and feedback to custom-make a programme that addresses the inclusive needs of the business community. “If we are not part of producing the next generation of inclusive leaders, we’re simply not going to be competitive – inclusive leadership is the way forward, it’s not optional, but absolutely essential. “One innovation that came about within the past five years was the creation of the Hoffmann Global Institute for Business and Society, focused on sustainability. I think most companies are now realising that sustainability, environmental consciousness, wellness and diversity are all intertwined. “This is very much aligned with the values of our school and something that we are working to actively promote. Part of our responsibility is not just what we’re doing for our own students, but fostering an inclusive business environment and making sure these values are enhanced externally.” Sven Stromann “Putting participants into multi-competence teams and encouraging them to deal with people very different from themselves is something that’s been ingrained within all our programmes for many years now. “Also, recognising that respect can often differ from culture to culture; what may be respectful in one culture may be totally disrespectful elsewhere. This prepares students well for leadership positions. It will help them deal with that in the future and they will hopefully be more understanding and more inclusive in their decision-making moving forward.” Sally Everett “I would say it is our responsibility to ensure business aligns to the values of business schools today, because I think our values are often more progressive and inclusive than those found within many organisations. “With our executive MBA course, we develop leaders who can go back into business and align with some of the topics we really want to push, such as purpose over profit. We focus on better business for a better world in this new programme. “We have a responsibility to situate students in businesses in a number of different ways. Not just placements, but having conversations with companies and finding out what their challenges are. For example, we advise students to get involved with SMEs that may lack certain resources, as well as encouraging them to sit on corporate boards and committees.” Anne-Claire Pache “One way we’ve tried to make sure that whatever we design addresses needs or expectations from the business world is by setting up a governance process. This was built and validated by a consultation committee composed of students, faculty and alumni working in the business world. When we design our projects and policies, we make sure to get the feedback and input from the business world through these alumni members.
simple, just changing forms, but when you think about all the IT systems and different programmes, it involves restructuring the entire process. But it was important enough to expend the resources to do so – 20 years ago, it would not have been on our radar. “I’m so grateful that we have robust research centres focused on inclusive issues, including the Insead Gender Initiative – they did a study on the impact of the pandemic on gender in the workplace. We also have the Africa Initiative, conducting research and resource generation, and the Stone Centre for the Study of Wealth Inequality, exploring various socio‑economic issues.” Sven Stromann “In regard to the lack of gender identity inclusion, how can we be inclusive as a school when our admissions forms are not? That was one topic that came up recently; it’s those very simple kinds of changes that are so important. “I think there’s a lot of privilege in having relatives, whether older siblings or your parents, who went to university or business school before you because you automatically feel much more at home in this environment, like you belong. That’s one of the topics we still need to approach; thinking beyond the obvious areas of diversity and beyond aspects of diversity that you can see. “In Germany, our language is gendered, so the debate centres on how we can have gender-inclusive language and how to use it in correspondence on our website and so forth. Whenever you work on these topics, you’re trying to be more inclusive and help people experience belonging.” How do you ensure that your diversity initiatives are aligned with the goals and values of business today? Sankalp Chaturvedi “We are creating institutional ambassadors who will be going into the workforce and we know that more inclusive leadership styles are better for everyone. But how do we create this type of leader? “Depending on which age group you’re dealing with, some people don’t have any idea of what inclusivity means in action. For us to embed those systems, we have to run basic foundational courses just to start talking about what diversity and inclusion actually is. “We also need to consider what having people from different places being part of your team means and how that awareness will translate into action. In areas where you’re embedding that process for future alumni and leaders, you’re creating institutional change as a legacy.” Sharon C Brooks “Our faculty is in constant conversation with business leaders and we recently launched a DE&I course through our executive education programme. This is based on reviewing research, data
28 | Ambition | MAY 2023
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