue my professional path and contribute as a researcher and academic in my areas of interest. This revelation only deepened my interest and passion for the program.
Q. Can you share a specific moment or experience that significantly impacted your DBA journey?
I have numerous situations or experiences where the DBA has proven its value and support in my journey. For starters, as an entrepreneur, when it comes to solving business issues, you are often all you have in terms of intellectual capital; however, with the advent of my DBA journey, I suddenly had a cohort of 18 qualified, well-meaning, and helpful professionals at my disposal. I could contact my classmates for opinions on my product, sales strategy, pricing, people challenges, business diversification, and
more. Additionally, when I had my one-onones with my chair regarding my dissertation, which was about my firm, he would invariably offer wise counsel and be a patient sounding board. This addition to my journey was invaluable, and I never felt alone in my entrepreneurial quest.
Q. What do you consider to be your greatest achievement in the program?
While the program enhanced numerous skills, the biggest lessons it taught me were patience, resilience, and self-belief. Patience: Everything takes time and there is a process. Resilience: Solutions may not immediately present themselves, but through self-belief, hard work, and patience, you will get there.
Q. Was the Drexel LeBow DBA worth the investment, and if so, can you talk about the program's ROI post-graduation?
Absolutely, the program's value far exceeded my expectations, and I believe the ROI will keep delivering value well into the future. The learnings, relationships, and perspectives offer an amazing tonic for my entrepreneurial and academic pursuits. The DBA has put me on the path to becoming a scholar-practitioner. I run a successful podcast focusing on my areas of passion, which are vision and entrepreneurial leadership, and I now teach leadership and other related subjects at leading business schools across the globe. Crucially, my firm finds me to be a reliable and dependable leader who can take the company to the next level in the coming future.
Q. Can you share a key takeaway from the program that still guides you today?
Never give up on your vision and selfbelief because you now know, thanks to your doctoral pursuit, that a solution exists in the universe for your problems, and if you persevere relentlessly, it will manifest surely.
Q. Do you have any advice for potential DBA applicants?
Enjoy the journey; grades are an indicator, not a measure of your abilities. If you are in this program, you have all it takes to be a DBA. Pursue your passion with confidence, and do not be deterred by reversals; it is part of the journey.
The program's value far exceeded my expectations, and I believe the ROI will keep delivering value well into the future.
Workers can stop worrying about being replaced by generative artificial intelligence.
Wharton experts Valery Yakubovich, Peter Cappelli, and Prasanna Tambe believe it isn’t going to happen as drastically as many predict. In an essay published in The Wall Street Journal, the professors contend that AI will most likely create more jobs for people because it needs intensive human oversight to produce useable results.
“The big claims about AI assume that if something is possible in theory, then it will happen in practice. That is a big leap,” they wrote. “Modern work is complex, and most jobs involve much more than the kind of things AI is good at — mainly summarizing text and generating output based on prompts.”
Yakubovich recently spoke to Wharton Business Daily, offering several key facts he hopes will allay people’s fears of robotic replacement. First, while generative AI has advanced rapidly, it still has a long way to go before it can function autonomously and predictably, which are key features that make it reliable. Second, large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT are capable of processing vast amounts of data, but they cannot parse it accurately and are prone to misleading information, known as AI hallucinations.
“You get this output summary — how accurate is it? Who is going to adjudicate among alternative outputs on the same topic? Remember, it’s a black box,” said Yakubovich, who is executive director of the Mack Institute for Innovation Management.
Third, companies are risk-averse and need to maintain a high degree of efficiency and control to be successful. So, they won’t be rushing to lay off all their people in exchange for technology that still has a lot of bugs to work out.
If we are thinking 40, 50 years ahead, that’s wide-open ended,” Yakubovich said. “The issue we are discussing now is the very specific [needs] for business. The risk for companies is very high, and they are not going to move very fast.”
Despite its shortcomings, generative AI has been touted for its ability to handle what many consider to be mundane communication at work — interacting with customers online, producing reports, and writing marketing copy such as press releases. But the professors point out that many of those tasks have already been taken from workers. For example, chatbots handle customer complaints, and client-facing employees are often given scripted language vetted by lawyers.
Yakubovich said most office interaction is informal communication, and a lot of useful organizational knowledge is tacit. While digital tools are increasingly capable of capturing both, nobody wants their emails, Slack chats, or Zoom transcripts freely parsed by an LLM, and the quality of extracted information is hard to verify.
“I haven’t seen any company yet that dared to feed their emails into the models, because you can learn a lot about the company from that. Who wants to give open access?” he said. “It’s very hard to control what the model will
“They won’t be rushing to lay off all their people in exchange for technology that still has a lot of bugs to work out.”
“While generative AI has advanced rapidly, it still has a long way to go before it can function autonomously and predictably, which are key features that make it reliable.”
produce and for whom. That’s why the models are very hard to use within the organization.”
Companies also don’t want AI involved in politically sensitive matters, especially if there are legal concerns. “What I see so far in talking to senior leaders of companies is that they try to avoid completely using models in politically charged cases because they know they will have more work to do adjudicating among the different parties,” he said.
Data science has been around for years, Yakubovich said, yet many companies still lack good infrastructure to organize the tremendous information that the technology is capable of collecting. Even if they built it, humans are still an indispensable part of making sense of it all.
“If you want to curate everything, it’s a lot of work, and this is where more jobs will emerge,” he said.
