
Creating cultures of change, part III
London Business School’s Andy Craggs considers how the business school model can be reinvented to meet emerging learner needs
For business schools to meet new student needs, the actions outlined in the last part of this article series (Creating cultures of change, part III) will go some way to responding to the ‘what’. But, we also know from experience that most large-scale change initiatives fail at some level – and as has also been explored in the book, Organization Development, by Mee-Yan Cheung-Judge and Linda Holbeche.
Therefore, if business school leaders are to deliver this new agenda, they will need to focus as much on the ‘who’, ‘why’ and ‘how’ as the ‘what’. These are the factors that build the internal culture to make change happen. How is this done?
I believe the key is to develop an effective ‘Change Mindset’, as covered in my book of the same name, to respond to the current uncertainty. There are four key action areas in which business schools can do this:
– Wider content reflecting topics from sustainability to ESG, AI, and DE&I
– Smart hybrid learning that leverages virtual, face-to-face and experiential formats
– New structures that offer customisation for both groups and individuals
– New partnerships that offer complementary knowledge and learning
This series of articles has looked at how leaders of business schools, and their faculty, can remain relevant and profitable in a post-pandemic world, when at the macro level postgraduate education is at a crossroads.
Teaching methodologies and content are clearly in need of a refresh to meet emerging learner requirements, but equally important are the cultural elements required to enrol and engage faculty and staff in the change.
This is easier said than done: change requires clarity within each business school about who that business school is, what it does, how it is delivered and why change is needed. Contradictory, yet complementary, skills are needed for this: hard skills such as courage will get things done while softer skills, like empathy, are critical to bring others on the journey.
If it is reframed as an opportunity to meet the real, emerging needs of students and clients, a change mindset can unblock the threat response so often encountered in business at times of transition, especially when externally imposed.
With a refreshed vision and purpose, an updated learning curriculum, and the culture to support change, business schools can bring their institutions successfully into the 21st century. The key starting point is for leaders to create the conditions for curiosity, engagement and action towards an envisioned future that energises and enables the institution and its faculty to embrace and drive the change it needs.
Andy Craggs is a leadership consultant and programme director of executive education at London Business School.
This article forms part of a series and is adapted from a longer feature which originally appeared in Business Impact’s print magazine (edition: August 2022). Read part I here.
London Business School’s Andy Craggs considers how the business school model can be reinvented to meet emerging learner needs
A look at traditional business school structures and why they are in need of review to meet new student needs and business realities
Traditional business school structures and content must be challenged, says London Business School’s Andy Craggs
Changing the mindset on sustainability: Transforming business communities by shifting minds on the impact of sustainability – highlights from a recent BGA workshop
How Audencia aims to help students to become custodians of the planet and preserve business
Creating the conditions for necessary change
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