There's a FedEx commercial you may have seen that's now taken up residence on YouTube. In the ad, a manager brings a trainee to the company's mailroom to help see an urgent shipping matter through. Snubbing his nose at the work, the young businessman rationalizes that there must be some mistake because he has an M.B.A. and therefore doesn't "do shipping." The manager responds, "Oh, you have an M.B.A.? In that case, I'll have to show you how to do it!"
The commercial exaggerates a view the business world has had with management schools and their protégés for years--that of young, overconfident M.B.A.s excelling in the academy with their book smarts, only to miss the mark when it comes to the real-life demands of the marketplace.
Don't get me wrong. To a certain extent, this circumstance is just as it should be. Korn/Ferry's research database on 1.7 million managers and executives supports conventional wisdom that high-potentials' skills should be largely task focused when in frontline supervisor positions, yet must evolve to more intellectual, strategic and collaborative competencies as they advance to midlevel and then C-level positions. The accumulated academic knowledge, therefore, might not have relevance immediately but will be invaluable as leaders climb and adjust to the corporate ladder.
Still, I can't help but be discouraged and intrigued when examining the dynamics of career-embarking M.B.A.s' shortcomings. According to a Colorado State business school study comparing business and nonbusiness graduates, the M.B.A.s outperformed the control group in seven of 12 different career skill areas, including information analysis, quantitative analysis, theory and technology. Yet the five areas where the M.B.A.s were bested--helping others, initiative, relationship, sense-making and, yes, leadership--are absolutely essential to sustained organizational success.
This finding is not isolated. A survey last year by the Graduate Management Admission Council came to a nearly identical conclusion. And in a telling 2002 management poll by Canada's Financial Post, nearly 150 top executives rated nonbusiness graduates above M.B.A.s when it came to work ethic, interpersonal and sales capabilities, and oral and written communication--skills sometimes dismissed as "soft" but which are the lifeblood of today's corporations.
The takeaway? If aspiring business executives can't muster up the commitment, collaboration or problem-solving qualities demanded by today's multifaceted, politically charged corporate cultures, they'll never be world class. Without a more relational and strategic compass to guide their technical know-how, an M.B.A. degree falls flat.
In remedying this dilemma, b-school administrators and enrollees must both remember their roles, with the former establishing curricula and teaching patterns designed to fulfill organizational needs rather than student demands. Further, as University of Southern California professors and leadership experts Warren Bennis and James O'Toole observe, schools must ask themselves how they define true value. Do they reward transformation of students and their overall competencies, or just the quality of their scholarly research? If students carry a belief that scientific data trumps all else into business environments that often rely upon snap judgments of hazy factors and touchy emotions, their proverbial heads will be stuck in the sand.
As discussed in previous columns, the most effective leaders blend technical, results and people skills to reach heightened levels of awareness, effectiveness and decision making. They not only understand six sigma, for instance, but can capably lead its task force or hold a room when presenting on the issue. They see the big picture, understanding how their specialties fit into it while connecting interpersonally.
My advice to new M.B.A.s this fall is to take a second look into what might seem like the softer stuff. Often, it's not the end but the means to getting there that best prepares you for new work challenges. Rather than just the letter grade you received on the paper, how effective was the writing process? Even if your cohort nailed the presentation, would you characterize the group as functional? Can you see your personality and ability to team maturing as you learn?
With a large baby boomer void in the workplace looming, M.B.A.-adorned practitioners have a tremendous opportunity to reshape business practice. Still, certifiable knowledge of the issues alone won't suffice. To outdistance others to the top, young leaders must know themselves and their colleagues, fluently and persuasively working within larger human development issues to achieve better results.
Below I address your specific questions related to M.B.A.s and leadership. As usual, specific names have been withheld to preserve a free dialogue.
Executive director, Executive Education Consortium: Some business schools now offer undergraduate business-to-M.B.A. pre-admission programs. Given that, is there a need for curriculum changes in business schools that blend in more liberal arts topics? Are M.B.A.s becoming too one-dimensional by following a total business curriculum?