BIOGRAPHY
Valery Yakubovich is the executive director of Wharton's Mack Institute for Innovation Management.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Republished with permission from Knowledge at Wharton (http://knowledge. wharton.upenn. edu), the online research and business analysis journal of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
“It’s being aware of and deploying our own emotional, cognitive, and perceptual processes to create impact and change.”
The challenge
Faysal is VP for Latin America with an international energy company and had led major transformations, tripling the value of the business from 2020.
He is keen to consolidate his career at the organization by joining the board, but there are roadblocks. Informal feedback from some of the senior management team suggests he is viewed as something of a maverick: a free thinker, quite at odds with a company culture built on rigid structure and tradition. Faysal feels frustrated with what he sees as intransigence and a lack of vision within the C-suite and decides to bide his time and put these ambitions on hold. But something happens.
The company comes under investigation for some questionable strategic decisions. The ensuing financial crisis requires an urgent restructuring of the board, and key members of the C-suite are required to resign. Faysal is approached and asked if he will now join the board and move with his family to Europe. Faced with this opportunity, but conscious that there may also be issues ahead reconciling his approach with the company
culture, Faysal seeks out the support of a professional executive coach.
The coaching journey
The coach poses a key question to Faysal. In his interpersonal interactions, the coach asks him who he wants to be in the boardroom. “The biggest challenge I face is refraining from being myself,” he says.
Together with the coach, Faysal explores this statement. He realizes that this attitude is neither sustainable nor healthy; it’s also counterproductive in that it will delimit his ability to put the full spectrum of his talents to use supporting organizational growth in these turbulent times. This feels like an epiphany.
With the coach, Faysal starts to explore a new concept: the Use of Self (UoS). This is the conscious use of one’s whole being in the intentional execution of a role. It’s being aware of and deploying our own emotional, cognitive, and perceptual processes to create impact and change. For Faysal, this is about resolving the tension between wearing a “mask” or “costume” and bringing his full, authentic self to the role and proactively managing the interplay between behaviors to elicit better outcomes for himself and others. This begins with conscious and intentional self-leadership.
Faysal’s coach asks him to reflect on feelings that either strengthen or diminish his sense of well-being and performance and to
monitor the energy levels that attach to these feelings. Practicing this kind of “internal workout,” he starts to zoom in to explore his feelings and zoom out to consider the external context and other people’s reactions. The coach encourages Faysal to monitor his energy levels during this exercise to measure how balanced he feels. In this way, he can understand how his adversarial and defensive behaviors could elicit adversarial and defensive responses from others – and, importantly, demonstrate why adversity has no place in the higher levels of his organization.
With help from the coach, Faysal starts to lean into effective ways of balancing two opposing behaviors. One is the disruptor who drives business transformation; the other is the collaborative performer and executor of strategy, who can work seamlessly within the organization’s formal structure and governance mechanisms. Faysal is encouraged to continuously “read the room” for indicators that he has these two behaviors in check, zooming in and out in a way that feels more ambidextrous as he brings and balances more of himself. At the same time, his colleagues on the board report that they are better able to leverage Faysal’s fresh perspective and undoubted skills to test and assess new strategies in a way that feels beneficial and informational to all.
What has become clearer to Faysal and his colleagues is his commitment to the organization’s development. The coaching journey has helped him to modulate his leadership and collaborative behaviors such that he can leverage his unique talents to create value for the organization he loves, but in a way that aligns better with the established norms, systems, and processes of the organization and its leadership team. Faysal has discovered that by exerting intentional self-awareness and behavioral balance, he is able to enact the kind of ambidextrous leadership that he and the board need for him to drive excellence and profitability while existing in greater harmony with his peers. He has successfully enacted a major shift that he and his fellow board members can perceive in real-time.
Questions to ask yourself:
● If you are going into a new role, who do you want to be in that role?
● How are you going to configure or reconfigure your Use of Self?
● How might you benefit from being able to stop and zoom in and out around your own behaviors and their impact on others?
BIOGRAPHY
Nathalie Ducrot is an Executive & Team Coach (MCC by ICF and MP by EMCC). She believes in the power of coaching – and in a world where we wake up inspired to have an impact and grow by growing others.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Courtesy of IMD Business School.
In the rapidly evolving landscape of global business, the need for advanced education that equips leaders with both theoretical knowledge and practical skills has never been more pressing. The University of Louisville (UofL) College of Business, a top 100 AACSB-accredited business school, stands at the forefront of this educational frontier. Offering a suite of graduate programs designed to meet the demands of today's business world, UofL is shaping the next generation of leaders who are not only prepared to face challenges but equipped to create innovative solutions.
The Value of Earning a Graduate Degree from a Top 100, AACSB-Accredited Business School
When considering a graduate business degree, accreditation and ranking are critical factors that signify the quality and credibility of the program. The UofL College of Business is one of a select number of institutions globally to hold accreditation from the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB). This prestigious accreditation is a hallmark of excellence in business education, ensuring that the programs offered meet the highest standards of quality, rigor, and relevance.
A graduate degree from a top 100 AACSBaccredited institution like UofL provides students with more than just a diploma. It offers a comprehensive educational experience that combines cutting-edge research, experienced faculty, and a global perspective. As a Carnegie-classified Research 1 institution, UofL is at the forefront of business innovation, integrating the latest developments in technology, data analytics, and international business into its curriculum.
