Management schools are now reaching a new stage where they need to strengthen the leadership capabilities of their students. The challenge is to have the right kind of students joining the program.
(1888PressRelease) July 15, 2015 - Given that more and more people with work experience are seeking these post graduate programs, the diversity within the student community has increased substantially. This is an excellent learning ground and group work followed by peer feedback can help a truly keen learner to develop significantly in a short period of time.
The challenge is to have the right kind of students joining the program. Leadership potential is difficult to measure and needs a screening tool such as Caliper, which is a world renowned tool used to measure traits in corporate leaders. Using a tool like this and combining it with a rigorous selection interview will help get the right kind of batch profile to groom for future leadership roles.
During the program the students need 3 kinds of learning interventions beyond the regular management curriculum: industry led learning, international exposure and self leadership. Industry led learning can happen in several ways.
To begin with the classroom syllabus must be designed after discussion with people working in the relevant sectors so that they can share what the real needs are. During the program, a mentor from a field of aspiration is a wonderful way for students to enrich their understanding of themselves and the relevant field. Now several senior managers are happy to step into the classroom as guest faculty or full time faculty and this must be facilitated by the institutes. This may require time tables to be scheduled differently but that is a small price to pay for the extent of learning and exposure that they bring with them.
International exposure can be ensured by inviting at least one foreign faculty every term. Not only do they bring with them a world view different from that of the students, but they also bring to the classroom a very interactive learning design and pedagogy. Another way of expanding the horizons for all the students is to have an exchange student as part of the program. This too helps them broaden their thinking and takes the classroom discussions to another level. The best way of course is to increase the proportion of students travelling abroad to attend some classes in foreign universities. This kind of exposure is critical for any student who is aspiring for leadership roles because the markets have expanded and today the world is your customer. It is crucial to look beyond your comfort zone and understand different mindsets as well.
Finally, it is important that we teach students that the essence of leadership is to lead yourself. The way one leads one's observation and listening helps to perceive both what is apparent and what is implied. The way one leads one's emotions so as to empathize and build trust and enable team work is a crucial aspect. Leading one's analytical capacity to grasp complexity of needs of multiple stakeholders and creative ability to generative the best alternatives to take the right decisions is very important. The capacity to learn from the past through introspection, from the present through reflection and from the future by developing the child like capacity to get into the flow-is the foundation.
Ultimately, learning about one's true calling and gifts and the ways to leverage our strengths towards one's vision are critical to develop the ability to inspire one self.
Management schools are now reaching a new stage where they need to strengthen the leadership capabilities of their students. The challenge is to have the right kind of students joining the program. 
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