Management Education and ABCDE Integration

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Merging Management Education with ABCDE

27 Aug 2021
- admin
"Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail."
~ Ralph Waldo Emerson, the great philosopher.

“Leadership” is a word that is often interpreted differently by different people. One can often get confused with the purpose of their role in the corporate setup. In such an environment, most people tend to have no clue about the purpose of the organization they work for or what the future would look like in say the next five to seven years.

The difference between being ordinary and being extraordinary requires that “Extra” element. That Extra element should come from a judicious mix of managing and leadership. The two tenets of organizational success are equally important. However, leadership initiatives are often misunderstood or blocked as they look to shake up the traditional mores or power centres.

Successful organizations, over the long run knowingly or unknowingly have leaders who follow the “five pillars of inspirational leadership”. Any action within the organization based on these five pillars adds to the stature of the organization, and the following it enjoys from its customers and employees.

There is a growing realization that Management is a science rather than simply a profession and thrives in creating knowledge through research as well.

ABCDE – The Pillars of Inspired Leadership

Before we move on to the integration of these five pillars with management education, it would be prudent to understand what they are. This concept in MBA education has been evolved by SOIL Institute of Management as part of one of the most unique curricula and pedagogy. A true and effective leader should be aware and appreciate these important qualities on which corporate success is built.

AWARENESS – This evolves from the practice of “mindfulness”. This quality in a person is to be fully present and aware without being judgmental. When we are aware in the present moment, we are not burdened by the past or the future.

BALANCE – Once a leader understands and appreciates "Sustainability”, it leads to a state of equilibrium where they strike a balance between profit and the role of their organization in a broader context. A harmonious approach to MBA is one where there is awareness of this dimension through learning or experiences.

COMPASSION – The quality of a leader is that they have appreciation for others concerns and a positive intention to reach out. A true leader will establish a strong sense of trust, bonding and loyalty amongst people. In corporate environments a leader manages to garner a better collaborative effort from their team.

DIVERSITY – A true leader should be able to appreciate that all people are unique. Diversity in leadership provides a wider scope of experience and perspective and an ability to deal with a wider audience spectrum of employees, clients and prospective clients. Innovation and continuity in improvement comes with diversity.

ETHICS – Ethical leadership is defined as “leadership demonstrating and promoting ‘normatively appropriate conduct through personal actions and interpersonal relations’.”- ME Brown, LK Treviño, DA Harrison. With the corporate world witnessing an increasing number of scandals in recent times ethics and corporate governance have taken center stage in the management practice. Ethical leaders are examples of ethical conduct with all business stakeholders. Achieving results through the right means and without deception is the mantra of an ethical leader.

Merging management education

While management education has veered to research-based academia, the corporate world was evolving and the chasm with management practice had started becoming wider. The realization that leadership was now a profession by itself started becoming stronger. With it came a need to look at change in curricula to achieve a synergy with effective management practice. While the need was being felt to reinvent management education, the disconnect between an MBA and leadership continued to exist.

While conventional MBAs were data driven without an understanding of human dynamics, leadership looked at a holistic view of business rather than a sum of parts approach. This makes them implementation driven. Managers coming out with conventional education were found wanting in this directional approach. In an action driven business world, where the need was to have people with all round skills, leadership became a buzzword. While management skills give us the authority and knowledge to manage businesses, leadership refers to a more encompassing ability to understand people, resources and make decision making in effective and positive ways. Success in the business world requires one to be equipped with a combination of management knowledge and leadership skills.

“Managers do things right. Leaders do the right thing”
~ Warren G. Bennis

Leadership and Management – the SOIL way

People can become leaders through a process of learning and observation. Leadership is not predefined and is developed on the cornerstone of the overall profile of individuals. SOIL has developed a unique methodology where one year MBA education is merged with human centric skills to decision making. Its pedagogy is structured on the case discussion method developed by Harvard, where integration of leadership skills is integrated into core functional management learning.

The corporate world is becoming increasingly dependent on leaders to function at 100%. Leadership talent is hard to come by within organizations and grooming people for leadership requires a major shift in thinking.

SOIL, through its unique offering, aims to provide India’s future leaders who are high on integrity and character, who can inspire and influence a wide range of stakeholders, and who can demonstrate responsible leadership to take India and its people on its way to become a powerful economy.

The one year MBA program provides a solid foundation in major business disciplines and core business skills. A world-class faculty and several industry leaders have developed a curriculum that is based on up-to-date best practice and latest academic research besides.

SOIL’s one year MBA – PGPM in Business Leadership enables students with the skills needed to be the leaders in Emerging India.