The research mentioned above certainly suggests that today's b-school grads need to better "think outside the spreadsheet" and become more well rounded. At the very least, I think business students should have some exposure to basic human psychology and intercultural relations courses, speech and writing classes, and also group/team communication before being even remotely workplace-ready. In addition to the coursework, business schools should strongly encourage--not just offer--extracurricular activities that M.B.A.s can engage in to broaden their perspectives, become more self-aware and strengthen their relational and strategic compasses.
First-year M.B.A. student: Can we learn to be leaders? Can leadership be taught?
Leadership is learnable, yet it's also true that our effectiveness as leaders hinges on many heredity-influenced personality traits, such as IQ or emotional composition. Nature and nurture both play important roles in our development.
Disentangling the potential origins of our unique traits can be helpful and interesting, but it's impossible to ever understand them in full detail. Rather than obsessing on the "how" and "where" issues of your leadership style, invest more heavily in considering the "what," i.e., your strengths, weaknesses and passions. Growing as leaders means growing as people and in the ways we maintain self-awareness and express ourselves.
Second-year M.B.A. student: As future business leaders, how do we impact global issues like poverty, disease and the environment? There is a lot of student idealism around these issues, but how do we carry that into the business world and, more important, sustain it?
By finding appropriate ways to be yourselves and express your passions for these issues despite how the flow chart hierarchy reads. Almost every CEO lists "more leadership on every level" atop their wish list, yet their companies so often fail to encourage the expression of values critical to widespread leadership. Maintain humility as you enter the workforce and team with others, but don't compromise or bury the values that give you a sense of purpose.
Think of it this way: Unlike your skills, which can change dramatically over time, your values should be intact throughout the entirety of your career. Keep tight hold of the ideals that matter most to you when re-entering the workforce, and as you develop new skill sets and gain more of a voice, it will be those values lighting the way toward making meaningful differences.
Kevin Cashman is founder and CEO of LeaderSource, A Korn/Ferry Company, a global leadership development, executive coaching and team-effectiveness consultancy headquartered in Minneapolis. He has authored four books on leadership and career development, including the best seller Leadership From the Inside Out (revised edition out soon).
The commercial exaggerates a view the business world has had with management schools and their protégés for years--that of young, overconfident M.B.A.s excelling in the academy with their book smarts, only to miss the mark when it comes to the real-life demands of the marketplace.
Don't get me wrong. To a certain extent, this circumstance is just as it should be. Korn/Ferry's research database on 1.7 million managers and executives supports conventional wisdom that high-potentials' skills should be largely task focused when in frontline supervisor positions, yet must evolve to more intellectual, strategic and collaborative competencies as they advance to midlevel and then C-level positions. The accumulated academic knowledge, therefore, might not have relevance immediately but will be invaluable as leaders climb and adjust to the corporate ladder.
Still, I can't help but be discouraged and intrigued when examining the dynamics of career-embarking M.B.A.s' shortcomings. According to a Colorado State business school study comparing business and nonbusiness graduates, the M.B.A.s outperformed the control group in seven of 12 different career skill areas, including information analysis, quantitative analysis, theory and technology. Yet the five areas where the M.B.A.s were bested--helping others, initiative, relationship, sense-making and, yes, leadership--are absolutely essential to sustained organizational success.
This finding is not isolated. A survey last year by the Graduate Management Admission Council came to a nearly identical conclusion. And in a telling 2002 management poll by Canada's Financial Post, nearly 150 top executives rated nonbusiness graduates above M.B.A.s when it came to work ethic, interpersonal and sales capabilities, and oral and written communication--skills sometimes dismissed as "soft" but which are the lifeblood of today's corporations.
The takeaway? If aspiring business executives can't muster up the commitment, collaboration or problem-solving qualities demanded by today's multifaceted, politically charged corporate cultures, they'll never be world class. Without a more relational and strategic compass to guide their technical know-how, an M.B.A. degree falls flat.
