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BUSINESS SCHOOL EDUCATION

Transforming for impact
Paul Polman

The unprecedented pace and scale of change in the world today is almost too great to comprehend. As
custodians of tomorrow’s leaders, business schools need to keep pace, otherwise their relevance and
impact could be terminally diminished. PRME is here to inspire and hold business schools account-
able for meeting this urgent challenge.

31.1 Navigating a volatile world

On the one hand, there are the defining challenges of our time: runaway
climate change, which poses an existential threat to the future of human-
ity; and gross inequality, which has left billions behind without access to
basic human needs.
And on the other, decade-old ideological differences that strain national
and international cohesion sit alongside new challenges, such as rapid tech-
nological advancements, which are fundamentally transforming the future
of work and threatening millions of livelihoods.

DOI: 10.4324/9781003186311-35
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More alarming still, these are all deeply interconnected issues, and the
lack of a coordinated response weighs heavily on the chances of driving
positive change.
Our global governance system is broken. International political coopera-
tion is lacking, multilateral institutions are marginalised and leaders of cour-
age and principle are in worrying short supply – too often playing not to lose
by protecting the status quo, rather than playing to win. COVID-19 has only
exposed humanity’s vulnerabilities even further and shown that we face mul-
tiple health, economic, social and environmental crises all at the same time.
As a consequence, trust is at an all-time low in many parts of society,
and this has given rise to increasing protests, voter apathy and the gradual
erosion of confidence in globalisation as a force for growth and prosperity.
It is clear that we have reached a critical inflection point and that we
urgently need to shift to a new model of economic growth – one that
promotes shared prosperity and protects the wellbeing of our people and
planet. If we are to successfully build back better, capitalism needs to be
redefined for the 21st century and, crucially, this must include delivering
the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
Carving this new path will not be possible without business schools.
They sit at the nexus of society, their research informs and inspires and
their teaching prepares new leaders for the challenges of the future.
But business schools currently need to re-evaluate their own role in
society, due to digital disruption, increasing student demands for higher
quality and cheaper teaching and calls to have a broader purpose that helps
create cleaner and fairer economies.
There are two obvious imperatives where business schools need to act if
they are to stem declining MBA enrolments and win back confidence. First,
they need to quickly change their traditional models and methods of teach-
ing. And second, they need to think again about ‘what’ to teach students.
Business schools can seize this moment to emerge stronger and more
relevant than before. But they need to change and without delay. PRME and
its network of 800+ business schools is a key driver of this change.

31.2 Reinventing business education

There are a number of decisive steps business schools can take to transform
with PRME’s backing.
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First, doing much more to connect science, technology, engineering

and mathematics (STEM) with the humanities – to ensure we use their
immense and growing power – would mark an enormous step forward,
both in helping to deliver better educational and career outcomes, but also
in helping business schools to tackle real-world problems. Whether it is car-
bon capture technology helping to stem climate change, automated vehi-
cles helping to improve connectivity, or bio-electronics helping to improve
the lives of people with disabilities and diseases, we can make even quicker
progress if business schools do a much better job of integrating these sub-
jects. It is encouraging therefore to see some already reorganising along
these lines, but there is still much more they can and must do.
The rapid shift to remote learning as a consequence of COVID-19 –
and with it the accompanying pressure on tuition fees – is another good
example of overdue change. While this conversion may feel like a threat
to the conventional revenue structures of business schools, it also presents
enormous opportunities. Fully integrated, online courses that leverage the
power of cloud computing, data analytics, machine learning and artificial
intelligence offer business schools the chance to simultaneously improve
curriculums and reach more students. Indeed, some schools are already
experimenting with subscription-based offerings for certain courses in a
bid to expand access. In addition, these technologies can also help reduce
costs, especially in areas such as admissions and enrolment, where they can
help to improve student services, as well as free staff time. Hybrid courses
that use a blend of online and offline learning are also increasingly valued
by students, but the direction of travel is clear. Students want more choice
and greater flexibility to learn.
Abandoning embedded departmental structures, which too often pri-
oritise narrow, specialist disciplinary fields of expertise over system-level
learning would also help bring business schools into the modern age.
Now, more than ever, we need broad, multidimensional thinking to tackle
humanity’s biggest challenges, as it is clear they cross traditional bounda-
ries of education and cognition. Crucially, this should include broadening
the scope of course curriculums to look beyond the immediate subject –
accounting, finance, economics, marketing – to consider how each dis-
cipline can positively affect other vocations through cross-collaboration.
Personalisation of courses, tailored to individual student strengths, would
also be highly valuable.
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Promoting lifelong learning must also be a top priority. In a volatile world

where old jobs are rapidly disappearing and new ones being created, there
is no guarantee that anything learned today will still be relevant tomorrow.
Flexible learning and constant development are the new guardrails of the
modern workplace. The most enlightened business schools already under-
stand this dramatic change in employment patterns and are doing much
more to build a culture where learning is a continuous journey.
Business schools also need to proactively embrace diversity and inclu-
sion. Different perspectives and viewpoints help students to expand their
horizons and broaden their thinking, as well as be open to new ideas and
experiences. This is exactly the kind of environment business schools need
to cultivate, as attracting people from a wide range of backgrounds and
geographies will help improve learning and collaboration among students.
Extending e-learning platforms and networking could also help to acceler-
ate this crucial agenda. Diversity and inclusion have long been at the top of
the agenda in corporate board rooms. They must now find their way into
the classroom as well.

