Lancaster University Management School - 54 Degrees Issue 12

W hen we look to the future, it is impossible to imagine the challenges that businesses and their leaders will face as they try to compete, to succeed – even to survive. After all, two years ago who would have guessed that just about every fi rm on the planet would be impacted by a global pandemic that forced them into huge operational changes? Preparing managers and leaders for the exact circumstances of each and every one of those emerging challenges is a task beyond any of us. Who know what lies ahead, what factors will a ff ect the way we operate in fi ve 10, 20 years’ time? Instead, it is important to shape leaders and gift themwith the skills that allow them to think quickly, to work in a way that produces good results. By good, we can no longer mean purely for shareholders and investors – the pro fi t margin is not the only thing that matters any more, there are other factors that must be taken into account. Speaking to our stakeholders and programme partners on the Lancaster MBA , when asking about problems businesses are facing, three main concepts emerged that they want their future leaders to be skilled in dealing with: responsibility, sustainability and inclusivity. All of these concepts have come from looking around and thinking how we can do business better, how we can do it di ff erently, examining the challenges businesses are facing: whether it is a changing workforce, a changing community, a changing climate. These three pillars can help leaders develop a mindset to address very real problems. We understand the importance of being pro fi table – that’s also being sustainable, because if you don’t make a pro fi t, you’re not going to be around for very long. But if your only guide is making a pro fi t, then the chances are you are going to cut o ff your nose to spite your face. RESPONSIBILITY When we talk about responsibility, what we are often looking at is responsible leadership. This means essentially being responsible to your shareholders, your employees and your consumers – as you might expect for any company – but also to your suppliers across the whole supply chain, and the communities where your manufacturing plants, your factories, your operational bases, sit. It is about expanding the concept of responsibility so that a company and its leaders are not just responsible for pro fi t or productivity levels, but rather you are actually responsible to a larger group of people with varying degrees of involvement and connection with the business. This is an idea that really resonates with a lot of our students – many before they arrive at Lancaster – and our programme partners. They recognise there are more people involved in the end results of the business than just the shareholders. SUSTAINABILITY This leads naturally to issues of sustainability. When it comes to sustainability, we often think in terms of climate change – and that is absolutely key for us on the MBA, which is why we partner with the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business , and why many of our client projects centre around enhancing sustainable practices, such as the reduction of waste, more e ffi cient supply chains or 40 | Speaking to our stakeholders and programme partners on the Lancaster MBA , when asking about problems businesses are facing, three main concepts emerged that they want their future leaders to be skilled in dealing with: responsibility, sustainability and inclusivity . ‘‘ ’’