Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/57872
In programs that emphasize problem- solving, self-directed learning, and self-awareness, Universiteit Maastricht aims to help students chart their own course toward becoming more responsible leaders. by Mariëlle Heijltjes Responsibly A Learning to Lead— s a professor of managerial behavior who teaches courses on lead- ership, I've often been asked this question: "You're educating the business leaders of tomorrow. What are you doing to help prevent the unethical conduct that led to scandals such as those at Enron, WorldCom, Ahold, and Parmalat?" Many business schools have added an ethical component to their leadership programs, and those that base part of their programs on an exploration of ethi- cal leadership face specific challenges. At the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and the Universiteit Maastricht Business School in the Nether- lands, we decided to take concrete measures to face those challenges. We wanted to provide a clear answer to those who asked us how we were preparing our students to become ethical, responsible leaders. In our MBA and masters of international business (MSc) programs, we have designed part of the curriculum with this goal in mind. We have adopted an approach that immerses our students in group discussion, self-directed prob- lem-solving, and self-awareness, so they develop a clear understanding of their personal values and their strengths and weaknesses as leaders. We realize that the impact business professors can make on their students' ethics and values may be modest. Even so, we believe that by adopting this pedagogical approach, we can be catalysts that put students on a path toward a lifetime of responsible leadership. Defining Objectives Before we designed the leadership and organization trajectory in our curricu- lum, we first defined our objectives. What qualities do responsible leaders pos- sess that we want to instill in our students? We found several recurring themes in a range of studies on leadership. Overall, the research defined a responsible leader as one who is honest and trustworthy, who possesses integrity, and who shows consideration and respect to others. Based on these studies, we conceived the following definition as a guide: Responsible leaders build and sustain morally sound relationships with all stakeholders, and they take all stakeholders' interests into account when mak- ing decisions. These characteristics are grounded in an individual's values, beliefs, or at- titudes—they aren't typically addressed on a personal level in a business school curriculum. But we believed that if our students developed such a mindset, they would understand how their organizations function not only on rational levels, 32 BizEd NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2007