Graduates from UofL's College of Business are equipped with the technical skills needed to excel in their careers and the strategic thinking and leadership abilities essential in today's complex business environment. Employers around the world recognize the value of an AACSB-accredited degree, making UofL alumni highly sought after in the competitive job market.
Louisville, Kentucky, USA: A Metropolitan Hub of Growth and Opportunity
Louisville, Kentucky, offers an unparalleled blend of academic excellence and cultural richness in a city that warmly embraces its cultural diversity. Louisville's
metropolitan community provides a welcoming environment where you can feel at home while enjoying the benefits of a growing professional landscape. The city is known for its entrepreneurial spirit, supported by numerous initiatives, incubators, and a dynamic economy that spans multiple sectors. Whether you're exploring the charming local neighborhoods, engaging with the city's rich history, or taking advantage of its strategic location for travel, Louisville offers the perfect backdrop for both your academic journey and personal growth.
This is a city where you can not only achieve your educational goals but also build lasting connections and launch a successful career in a truly global environment.
The city's entrepreneurial ecosystem excites students like Jorge Iriarte from Colombia, who noted while earning his Innovation MBA at UofL that "Louisville has a vibrant entrepreneurial ecosystem. The city fosters innovation through initiatives, incubators, and accelerators." This ecosystem, combined with Louisville's strategic location and diverse economy, presents exciting opportunities for growth across various sectors, making it an attractive destination for those looking to make a mark in the business world.
Pilar Jaurena came to Louisville from Uruguay and found Louisville to be a city that prepares students for both professional success and personal fulfillment. "This program – and this city – will prepare you not only for a successful career in accounting but also for a truly fulfilling journey within the field." This sentiment is shared by many students who find that Louisville's unique blend of a tight-knit community and professional opportunities makes it an ideal place to pursue their graduate studies.
Why UofL? The Unique Advantages of UofL's Accelerated One-Year Graduate Business
UofL's graduate business programs are designed with the modern professional in mind. One of the standout features of these programs is their accelerated one-year format, which allows students to fast-track their education and re-enter the workforce with advanced qualifications in a short period. This is particularly advantageous for professionals who are eager to advance their careers without spending years in school.
As a Carnegie-classified Research 1 institution, UofL stands among the top
“An impressive 91% of students secure employment within three months of graduation, with an average starting salary of approximately $84,000.”
“Louisville's diversity makes international students like me feel welcome. The city's growing professional environment fosters an entrepreneurial spirit, making it ideal for aspiring business leaders.”
research universities in the country, ensuring that students receive an education that is not only rigorous but also grounded in the latest industry innovations. The faculty, composed of leading academics and industry professionals, brings cutting-edge research and practical insights directly into the classroom, providing students with a rich, applied-learning experience.
Classes are conveniently scheduled two to three nights a week, offering flexibility for students who are balancing their education with work or other commitments. This structure allows students to continue gaining professional experience or pursue internships while advancing their academic qualifications. In fact, 75% of UofL graduate students seeking an internship successfully obtain one during their program, providing invaluable real-world experience that complements their classroom learning.
As a proud member of the ACC Academic Consortium alongside prestigious institutions such as Stanford, Duke University, University of North Carolina, Miami, and Wake Forest, UofL stands out by offering some of the most affordable graduate business programs of its caliber in the USA. This exceptional costeffectiveness makes UofL an ideal choice for students seeking a high-quality education with significant value, allowing them to achieve their academic and professional goals without the heavy financial burden often associated with other top-tier institutions.
The success of UofL's graduate business programs is reflected in the outstanding employment outcomes of its graduates. An impressive 91% of students secure employment within three months of graduation, with an average starting salary of approximately $84,000. This strong employment data underscores the effectiveness of UofL's curriculum in preparing students for the demands of the business world and highlights the value employers place on a UofL graduate degree.
A key differentiator of UofL's graduate programs is the integration of paid internship opportunities. These internships are an optional but central component of the curriculum. They allow students to apply classroom learning in real-world settings, gain valuable work experience, and build a professional network while still in school. This hands-on approach ensures that students are job-ready upon graduation, with resumes that reflect both academic and practical expertise.
Students from around the world, like Prassanna Kakarla from India, have gained invaluable experience and exposure in the USA thanks to UofL's internship model. Prassanna pursued a STEM-designated Master of Science in Accountancy and Analytics (MSAA), which, she notes, offered vital real-world experience: "I gained invaluable hands-on experience in accounting through an internship at LMBC Louisville. This opportunity allowed me to apply the knowledge acquired from the program in a real-world setting, further solidifying my understanding of the complexities of the accounting profession."
UofL's College of Business has a vast network of alumni and corporate partners, which spans thousands of professionals and hundreds of companies across various industries. This network is not only a testament to the college's long-standing reputation but also serves as a valuable resource for current students. From day one, students have access to a plethora of internship opportunities, thanks to these established relationships. These internships are more than just a resume booster; they are a critical component of the learning experience at UofL. Students are matched to roles that allow them to apply the concepts and skills they acquire in the classroom to real business challenges. This hands-on experience is invaluable, giving students a competitive edge in the job market upon graduation.
A Curriculum Designed for Application
UofL's curriculum is distinct in its emphasis on applied learning. Courses are designed not just to impart knowledge but to ensure that students can apply what they learn to solve real-world business challenges. This approach is facilitated by a faculty that includes both industry experts and PhD scholars, who bring a wealth of practical and theoretical knowledge to the classroom.
