From silos to systems: Teaching leadership for the multidisciplinary age

Enterprises increasingly resemble an orchestra, a group of individuals with specialised skills, where each instrument must be in harmony with the rest to produce a captivating symphony. The functioning of enterprises depends on the harmonious collaboration of specialists. The conductor in this situation is tasked with perhaps the most crucial role, wherein they must guide the musicians, directing the flow of the score. A conductor may not necessarily play all the instruments that make up the orchestra, but they have the discerning ear required to lead and shape this performance.

A company functions similarly – a manager must understand how each member of their team functions and how they can make the team work to their best potential. Leadership is a fine art, a skill imperative for the future. Taking into account, too, the fact that a workplace in the digital age stands in stark contrast to the one that existed a decade ago.

Groundwork begins in B-schools

While managements across the globe scrambled to keep their organisations together during the pandemic, one thing became clear: leadership has to evolve to keep up with the new dynamic and multidisciplinary workplace of this day and age. So, how do we teach our students this craft? How to make them understand the importance of recognising individual talent and potential skills, and subsequently, to deploy it appropriately?

Leadership has been a coveted skill for some time now, where organisations look for people who can successfully lead teams to collaborate, keep morale high and cultivate adaptable teams, especially in up-and-coming fields such as sports management, media and the creative industries. Thus, given the high demand and the clear edge it provides students, the groundwork for this skill has to begin in business schools.

A 2024 report by HirePro, an AI-powered recruitment firm, reveals a perception gap in the industry readiness of graduates. While the institutions believe their students are day-one ready, the industry begs to differ. Combining this with McKinsey’s 2021 report that highlights the essential skills of a future-ready workforce, a workplace of the future requires graduates with skills.

Importance of self-leadership

Chief among these skills was self-leadership – underscoring self-management and critical thinking. When graduates first start out in a corporate environment, they work in silos, only responsible for their own output and the aforementioned skills are vital to making an impact. However, the same skills might hinder their transition into being a team player, to produce output that is the sum of their team’s efforts. Thus, it is imperative that graduates not only self-govern but also possess the adaptability to work well with others.

Rethink pedagogy beyond placements

What I also notice now is the increasingly transactional nature of the relationship between management institutions and students. The focus is usually on placements and the packages companies offer. If management institutions continue on this course, they risk being obsolete.

A more transformative business education begins with reassessing pedagogical methods. The Age of Information is marked with technological disruption and AI proliferation; our coursework and teaching methods must adapt to reflect the times we live in.

In addition, the curriculum taught is oftentimes not up to date with the ever-evolving business industry, a reflection of the data presented about the industry readiness of the graduates. Business schools need to act more decisively, incorporate pedagogy that invites students to think critically, facilitate teamwork, and inspire a can-do attitude.

In-class roleplay activities, immersive leadership sessions, capstone projects, and committee extracurriculars are an effective way to promote these skills in students as they get to engage with people across diverse professional contexts. They are also in situations that will enable decision-making and interpersonal dialogue. The ability to work with people in person, communicate, see emotions, think critically and develop self-intelligence will be key skills that give graduates an edge in the workforce.

I believe there also has to be a culture of learning and re-learning in every institution. Given the rapid pace at which knowledge becomes redundant, we must be curious about new technology and the changes that occur across fields. Institutions fail if they scare students away from learning – a student should graduate with a burning desire to gain more knowledge. It will also be prudent to remember that while corporate success is key, we must also understand that it is important to balance one’s corporate journey with personal success and well-being.

(Raman Ramachandran, Director & Dean at K.J. Somaiya Institute of Management)

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