How B-schools create leaders

When recruiting young MBA graduates for my organisation, I don't
consider their domain specialisation or even high marks: I look for
one key quality. Leadership. My thoughts are on creating leaders
within the organisation -- people who can lead other people, companies
and society.

A leader is someone who can influence the thoughts and behaviour of
people. Leadership isn't an inherent trait; it comes from practice and
can be nurtured. And that is what B-schools need to do -- help
students develop their leadership potential.

When I visit B-school campuses during placement week, I seek several
attributes that point to good leadership ability. The first is
personal integrity -- someone with a sense of honour. I want people
who can speak the truth, even when telling the truth can go against
them.

I look for someone who is an excellent communicator, and who
intuitively understands how to interact with people. I want an
uncluttered mind -- he should be able to see the larger picture and
simplify complex issues. And last, but definitely not the least, he
should be able to inspire people to work together.

The trouble is, no management institute is focusing on creating these
attributes in its students. MBA programmes create leaders in spite of
themselves, simply because they admit high-calibre students who go out
and actively seek leadership qualities.

That's why B-schools need to spend even more time on their selection
process. More personal interaction with the applicants will ensure
that they admit only the cream of the crop.

B-schools also need to remember that leaders beget more leaders. So
while they should ensure increased interaction for students with
industry leaders, they also need to make sure that the faculty
possesses qualities of leadership.

Not only do they need to be at the top of their respective fields,
they should also be able to inspire their students to work together
and scale new heights of excellence.

Raja Shekharan is senior vice president, Caritor India. He graduated
in 1989 from Jamshedpur's Xavier Labour Relations Institute.