ROUNDTABLE REVIEW
S oft skills, encompassing such traits as apply them with integrity and ethical insight. Looking ahead, the demand for leaders with robust soft skills will only intensify. Business schools must proactively evolve, embedding experiential learning and real-world simulations. This ensures graduates possess not just theoretical knowledge, but also the ability to lead with empathy, navigate ambiguity and develop inclusive cultures – all of which will be essential for thriving in tomorrow’s challenging global economy. communication, emotional intelligence, teamwork and adaptability, enable future leaders to build strong relationships, inspire teams and drive innovation. By integrating soft skills training into the curriculum, management education can empower graduates not only to understand business principles, but also to What role should organisations play in partnering with business schools to ensure that graduates possess the soft skills they need to succeed in the workplace? Tom Lindholm: “I think the important thing here is to establish a long-term relationship with the organisations that we partner with in order to create a continuous dialogue and foster strong collaboration. This will enable us to better understand how we can help those individuals who are joining our programmes in terms of the specific soft skills that they require.” Hannah Holmes: “I think it has to be contextualised around whether that’s at a programme level, which would be a very specific partnership, or something that sits across the school and is perhaps more of a strategic type of partnership. “Areas where I’ve seen partnerships working really well at programme level are when companies provide case studies for students to work on real-life business challenges, as well as collaborating with the teaching team. This ensures that those units are properly industry-aligned. “In terms of soft skills, I’ve found that working with recruiters who design the recruitment pathways into industry – accessing their knowledge and expertise to design that curriculum for your students – is extremely effective.” Munish Thakur: “We operate two pathways. One involves real‑life projects, where industry leaders will tend to embed soft skills; the other way is when we do curricula mapping and we speak to an industry advisory board. Every department at our school has its own advisory board, where company CEOs will come in to discuss which soft skills can be incorporated into the curriculum and to what extent they’re relevant. We also try to assess these soft skills, along with our executive partners, during the break after students have completed their first-year internships.”
In today’s dynamic and increasingly interconnected business landscape, technical proficiency alone is insufficient for effective leadership. Business schools must prioritise the development of soft skills, which are crucial for navigating complex organisational structures and fostering collaborative business environments. Ambition editor Colette Doyle recently convened a panel of six top international business schools to discuss how best such skills can be cultivated In association with BlueSky Education
Ambition • ISSUE 2 • 2025 17
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