For example, the STEM-designated MS in Business Analytics (MSBA) program integrates cutting-edge technologies like AI, blockchain, and big data analytics into its curriculum. This prepares students to thrive in a data-driven business environment, as highlighted by Dileep Kumar: "My advice for anyone considering a UofL graduate business program is to embrace its unique integration of analytics, AI, blockchain, and database technologies. This approach prepares you for today's data-driven business world."
Global Perspective Through International Business Trips
In today's interconnected world, having
“The camaraderie among my classmates has been invaluable, and Louisville has been a great place to call home during this journey. I encourage future students to embrace the full experience and engage with the UofL community."
environment helps students navigate the challenges of graduate school and maximize their potential.
Dileep Kumar, an MSAA student, highlights the supportive nature of the UofL community: "Louisville's diversity makes international students like me feel welcome. The city's growing professional environment fosters an entrepreneurial spirit, making it ideal for aspiring business leaders."
The program directors and faculty play an active role in mentoring students, helping them to achieve their academic and professional goals. This support is particularly valuable for international students, who may face additional challenges as they adapt to a new educational system and culture.
a global perspective is essential for any business leader. UofL's graduate business programs recognize this and incorporate international business trips as a core element of the MBA and MSAA curriculums. These trips allow students to experience different business environments, cultures, and markets firsthand, broadening their understanding of global business dynamics.
Katie Glesing, an Online MBA student, reflects on her experience: "The global trip component of this course is a major selling point. Being able to take what we've learned in class and take it overseas to a few different locations and learn about cultural similarities and differences in the business world is fabulous. It's also a great way for our teams to meet in person in a really unique context."
These trips are not just about visiting foreign countries; they are carefully curated to include meetings with business leaders, site visits to companies, and cultural immersion activities that help students understand the nuances of conducting business internationally. Pilar Jaurena, who traveled to India and the United Arab Emirates, shares her insights: "The global business trip helped me open my mind to other realities and how companies in other parts of the world operate. It is interesting to see how even though the end goals of maximizing revenue and minimizing expenses are the same all around, the means to achieve this and the strategies are very different."
UofL's commitment to student success extends beyond the classroom. The College of Business fosters a supportive community where students are encouraged to engage with faculty, staff, and peers. This collaborative
Titilope Afolabi, an MBA student, emphasizes the importance of this support: "The camaraderie among my classmates has been invaluable, and Louisville has been a great place to call home during this journey. I encourage future students to embrace the full experience and engage with the UofL community."
Join the UofL College of Business to earn your MBA/MSBA/MSAA in the USA!
The UofL College of Business offers a unique and compelling proposition for graduate business students. With its AACSB accreditation, innovative one-year programs, applied curriculum, and global perspective, UofL prepares students to become leaders in their fields. The integration of paid internships, evening classes, and international business trips ensures that students graduate not only with a degree but with the practical experience and global mindset needed to succeed in today's business environment.
As Danyal Lohana, who is also on the MBA program, eloquently states: "The University of Louisville's graduate business program has been pivotal in advancing this mission. The College of Business boasts a very supportive staff and some of the best professors, whose guidance and expertise have been invaluable. The comprehensive curriculum has provided me with the tools to implement effective changes in my workplace, and it has expanded my understanding of healthcare beyond the traditional clinical setting."
For those seeking a graduate business education that is rigorous, relevant, and globally oriented, the University of Louisville College of Business is an outstanding choice. The experiences, skills, and networks gained here will empower graduates to make a lasting impact on the business world, both locally and globally.
“Courses are designed not just to impart knowledge but to ensure that students can apply what they learn to solve real-world business challenges.”
BIOGRAPHY
Stephen Swan is the Director of Graduate Student Recruitment at the University of Louisville College of Business.
People don’t leave bad jobs, they leave bad managers.
MANFRED F. R. KETS DE VRIES
Naomi was troubled by recurrent nightmares. Each night, she found herself trapped in a dark parking lot with no exit, hiding from approaching footsteps. As a shadowy figure with a familiar face loomed closer, Naomi tried to run but her feet felt like lead. She'd wake up, drenched in sweat.
Through therapy and coaching, Naomi connected the dots between the subject of her nightmares and her overbearing boss. She realised that the constant anxiety she felt going into work stemmed directly from his demanding behaviour. Ironically, while her boss pushed for increased performance, his methods undermined her confidence and hindered her ability to deliver.
Workplace stress due to bad bosses is more common than most people realise. Dealing with bosses who behave inappropriately, set unrealistic expectations or are unsupportive of work-life balance unsurprisingly leads to negative health outcomes.
Toxic work environments have been linked to high levels of anxiety, depression, poor sleep, high blood pressure and even premature aging. High levels of work stress may result in unhealthy behaviours and habits, and spill over into personal lives, affecting the wellbeing of partners and children.
“They tend to exploit those they manage, take credit for their subordinates' work, be overly critical and generally behave inappropriately.”
Bad bosses exist in all shapes and sizes, spanning from narcissists and bullies to micromanagers. Among them are those with extreme mood swings and unreasonable expectations, as well as those who hoard information, avoid conflict, never give positive feedback or are perpetually unavailable. These traits make them very difficult to work for.
