As globalisation forges ahead unabated, companies are continually reaching across borders and expanding into new territory.
Their need for leaders with a comprehensive understanding of global practices has never been greater. But research shows that companies are failing to plug this gap themselves due to poor succession planning and inadequate leadership development.
The result is a major shortfall in competent, clued up global leaders.
According to a 2017 report by Price Waterhouse Coopers, 75 percent of hiring managers believe leadership skills are hard to find in new recruits. And a Deloitte study found a whopping 87 percent of companies aren’t effective at building global leaders.
While this is bad news for people already stuck in the corporate world, it’s a fantastic opportunity for those looking to move into the field or willing to expand their knowledge with a postgraduate qualification.
An accredited qualification from a business school who specialises in global leader development is a sure-fire way to capitalise on this.
As the business world continues to look beyond the local, business schools have been quick to extend courses to cover the ever-expanding boundaries. But only a handful have mastered the niche skill of global leader development and it’s these schools that can give you that much needed edge in the job market.
Here are five of those top schools driving us into global leadership:
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY – USA
You’re in good hands at the George Washington University School of Business. The school’s commitment to preparing students for leadership in the complex, ever-evolving, modern global business environment is reflected in the world-renowned faculty that guide you through your learning experience.
Herman Aguinis is the Avram Tucker Distinguished Scholar and Professor of Management, also standing as recipient of the 2017 Michael R. Losey Excellence in Human Resource Research Award. He’s known throughout the business world for his pivotal research on leadership practices in human capital acquisition, development and deployment. As an expert in leadership best practices, Aguinis heads up the School’s special graduate certificate in management leadership.
A two-part course, led by Hochberg Professorial Fellow of Leadership Development and Professor of Management James A. Bailey, also takes an in-depth look at “Contemporary Leadership Perspectives and Practices.”
But GWSB’s success in teaching and fostering leadership is perhaps best measured by the impressive accomplishments of its distinguished alumni.
Graduates have made their mark in the C-suites of some of the world’s leading corporations and changed lives in top government and military roles.
Among their alumni, GWSB can boast two US senators and a governor; the current premier of Bermuda, David Burt; and in the military, with three former chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, including former US Secretary of State Colin Powell.
Clearly GWSB’s commitment to “preparing global business leaders” is producing impressive results.
BANGOR BUSINESS SCHOOL, BANGOR UNIVERSITY – UK
At Bangor Business School (BBS) you get a global reach with a local feel. Located in the beautiful mountains of North Wales, the university offers stunning surroundings paired with world-class education.
It’s hard to argue with the School’s international rankings in specialist subject areas. Just this year, they beat off the likes of Yale and Imperial College to make the top 25 in the world in the field of Banking.
This high quality is why the School is recognised as a Chartered Banker Institute ‘Centre of Excellence’, making it one of only eight UK universities to hold this coveted status.
They also partner with universities worldwide and engage with global business and industry players to provide students an insider look at global practices. This link between the classroom and the real world prepares students to hit the ground running once they enter the workforce.
But it’s not just academia Bangor prides itself on. The university was rated in the top 10 in the UK for student satisfaction due to its continued investment in the student experience.
It also understands the challenges of being an international student, employing a dedicated International Student Welfare Adviser to support you throughout your programme.
At BBS, you not only get a first-rate respected qualification, you also get a place to call home.
BIRMINGHAM BUSINESS SCHOOL (BBS), UNIVERSITY OF BIRMINGHAM – UK
This school strongly believes in creating global leaders of the future. BBS’ mission is to “put people at the heart of business and business at the heart of society”.
In keeping to this message, the school is developing the next generation of responsible, global business leaders and entrepreneurs through a research-led, multidisciplinary approach to learning.
The school currently hosts students from more than 60 countries at the main Birmingham-based campus, also boasting a number of international partner universities where BBS courses are taught for their internationally-relevant value.
The school’s global alumni community spreads to a whopping 29,000 graduates, giving it truly worldwide reach and ensuring there are universal advantages to the work they do. Alumni have gone onto work for multinational companies in both the public, private and third sectors, using their expertise and experience of learning from academics with a universal outlook.
TUCK SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, DARTMOUTH COLLEGE – USA
Tuck School of Business believes if you want to better the world of business, you need to start with “wise leadership.”
It’s all about knowing how to arrive at the solutions needed to better the world. It’s about understanding how to harness the power of business to work with governments to improve the lives of everyone.
This means taking on some of the biggest issues of our time, but graduates of this Dartmouth-based school are more than equipped to do so.
According to Dean Matthew Slaughter, the school will teach you to “tackle new ideas, engage with the diversity and dynamism of the world, and develop the knowledge and wisdom to better lives and the broader world of business.”
Tuck believes the best way to achieve this understanding is through doing it yourself and solving real life business problems.
The power of experiential learning is realised throughout the Tuck curriculum, from the required first-year project to on-the-ground experiences that make up TuckGO, to enriching core and elective courses that empower Tuck faculty to bring their methods of intellectual inquiry into the classroom.
DUKE’S FUQUA SCHOOL OF BUSINESS, DUKE UNIVERSITY – USA
If you want to work on a global scale, you need to learn on a global scale. And that’s exactly what they do at Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.
They make the world your classroom. Students on the Global Executive MBA travel across a diverse set of economies that demonstrate the interdependency of global business.
While the cities change each year, you’re always guaranteed to learn from those at the top of their field across the world. Some past examples include meeting a top manufacturing managing director in Santiago, Chile; understanding the workings of an NGO in Delhi, India; and picking the brains of the editor-in-chief of Handelsblatt – the leading national business and finance daily in Berlin, Germany.
In each location students are encouraged to explore and be adventurous, gathering data that will inform concepts discussed in the classroom and serve as valuable experience throughout your career.
Through Duke’s mix of classroom work and experiential learning, you’ll explore how market dynamics and institutions drive the world economy while learning how to adapt your leadership style to different cultural contexts.
*Some of the institutions featured in this article are commercial partners of Study International
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