Developing Leadership Potential for Success in a VUCA (Volatile, Unpredictable, Complex, and Ambiguous) World

Abstract

A key challenge facing business schools today is the opportunity to teach and foster leadership skills and behavior. This is a particularly pertinent issue given the strong emphasis that many business schools place on creating leaders, as demonstrated by its prominence in mission statements. Though teaching leadership can be approached in a variety of ways, this chapter presents an innovative approach for developing business leaders that is aligned with the mission of the Huizenga College of Business and Entrepreneurship (HCBE) at Nova Southeastern University. Through a partnership with Korn Ferry, the world's largest provider of executive search and a distinguished authority on leadership and talent, an assessment of leadership potential followed by personalized coaching is provided for MBA students. Assessment results are integrated for developmental applications throughout the curriculum, which serves to enhance student career potential and employment opportunities. Quantitative and qualitative results provide support for this approach to developing leaders.

Developing leadership potential in graduate students with assessment, self-awareness, reflection and coaching

“…Indeed, graduate business school students face a leadership inflection point in their trajectory as future leaders and business colleges play a key role in closing the leadership gap during the development cycle of the MBA program (Korn Ferry, 2016). Academics call out for a set of pedagogical practices to teach leadership in a context that values awareness, reflection and development (Roeser and Peck, 2009; Weisfeld-Spolter et al , 2018). The need for leadership education remains acute with the increasing demands for accountability and results for higher education (Bureau and Lawhead, 2018).…”