Marketing, Myth or Mainstay: Can Business Schools Really Develop Leaders?

Andrew Fenniman

Vice President, Learning and Leadership DevelopmentPrudential Financial, Inc.

March 25, 2002

2

Ground Rules

• Treat Ideas as Guests• Teach How You Learn• All Questions Permissible

3

Objective

#7. The Role of Graduate Business Schools in Worldwide Talent Development: How can executive education providers be a powerful, sought-after, driving force for effecting organizational change and developing talented business leaders?

4

Definitions

[OE. LEAD v.1 + -ER1.] 

One who guides others in action or opinion; one who takes the lead in any business, enterprise, or movement; one who is ‘followed’ by disciples or adherents; the chief of a sect or party. In early use occas. a chieftain, governor.

[f. LEADER1 + -SHIP.] 

5

Definitions

[OE. f. LEAD v.2 (? or n.1) + -ER1.]      A plumber.

6

Survey Says…

In the past 12 months, 159,245 executives attended programs at [121] schools – a 56% increase since 1996. Industry-wide, revenues from executive education more than doubled in the past academic year, to an estimated $800 million. The average schools’ take nearly doubled in that period, to more than $8 million.

– BusinessWeek, October 15, 2001

7

Survey Says…

Vaguely titled courses on leadership and crises management are also showing increased enrollments at several business schools.

--“MBA Schools Shift Focus to Jobs.” New York Times, January 1, 2002

8

So What?

• Leadership brand has a positive impact on the economic performance of a company and is deemed a valuable asset in today’s investment community.

• Financial analysts take leadership into account 84% of the time when valuing a stock.

• 35% of investors’ decisions about a firm’s value are based on non-financial data.

9

Development Drivers

Importance to Personal Development: rated “absolutely essential” or “very important”

Percent of top 200 executives in 50 large US companies

Adapted from Helen Handfield-Jones, McKinsey & Co.

0 10 3020 70 80 9040 50 600

10

30

20

70

80

40

50

60

Effe

ctiv

enes

s of

Com

pany

: rat

ed

Exce

llent

or V

ery

Goo

d

Traditional external training

Traditional internal training

Individual Learning

Special projectsWay jobs are structured

Speed of job moves

Mentoring

360-degree Feedback

Development Plans

Informal coaching & feedback

10

Question of focus?

• Zen Method of Instruction• Head on into Battle• Teams, Teams, Teams• Age-old Debate of Practice versus Theory

11

Leadership as Learning

• End of the Nature/Nurture Debate• Key to measurable effectiveness?

12

Learning

Changes a person makes in himself or herself

that increase the know-why and/or know-what and/or the know-how the person possesses with respect to a given subject.

– Peter B. Vaill

13

The Three Know’s

• Know-What: the ability to develop over time a fuller understanding of a subject

• Know-Why: the ability to grow in under-standing of the meaning and value of a subject

• Know-How: the ability to do something

14

Know-What

• How we learn• How we think

the ability to develop over time a fuller understanding of a subject

15

How we learn

• Goal-oriented • Activity-oriented • Learning-oriented

• Information acquiring preferences

Events- What’s just happened?

• React

Patterns & Trends- What’s been happening?

• Anticipate

Systemic Structures- What are the forces at play contributing to these patterns?

• Design

Mental Models- What about our thinking allows

this situation to persist?

• Transform

Leve

rage

How we think

17

Know-Why

• Leadership as a social relationship• Leadership as a role• Leadership in context

the ability to grow in under-standing of the meaning and value of a subject

18

Know-How

• How do you take knowledge and convert to performance

• Leaders take advantage of managerial opportunities.

the ability to do something

19

Leadership as Performance

Leadership does matter, of course. But, alas, it is something different from what is now touted under this label. It has little to do with ‘leadership qualities’ and even less to do with ‘charisma.’ It is mundane, unromantic and boring. Its essence is performance.

-- Peter F. Ducker

20

Are we asking the right question?

• Can, do, should?• Teach or develop?• Marketing, myth or mainstay?

21

Customer Expectation

• Differentiation• JIT Learning and Application• Measurability

22

The University stands for

• things forgotten in the heat of battle,• values that get pushed aside in the rough and

tumble of everyday living• goals we ought to be thinking about but

never do,• the facts we don’t like to face,• and the questions we lack the courage to ask.

– John Gardner

Marketing, Myth or Mainstay: Can Business Schools Really Develop Leaders?

Andrew FennimanVice President, LearningPrudential Financial, Inc.

March 25, 2002