In remedying this dilemma, b-school administrators and enrollees must both remember their roles, with the former establishing curricula and teaching patterns designed to fulfill organizational needs rather than student demands. Further, as University of Southern California professors and leadership experts Warren Bennis and James O'Toole observe, schools must ask themselves how they define true value. Do they reward transformation of students and their overall competencies, or just the quality of their scholarly research? If students carry a belief that scientific data trumps all else into business environments that often rely upon snap judgments of hazy factors and touchy emotions, their proverbial heads will be stuck in the sand.
As discussed in previous columns, the most effective leaders blend technical, results and people skills to reach heightened levels of awareness, effectiveness and decision making. They not only understand six sigma, for instance, but can capably lead its task force or hold a room when presenting on the issue. They see the big picture, understanding how their specialties fit into it while connecting interpersonally.
My advice to new M.B.A.s this fall is to take a second look into what might seem like the softer stuff. Often, it's not the end but the means to getting there that best prepares you for new work challenges. Rather than just the letter grade you received on the paper, how effective was the writing process? Even if your cohort nailed the presentation, would you characterize the group as functional? Can you see your personality and ability to team maturing as you learn?
With a large baby boomer void in the workplace looming, M.B.A.-adorned practitioners have a tremendous opportunity to reshape business practice. Still, certifiable knowledge of the issues alone won't suffice. To outdistance others to the top, young leaders must know themselves and their colleagues, fluently and persuasively working within larger human development issues to achieve better results.
Below I address your specific questions related to M.B.A.s and leadership. As usual, specific names have been withheld to preserve a free dialogue.
Executive director, Executive Education Consortium: Some business schools now offer undergraduate business-to-M.B.A. pre-admission programs. Given that, is there a need for curriculum changes in business schools that blend in more liberal arts topics? Are M.B.A.s becoming too one-dimensional by following a total business curriculum?
The research mentioned above certainly suggests that today's b-school grads need to better "think outside the spreadsheet" and become more well rounded. At the very least, I think business students should have some exposure to basic human psychology and intercultural relations courses, speech and writing classes, and also group/team communication before being even remotely workplace-ready. In addition to the coursework, business schools should strongly encourage--not just offer--extracurricular activities that M.B.A.s can engage in to broaden their perspectives, become more self-aware and strengthen their relational and strategic compasses.
First-year M.B.A. student: Can we learn to be leaders? Can leadership be taught?
Leadership is learnable, yet it's also true that our effectiveness as leaders hinges on many heredity-influenced personality traits, such as IQ or emotional composition. Nature and nurture both play important roles in our development.
Disentangling the potential origins of our unique traits can be helpful and interesting, but it's impossible to ever understand them in full detail. Rather than obsessing on the "how" and "where" issues of your leadership style, invest more heavily in considering the "what," i.e., your strengths, weaknesses and passions. Growing as leaders means growing as people and in the ways we maintain self-awareness and express ourselves.
Second-year M.B.A. student: As future business leaders, how do we impact global issues like poverty, disease and the environment? There is a lot of student idealism around these issues, but how do we carry that into the business world and, more important, sustain it?
By finding appropriate ways to be yourselves and express your passions for these issues despite how the flow chart hierarchy reads. Almost every CEO lists "more leadership on every level" atop their wish list, yet their companies so often fail to encourage the expression of values critical to widespread leadership. Maintain humility as you enter the workforce and team with others, but don't compromise or bury the values that give you a sense of purpose.
Think of it this way: Unlike your skills, which can change dramatically over time, your values should be intact throughout the entirety of your career. Keep tight hold of the ideals that matter most to you when re-entering the workforce, and as you develop new skill sets and gain more of a voice, it will be those values lighting the way toward making meaningful differences.
Kevin Cashman is founder and CEO of LeaderSource, A Korn/Ferry Company, a global leadership development, executive coaching and team-effectiveness consultancy headquartered in Minneapolis. He has authored four books on leadership and career development, including the best seller Leadership From the Inside Out (revised edition out soon).
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