Especially harmful are bosses who have both psychopathic and narcissistic traits. Driven by this ‘dark dyad’, they are often quite Machiavellian. They tend to exploit those they manage, take credit for their subordinates' work, be overly critical and generally behave inappropriately. In addition to being a nightmare for individuals, bad bosses can significantly harm the overall work climate. Their demands and behaviours drain employees' willpower and motivation, contribute to mental fatigue and impair performance.
Furthermore, when such bosses pit their subordinates against each other, a culture of constructive competitiveness can turn
into one of mistrust and backstabbing. The impact is severe: Employees may miss many workdays due to mental health issues, and others may quit their jobs just to escape their boss.
Five ways to deal with a toxic boss
If your manager is calling you at all hours or expects you to cancel your holiday plans, it’s time to reset expectations with your boss or HR or consider other job options. Here are several strategies you can pursue when dealing with toxic bosses.
1. Establish boundaries and understand your boss’ pressures
One of the first and most important steps is to set clear boundaries and explain what you are and are not prepared to do. Setting boundaries involves the delicate art of saying "no" when faced with unrealistic expectations. One approach is to discuss your current workload with your boss and have a serious conversation about realistic benchmarks and timeframes.
While you open this discussion, take the opportunity to explore the pressures your boss is under. Understanding your boss’s situation may help you align expectations and find win-win solutions. By doing so, you might discover that your boss is not as difficult as you initially thought.
2. Provide upward feedback on leadership style
If setting boundaries does not work and you still feel extremely pressured, it may be time to address the elephant in the room: your boss’s leadership style. However, expressing your frustrations can be a delicate conversation. Challenging a bad boss may also mean challenging the people who put them in that position and asking them to address the dysfunctional behaviour – something they might be reluctant to do.
Therefore, if you decide to have this discussion, consider seeking help from HR and asking them to be part of the conversation. To enlist their support, build a case on how your boss’s behaviour affects your mental health and that of others in the organisation, ultimately affecting
overall performance. Collect and share detailed records you have kept about your boss’s dysfunctional behaviour with HR. When having this discussion, highlight the problems but also offer concrete and constructive suggestions to improve the situation.
3. Transfer out of your position with grace
If your boss cannot or is unwilling to change, but you enjoy working for your current company, another option is to explore opportunities within the organisation. You could consider making a lateral move, although this would require extensive networking. Begin by subtly indicating to other senior executives that you are open to being approached for new opportunities and that you are seeking responsibilities beyond your current workstream.
However, as you engage in networking activities, refrain from speaking negatively about your boss or engaging in gossip. Going to war with them is not a good idea; it is better to focus on highlighting your own strengths and accomplishments.
4. Quit and scout out a better boss
If your work situation continues to negatively impact your health, self-esteem and well-being, and if there is no opportunity for a transfer or improvement, it may be time to leave your current employer. Instead of holding on to hope for a change in your relationship with your toxic boss, focus on finding a work environment where your talents are appreciated.
By broadening your external network and gaining a fresh perspective on potential career options, you may discover that competitors in your industry are seeking the skills and expertise you possess. However, ensure that you conduct thorough due diligence to avoid finding yourself in a similar situation with another bad boss. You wouldn't want a repeat of the same experience.
5. Reach out for help and reassess your options
Taking care of your mental health is one of the most important factors for living a fulfilled life. Nobody is an island; everybody
“When
individuals are mentally healthy, they can perform at their full potential, cope with life's stresses and make meaningful contributions to society.”
needs support networks. Therefore, if you find yourself stressed due to a poor work relationship, it may be time to seek out a coach, mentor or other trained professional who can assist you in reassessing your options. These individuals can help direct you towards more rewarding career opportunities.
Naomi realised that the best course of action for her was to move on. She hoped to view her experience as a valuable learning opportunity. Ironically, working under a bad boss had some positive aspects – it sharpened her management skills and taught her how to avoid becoming a bad boss herself.
Given that people spend a considerable portion of their lives at work, working environments should not jeopardise mental or physical health. When individuals are mentally healthy, they can perform at their full potential, cope with life's stresses and make meaningful contributions to society. In the workplace, everyone deserves respect and fair treatment. No one should sacrifice their mental health for a toxic job.
BIOGRAPHY
Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries is the Distinguished Clinical Professor of Leadership Development and Organisational Change and the Raoul de Vitry d'Avaucourt
Chaired Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus, at INSEAD.
SUE MUSSON
All the cliches and song lyrics are true: into each life some rain must fall; you have to take the rough with the smooth; joy and pain like sunshine and rain.
No one wants bad things to happen, but happen they do. Denial or wishing disaster away simply isn’t an effective strategy. The mature leader hopes for and expects the best but accepts that all manner of things can and will go wrong at some stage.
Cultivating the ability to manage the bad times calmly and effectively is therefore a fundamental leadership skill.
The good news is that the more experience you have of coping when things go wrong, the more confident you become in your own ability and the more intuition you develop about managing in the moment. The other benefit of becoming more proficient in managing a work crisis is that you find that far fewer crises actually arise. This is because your personal threshold for what constitutes a crisis is raised in proportion to your experience, capability and willingness to respond instinctively and appropriately.
Categories
In a leader’s life, there are many types of crises that can arise including work, personal and large-scale disasters. Some of these crises are predictable; some are unexpected. Some take ages to resolve, while others are blissfully short-lived. There are broadly three types of disasters you are likely to encounter: work disasters, personal disasters and largescale disasters.