31.3 Moral leaders are effective leaders

If business schools successfully manage this transition, they will also be
far better at helping the leaders of tomorrow develop the skills and exper-
tise they need to make an impact. This is at the core of PRME’s mission to
develop empowered and responsible leaders of tomorrow.
For too long, being an effective leader has been about being experienced,
intelligent, organised, analytical, creative and a good communicator, quali-
ties that still hold true today and are absolutely essential to the success of
any leader. But in an increasingly complex world full of disruption and
change – where collaboration and partnerships are vital – it is the previ-
ously undervalued ‘soft skills’ of leaders that are becoming more prized.
Being empathetic and compassionate, being self-aware and self-­
sacrificing, and being prepared to put the interests of others ahead of your
own. Ultimately, these attributes are what define moral leaders and moral
leadership. Putting people at the centre of decision-making and using their
hopes and aspirations as the scorecards of success.
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A good leader is first and foremost a good human being. True leadership
is putting yourself to the service of others, knowing that by doing so you
are also better off yourself. It is about helping others succeed by inspiring
and uniting people behind a common purpose. It is not just about giving
energy. It is about unleashing it. It’s the ability to motivate others to higher
levels of performance.
This includes supporting people through mentoring, training and new
opportunities and, most importantly, in helping them to find their own
clear sense of direction. As Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic, has said,
it is about helping people find their true north so they can become ‘genuine
and authentic’ leaders.
It is not about preaching or being self-righteous. Instead, moral leaders
are driven by purpose, inspired by elevating and supporting others and
guided by humility and understanding.
These are the leadership qualities business schools should now be
teaching.

31.3.1 Driven by purpose

Most important of all, business schools need to help every student find
their purpose and passions. That is how to unlock energy and commitment
in young people and how best to help them become real changemakers.
Fortunately, many young people are already discovering this themselves.
Over recent years we have seen them agitating and mobilising for positive
change like never before, with the youth climate movement perhaps being
the best example.
But initiatives like One Young World and Net Impact, as well as the
B-Corp movement and explosive growth in social enterprises, prove that
we are witnessing a new era of youth activism. This is a great opportunity
for business schools, who can help to instil students with an instinctive
tendency towards the greater good, pursued through values and service.
Moral leaders are empowered by a deep sense of personal responsibility.
They believe in driving system-level change beyond their own organisa-
tions and see the ‘bigger picture’ as the only noble cause worthy of their
attention and efforts.
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Repairing our climate, oceans and biodiversity, tackling human rights

abuses and undoing the damage inflicted by gross inequality. These are the
issues that matter to purpose-driven leaders, who are constantly frustrated
at the pace of change and are impatient to alter our trajectory.
This is why you are seeing more and more business leaders adopting
long-term, multi-stakeholder models to power their companies’ growth
and improve performance, as they recognise activating purpose is integral
to success. It helps companies earn their license to operate; reduce costs;
comply with regulations; attract and retain top talent; access new markets;
accelerate innovation; and partner with key stakeholders. Shareholder pri-
macy and profit maximisation are an anathema to purpose-driven lead-
ers, who instead believe in achieving profits through purpose.
Business schools can help accelerate this change by putting purpose at
the heart of student’s career ambitions. As this is ultimately the key driver
of impact, students would expect universities themselves already to clearly
define their own impact and not limit their contributions to creating pur-
poseful leaders alone. In fact, one cannot be done without the other.

31.3.2 Inspired to elevate and support

The notion of the ‘strong leader’ as the command-and-control autocrat who
alone plans, directs and celebrates their own victories is obsolete.
Business schools can do much more therefore to show students that lead-
ers need to be team players, who are able to delegate, can recognise the
virtues and abilities of others and who believe in shared achievements. This
means having a deep understanding of what motivates people and how best
to support them. And it means being caring, thoughtful and considerate.
Many would argue that increasingly we need to move from competitive
to collaborative leadership.
True leaders actually make themselves smaller than the moment. They
know that they alone cannot fix everything, so they create the space for
others to join them and they work in partnership for maximum impact.
The UN Sustainable Development Goals are a case in point. Delivery
of the goals will simply not be possible without deep, strategic alliances
that cut across government, business, civil society and academia. Business
schools should use the SDGs as a template for teaching teamwork to
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students, who will then hopefully go on to use them as a constant refer-

ence for inspiration.

31.3.3 Guided by humility and understanding

Great leaders also have the emotional intelligence, self-awareness and
humility to understand the needs of others. This is what guides their
actions. Not dogma and instinct, but the real emotions, feelings and the
desires of those around them.
The ‘Golden Rule’ that exists in one form or other in all religions is sym-
bolic of this kind of leadership: ‘do unto others as you would have them do
unto you.’ Although now we must also add the ‘planet’ to this sentiment. It
is above all about receiving through giving.
Compassion raises levels of trust and enhances loyalty. And studies find
that compassionate leaders are perceived as stronger and more competent.
Above all, in a post-COVID-19 world, business schools need to rethink
leadership as being anchored in society, empathy and kindness.

31.4 Hope for the future

Business schools are being tested like never before.
In common with many institutions, they have been severely disrupted
by the digital economy and new technologies, which have democratised
information and now allow anyone to become an instant expert in any
subject – quite often for free. This has exposed gaps in curricula and led
students to question the quality and costs of their education.
However, business schools should not despair. Information may now be
more readily available than ever before, but that does not mean it is more
understood. Students still need help and guidance to interpret, analyse and
use information. And this is where business schools can continue to play a
catalytic role. In helping to provide meaning and inspiration in a complex
world where real change is more difficult to achieve than it may appear.
We are truly blessed to have so many gifted young people at this crucial
time in history. More purpose-driven, tolerant, open and accountable than
any generation before them, they are primed to make an enormous impact
on the issues that matter. They passionately believe in sustainable living,
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inclusivity, equality and fairness, which should give us all hope about the
future.
If the world really is going to change, we can be certain it will be young
people who will make it happen. All business schools need to do is give
them the tools for the job. With the support of PRME, business schools can
and must step up to the challenge.