Can leadership really be taught?

Personal Development - Comments Off - Published on November 15 2010

There appears to be an increase in cynicism about business education and qualifications, or those who argue that ‘real life’ work experience is of more value than management training. The myth that leaders are born not made is often perpetuated by ‘self-made’ business leaders who have achieved success without any formal qualifications and who claim to have worked their way to the top by sheer determination and an entrepreneurial spirit. These qualities, the cynics argue, are inherent – ‘you can’t teach leadership’.

” business education can’t change personalities, but it can help individuals to think and behave differently”

Well there is no denying that experience counts for a lot and that certain behavioural traits, such as confidence, intuition, creativity, and a positive attitude can all contribute to effective leadership. However, I would argue that, while business education can’t change personalities, it can help individuals to think and behave differently in management and leadership roles. But then the cynics go on to argue that it is not possible for the classroom to replicate the complexity of today’s global business environment. Business schools can teach the theory, they say, but formal education can’t prepare students for the reality of business which involves uncertainty, managing change, working across cultures, and managing people.

“the exercise taught the students something about collaboration, leadership, and what makes an effective team”

Having worked in business education for many years I take issue with the implication that business education is all theory and no practice. The best business schools in the world are offering high quality programmes which combine the teaching of theory with innovative approaches to developing skills and experience in a practical environment. Two weeks ago I was working with a group of seven new MBA students on a workshop designed to develop leadership skills, focusing particularly on team working. One exercise, which was filmed and played back to the group afterwards, involved a task where the group had to create products from materials according to a given specification, within budget and within a specified time frame. By the end of the exercise, the group having completed the task, watched the playback and discussed what happened, I had witnessed a noticeable change in the attitudes, behaviours and skills of the group members. Of course the changes were small, and I am not saying that one workshop can transform individuals into leaders. But there is no doubt that the exercise taught the students something about collaboration, leadership, and what makes an effective team. Not only that, each member of the group came from a different country (as is usual for MBA students). The nationalities represented were Greece, China, India, Iran, Russia, UK and the US. For the first time, these students experienced what it was like to work with people who spoke different languages, came from diverse cultural backgrounds, held different values and were used to different ways of working. The learning from this cross cultural team trying to work together to get a job done was extremely powerful.

So don’t tell me that education and qualifications have no value or that business courses can’t prepare students for the reality of business. Good programmes, involving a mix of teaching, coaching and practical assignments are arguably the best preparation for leadership. Business education alone can’t replace the benefits of real work experience, but it can enhance and complement that experience which, after all, is always going to be limited.

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