There are some typical work crises that always crop up at some point. For newer leaders, experiencing a contract or an important performance goal teetering on the edge of failure can trigger feelings of panic. Similarly, the first time you implement change resulting in job losses can feel utterly overwhelming.
I have total recall of the first time I had to deal with both situations. The parts that I handled well I attribute to working with a great mentor who had shown me by example how to cope calmly and constructively with performance problems. Having observed this good practice, I was able to be calm, reassuring and curious to understand all aspects of the problem from others before starting the process of identifying solutions. On the latter issue, I did some things well, but I also made the mistake of giving into feelings of upset and overwhelm at moments of intense pressure.
I learned a lot from the mistakes I made and from the things I did well. Reflecting on both aspects provided valuable insights and increased confidence in the ability to meet future problems.
One of these occurred just a few weeks after I had taken up a role as chairman of a large teaching hospital. I received a summons from the regulator requiring me, the chief executive and the finance director to travel to
London to account for the organisation’s poor financial performance.
It would have been easy to point fingers, blaming others for the situation and deflecting attention away from me. Clearly, my two-week tenure had not been the cause of the problems. However, it was instinctive and appropriate to take personal responsibility and to stand with colleagues in owning the situation and committing to find a way forward.
Leadership means putting your hand up to resolve whatever comes your way even if it is a problem that is not of your making. Even if it feels unfair, the onus is on you to respond appropriately. Your colleagues certainly will not trust you if you seek to avoid accountability or show you are prepared to throw them under the bus.
Over the years, I have experienced many events that could be classed as crises, but in the moment, I just saw them as problems that needed to be resolved. Reframing these events as a problem requiring a solution – rather than as a catastrophe - is particularly important in managing your ability to cope. These are some key takeaways for coping with crises:
● There are always bumps in the road and surprises that will arise. The more senior you are, the more problems you will encounter. Accepting this fact helps you stay calm and clear thinking when the dreadful comes your way.
● No disaster is ever improved with panic or blame. Although it may not feel instinctive, the more you can dial into a calm setting, the easier you make it for other people firstly to share details of the problem, and secondly to identify solutions.
● All of your attitudes and behaviours as a leader are contagious. If you give way to feelings of overwhelm, anger and panic, you will spread this to others. If you remain calm, curious and clear thinking, you will encourage others to focus on understanding the situation and discovering how it can be resolved.
● It is important to keep events in perspective. The more you see them as a problem to be solved, the more likely you are to find solutions. If you label events as a crisis, a catastrophe, a disaster, you are more likely to feel overwhelmed and to sink into a negative emotional cycle. This saps you of the power and confidence you need to take action.
● Turning your personal setting to a calm, analytical mode enables others to share vital information so that you can understand all the aspects of the problem facing you. Developing this clear understanding is the foundation of being able to identify and evaluate potential solutions.
● Remind yourself of the good practice you may have witnessed. Model your response on the example set by an effective leader or mentor in the past. This will help you replicate the calm problem-solving skills and instincts that you have observed in others.
We are all human. Experiencing a personal crisis will always spill over into working life. So many times, I have observed that performance problems or out-of-character behaviours at work are caused by the stress of a personal or a family crisis involving physical health, mental health, relationship breakdown, bereavement or financial pressure.
I experienced this myself when my son was ten years old and suffered a life-threatening illness. He was in hospital for endless weeks undergoing daily tests and procedures including eleven surgeries. I recall living in a tiny bubble that was just focused on getting through that day’s events: tests, surgeries, vitals checks, intravenous antibiotics and clinicians’ visits. It was all-consuming, and there certainly was no headroom for thinking about work or anything else.
Luckily for us, after several months, my son made a full recovery. When he was at last discharged, we could finally breathe a sigh of relief and re-enter normal life.
That time taught me so much. Having gone through such a stressful experience, I developed a huge well of compassion and empathy for others facing their own or their family members’ ill health.
Another key lesson came from my son’s response. When he was finally on the mend and about to be discharged from hospital, he told me it was a good thing that he had been so ill because he had found his vocation to become a doctor. He said, ‘I think I will be a good doctor because I know what it feels like to be the patient in the bed.’
Not only was that a mature and compassionate take on a terrible experience, it revealed the upside associated with every crisis: every crisis is always accompanied by an opportunity to grow. The 12th century poet Rumi said, ‘the wound is where the light enters you.’ This was literally the case for my son. Having a profound ‘wound’ led to him finding his ‘light,’ in this case his purpose in life. Although it may not feel like it immediately, coping with a crisis also presents opportunities to build capability, resilience and growth.
Having first-hand experience or seeing the impact of a personal crisis on someone close to you can only enhance your ability as a leader to support others compassionately through difficult times and to identify – at the appropriate point – any opportunities for improvement or growth that emerge as a result.
Over the years, I have been in leadership roles affected by large-scale disasters caused by terror attacks, fire and, of course, the global COVID-19 pandemic.
Coping with these significant events created deep learning for all the leaders who were involved. Despite the significant scale of these disasters, the basics of addressing them relied on the same good practice elements found in navigating routine work and personal crises. Coping with these large-scale disasters reinforced the importance of maintaining calm, undertaking analysis, making decisions and communicating constantly.
