The Nucleus Of The Economy
This Harvard Business School definition of leadership inspired billionaire business executive and Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg. It also aptly captures the kind of leadership needed in the turbulent times we dwell in now. As a new year begins, expectations of a quick return to normalcy is once again shrouded in doubt – this time owing to Omicron.
The crisis of the last two years honed many sensibilities but the challenges that business leaders face still do not recede. The more we think of the makings of the new breed of assertive and prudent leaders and a resilient workforce, the more we understand the essential role that business schools play in driving change.
We don’t just need new skill sets, where the role of technology becomes more central in its application for business growth. We also need to cultivate a generation of leaders who understand global realities and India’s place in it, the importance of ESG (environment, social, governance), possess a constant problem-solving mindset, and can lead others forward. Against this backdrop, the role that business and management education has to play becomes much more nuanced. It has to be the nucleus of the economy.
Business schools in India have changed more in the last two years than perhaps, in the last two decades. The catalyst was the pandemic but the real change agent was the realisation of the next normal. Hybrid learning, to cite just one example, is here to stay. Its advantages and its requirements will have to be ideated at the strategy stage and cannot be a mere tactical application. Faculty is another important factor and an essential asset of a business school. Making curricula and teaching faculties relevant to the current times will need some very bold moves. The education system’s traditional way of doing things though, remains its strength.
Many institutes that feature in our B-school rankings in this special issue have scored well on these aspects and several more, to emerge as B-schools that create the right kind of leadership and constantly allow India’s leaders and workforce to remain robust in the face of new challenges. We observed that the alumni of the top-ranked universities in this study are making global headlines as they take on leadership roles in very tough times, for very dynamic sectors. Cases in point are Leena Nair (XLRI) and Parag Agrawal (IIT Bombay) who took on the role of CEOs at Chanel and Twitter respectively.
The issue in your hand is a compilation of the thoughts of some leading educators who are creating leaders, along with those of industry experts, on the current day expectations from B-schools. In another special segment, discover the Great Places to Work in, in the IT & IT-BPM sectors. We hope these change agents will pave the way to a more vibrant economy and usher us all into a Happy New Year!
