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Perhaps never before has leadership been so consciously discussed, debated, defined, and in many cases, debunked. The Thierry Graduate School of Leadership MBA/Master of Arts in Leadership Brussels, Belgium "Management is about today—showing people how to do. Leadership is about tomorrow—showing people where to go."—Jean-Pierre Bal A relatively young program, the MBA/MAL program has been in place at the Thierry School since last year. Rather than a specialized MBA, it is considered a dual-degree program, explains program director Jean-Pierre Bal. "The teaching and learning of MBA course subjects lie within the professional scope of graduate business schools," notes Bal. "But in order to expand the scope of leadership as a field of its own, it cannot be part of a business school; it requires anoth- er learning approach and structure." The dual degree generally takes right—is perhaps the most difficult soft skill to instill in stu- dents, says Posner. "We go further than skills and abilities," he says. "We try to peel the onion back one more level and talk about values. We ask each student, 'What's important to you? What would you be willing to stand up for?'" In turn, the students often learn by asking visiting speak- ers that same question. "When we invite speakers here to talk about leadership, they'll often talk about things they did," says Posner, "Students will ask, 'What made you believe you could do that?' Speakers will say, 'Well, I just knew.' And stu- dents will ask, 'How did you deal with self-doubt?'" Those are tough questions, questions that leaders of two decades ago might never have asked themselves. But that's the point, says Posner. "All of the people who come here to talk about leadership on a personal level end up thanking me after- ward for the invitation. They gain new insights on themselves, making connections they hadn't made before they came." between 18 and 36 months to com- plete. The program spans 21 courses: 11 MBA courses, four transition courses titled "leadership and change management," and six in the MAL curriculum. Students earn their MBA degrees first. The 15- month MAL program, which is held subsequent to the completion of the MBA degree, comprises interactive lectures, workshops, and coaching sessions, and covers issues of ethics, teamwork, personal assessment, creative thinking, intuitive skills, and crisis management. Thierry makes a significant distinction between the Jean-Pierre Bal Management Isn't Enough What does it mean to be a leader? Perhaps never before has leadership been so consciously discussed, debated, defined, and in many cases, debunked. But one thing is clear: Its evo- lution is far from over. And many are looking to business schools to, yes, lead the way. Interdisciplinary business education, including the liber- al arts, may be a step in the right direction, says Ciulla. "Having been in both worlds, I would say that business schools are really behind the times in leadership studies. Many of them are teaching the social science stuff, but you can't understand leadership from just one discipline alone. It's bigger than that." For instance, Ciulla believes that dropping courses that MBA degree and the MAL degree: Those studying for the former are called students; those studying for the latter are called participants. The distinction is, in large part, a result of the course content of each, explains Bal. MBA students study marketing, finance, and other hard business skills. MAL participants, however, must practice, imple- ment, and act on their newfound skills. In other words, the key distinction between the MBA and MAL programs, says Bal, is that between theory and practice. "In our system, there is no emphasis on formal or theoretical research work. We view leadership as learn- ing-by-practice, not as science-by-study." tion may be another problem. A renewed focus on leadership education may keep business schools at the top when it comes to supplying corporations with the people they need. "You can't be an effective manager these days without seem too oriented toward the liberal arts, such as history, can be a mistake for business schools. "Many business schools have eliminated their business historians, but business history in a time of drastic change is one of the most important areas for a business school student to study," says Ciulla. "Students come here, and they don't know how we got to where we are." More important, an overemphasis on management educa- z being an effective leader. There's too much complexity, too much turbulence to simply 'manage,'" says Posner. "Management is all about the status quo; leadership is about doing things differently." ■ BizEd SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2002 31