Top tips for weathering the storm
There are a range of crises that you and your colleagues may experience at work and in personal life. Some events are longlasting and some occur in the moment, without warning. Recognising that crises are inevitable is the first step to building the skills needed to manage their arrival. Staying calm, curious and compassionate is the optimal setting for navigating a crisis of any scale or duration. The consistent threads of good practice in a crisis include:
1. Keep calm – succumbing to panic, anger or a temptation to blame, distract or gaslight never helps. Your attitudes and behaviours are contagious so channel calm reassurance.
2. Adjust your perspective and language . See the event as a problem to be solved. Avoid catastrophising the situation which leads to feelings of overwhelm that sap you of the ability to think calmly and clearly.
3. Take personal responsibility – even if the crisis is not of your making. If you are a leader, you need to step up and articulate a willingness to understand and address the root of the problem.
4. Start with compassion and empathy –treat others with understanding and apply the golden rule. Recognise that your job is to reassure others that your focus is on resolution, not blame.
5. Embrace your analytical skills –approach every crisis with curiosity and a desire to establish the facts. Listen carefully. Discuss your analysis with others to develop a shared understanding of the problem. This makes it easier to unlock solutions.
6. Role model good practice – think back to times you observed a leader cope well with a crisis. Identify the positive elements of their approach and consider how you can adopt these as your own.
7. Remember, weighing the pig does not make it fatter – avoid getting stuck in analytical mode. Although you may not
have perfect information, you must take action. Making the ‘least-worst’ decision is sometimes the best you can do.
8. Communicate constantly – even if you have nothing new to say. Constant communication is reassuring and lets people know the status of the crisis and the action that is planned or underway.
About the author
Sue Musson holds a BA from Columbia University and achieved her first board-level leadership role at the age of twenty-seven. She is keen to share what she has learned to help other leaders build their confidence and capability.
For 30 years, Sue has held senior executive and non-executive roles in the business services sector, in her own successful businesses and in five National Health Service (NHS) trusts. She recently completed her term as Chairman of Liverpool University Hospitals, one of the UK’s largest hospital trusts, with 14,000 staff and a turnover of £1.2Bn. Sue led the trust through a merger, the pandemic and numerous challenges including the completion of a new hospital, formally opened by the Prince and Princess of Wales. She regularly chairs panels to appoint UK judges.
In her new book, Firecracker Leadership, Sue has drawn upon her extensive leadership experience to create a practical, “how to” toolkit to inform, reassure, amuse and challenge readers looking to supercharge their leadership skillset. Delving into the reallife challenges faced by leaders, this guide offers compelling case studies that reinforce the importance of what Sue coins “The
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NASA does it. We show how your organisation can embrace teaming, too.
In the complex, uncertain and fastchanging world we live in, success and even survival require intensive collaboration among individuals, organisations and countries. The outcomes of such collaboration can be breathtaking –consider the growth of Netflix and Amazon, the rebirth of Microsoft and General Motors, the successful launch of the James Webb Space Telescope.
Yet, most people and organisations fail to collaborate, preferring competition to cooperation. In business, up to 70 percent of strategic alliances fail, and more than half of joint ventures do not survive their 10th anniversary.
Why collaboration stumbles
There are good reasons that collaborations often falter: physical distance, time zone differences and unequal access to information, to name a few. However, the biggest obstacles are psychological.
For millennia, people have grown, learned, played and worked in small groups. In modern times, as villages gave way to cities and farms to factories, hierarchy has become the way to organise and manage human and other resources. However, it fosters an individualistic, uncollaborative mindset characterised by distrust of strangers, unwillingness to share information and a strong preference for working independently
“Teaming offers a powerful framework for organisations seeking to harness the full potential of collective capabilities.”
or with familiar others. It also leads to a focus on personal gains, avoidance of initiative and risk, and shifting of responsibility.
These behaviours make effective collaboration problematic, even when individuals appreciate the need to work together.
The promise of teaming
Our research shows that it need not be this way. Many companies demonstrate that effective collaboration is possible in large organisations. These companies embrace what Harvard Business School professor Amy C. Edmondson calls “teaming” or “collaboration on the fly”.
Teaming is both a philosophy and a practice that reflects the realities of the 21st century. It can be applied in different contexts among individuals, groups and organisations. Unlike the agile approach, teaming is not limited to a specific project management methodology. It can be used in both traditional and non-traditional workplaces.
Teaming allows people and organisations to collaborate in order to learn. It transforms the ways they operate, solve problems and experience the state of flow without having to build traditional teams or offer incentives.
An example of the teaming effect comes from NASA. In 1979, the United States government, concerned about the increasing number of aviation incidents and fatalities, commissioned NASA to produce a report on how safety could be improved. The space agency assembled a team of 50 industry insiders as well as 20 astronauts, scientists and psychologists. The group explored the challenge together before breaking into smaller groups to examine specific problems. They came up with recommendations ranging from fresh cockpit designs to new training for pilots and traffic controllers. The 200-page report had a profound impact
on the global aviation industry, which drastically improved its safety record over the following 20 years.
Achieving the teaming effect
What is behind the teaming effect? It boils down to three factors. The first is the task at hand. Teaming allows participants to solve unique, complex problems – a strong motivator in itself.
Edmondson introduced the concept of a teaming super-goal that is important for each participant but can only be achieved through collaboration. An example would be the epic rescue of 33 Chilean miners in 2010.
The second factor is people. Collaboration is easier when participants are aware of their own limitations, are proactive, tolerant and open to new ideas and experiences. They are also willing to share. While it goes without saying that team members should be experts in their professions, they should also possess behavioural skills such as effective listening and speaking, supporting, challenging, reflecting and learning.
The third factor is platforms. This refers to the workspace set-up, rules and procedures, formats and technologies that enable collaboration. GitLab, a software development company founded in 2014, supports 1,500 employees working from home across 70 countries with a nearly 3,000-page handbook that describes the company's rules and procedures. Employees co-create these rules and invent various teaming formats, including specialised groups for problem-solving and interest-based communities. Platforms such as Slack, Dropbox and Jira provide them with powerful tools for synchronous and asynchronous collaboration.
Over the past 10 years, we have helped dozens of organisations in Europe, Asia and the Middle East embrace teaming. They range from a giant financial institution to a midsized manufacturing company. We call our method, which is grounded in Kurt Lewin’s Unfreeze-Change-Refreeze social theory of change, the initiate-integrate-institutionalise model. Here’s how it works:
The goal of this stage is to spark organisational interest in teaming. Initiation can take on different forms; one of the most effective is an online teaming programme. The programme combines traditional learning tools such as videos, webinars, case studies, and self-assessments with a learning
journal, a buddy group and a project. In the learning journal, each participant documents their progress, the obstacles they face, the lessons they learn, and the questions they need to answer.
The buddy group encourages participants to collectively reflect on their journeys, exchange feedback and feedforward, and support and challenge each other through regular online meetings initially facilitated by professional coaches.
The most important element of the programme is the project. Participants from different organisational units form groups to design and implement projects that directly contribute to the organisation's objectives. The projects range in scope, but all require cross-functional collaboration, out-of-the-box thinking and intense collaboration.
Three factors make or break the initiation stage: participation and endorsement of the senior leadership, the scale of the programme, and delivering meaningful outcomes. The first factor is self-evident. As for the second, the number of participants should be large enough to introduce the whole organisation to teaming and produce visible change. Think 50 participants for a 1,000-employee company and 200 for a 10,000-strong organisation, assuming participants are drawn from different departments and levels.
The third factor for success requires that participants solve real problems and deliver real outcomes, thus ensuring the teaming experience is relevant and meaningful. For example, the retail business of a large energy company reversed stagnating non-fuel product sales by introducing environment-
friendly petrol stations and expanding their product offering. A large financial institution overcame internal competition between business line managers by creating new collaborative formats and adapting a teaming vocabulary of cooperation and support.
At this early stage of the teaming journey, tangible results win over people and give teaming much-needed credibility.
The second stage is about making teaming part of organisational culture and the company’s operating system on a larger scale. In this phase, senior leaders articulate and reiterate their belief in teaming, explain what it means in the organisation’s context, and set organisation-wide goals and expectations for all employees.
The teaming programme expands to many more participants. Graduates from the initiation stage become teaming ambassadors and coaches. Teaming protocols and standards emerge and spread throughout the organisation. Key HR systems are adjusted to reflect the teaming philosophy, focusing on execution as learning, psychological safety, fluid teams and enabling leadership.
Organisational structure and workplace design evolve to become more collaborative. Teaming allows for serious breakthroughs, solves organisational pains and makes a noticeable contribution to the top and bottom lines. As an example, a regional real estate developer we worked with improved EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation) margins by 30 percent two years after adopting teaming.
Two factors critical to the success of the integration stage are a well-functioning teaming platform and what we call “rolling leadership”. Platforms, as outlined above, are best tailored to the organisation’s activity, size, location and culture. A good platform
“In today's complex and fast-paced environment, the ability to effectively collaborate across boundaries is more critical than ever.”
should be co-created and innovated by as many people as possible rather than dictated by the top.
While teaming is built on self-organisation and lateral ties, leadership remains crucial. The role does not come from any title but is situational and rotated among team members. We call it rolling or 4Es leadership: Leaders engage team members emotionally and intellectually by involving them in setting the course and the rules of the game; enable by fostering psychological safety, providing resources and creating a productive environment; encourage through feedback and praise, helping members learn and cope with challenges and failures; and exit after preparing successors to take on the role.
The goal of this ongoing stage is to entrench teaming as a shared philosophy and way of working across the organisation. Teaming principles and new cultural norms become embedded in key organisational processes, including recruitment, evaluation, remuneration, promotion, training and communication.
Feedback and attention to individuals are critical at this stage. Leaders must create effective communication channels that enable them to hear what the organisation thinks about teaming and how it is being implemented and to make necessary changes if required. They should also ensure that every employee receives fair and comprehensive feedback about their progress in learning and applying teaming. Those who are struggling should be given help, such as extra training, individual coaching or group support.
In today's complex and fast-paced environment, the ability to effectively collaborate across boundaries is more critical than ever. Teaming offers a powerful framework for organisations seeking to harness the full potential of collective capabilities.
BIOGRAPHIES
Stanislav Shekshnia is a Senior Affiliate Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise at INSEAD.
Sergey Vorobiev is President of Ward Howell and co-founder of WH Advisors, both executive search and consulting firms.
● Australian Institute of Business ● Drexel University: LeBow ● Nathalie Ducrot ● EU Business School ● Ayelet Fishbach ● INSEAD
● Torrens AustraliaUniversity ● Sergey Vorobiev ● Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries ● Valery Yakubovich
Kennesaw University:StateColes
Sue Musson ● Alon Rozen ● Stanislav Shekshnia
