This new leadership programme is exactly what the modern business student needs

Education meets real-life application 

The LEAP programme is the bridge between the academic and business worlds. It centres on professional development, with a dual focus on building global leadership competence and future employability in the market. Whether you’re in the Full-Time or Executive MBA, it’s designed to support you wherever you are in your career.

“The LEAP module allows students to take stock of where they are in their leadership journey to date. Whether they have been responsible for leading people before, or they’ve just been single contributors to organisations, it’s about their individual leadership aspirations, and how that fits with their career plans.

“Many of the modules cover leadership components, be it from a marketing or HR point of view, and how they integrate their personal leadership aspirations with the academic ones. So we bring all of those elements together in the LEAP module, which is compulsory and contributes towards your overall MBA.”

These competencies, Edel says, are based on the real working world. “We’ve developed these in conjunction with Smurfit’s leading employers, which we know is broadly representative of the competencies expected in business in Ireland and across Europe – and we invite our MBA students to understand these at different levels. The Executive MBAs are expected to embody competencies at the executive level.”

Assessment tools

Of course, before students can grow, the programme coordinators must first assess what leadership skills they have already acquired. They do so using psychometrical tools in an evidence-based management approach.

“Calling on proven techniques, psychometric tools have been in existence for many decades in business, and we bring them all into a framework, which allows the students to engage with them at their own pace in a safe environment. They can take on board the learning, self-reflect and create a plan for themselves for now and over the rest of their careers.

“Once we assess what level students are at,” Edel says, “we then work with them to develop a plan to close the gap in some of the areas where they are not displaying the competencies to the level that employers would expect.”

This plan includes invaluable tools and opportunities for growth, such as expert-led seminars, communications training, workshops across behaviours, guest panel discussions, career panel discussions, field trips where they visit leading employers across Ireland, individual mentoring with MBA alumni, and networking courses.

Self-reflection and growth

As someone who’s been in their position, Edel is uniquely placed to advise and encourage students to take full advantage of these opportunities and learnings the LEAP programme provides.

“I was in business myself, and I had opportunities to have both professional coaching and psychometric assessment. But, you don’t always get the time to self-reflect and modify your behaviour to the extent that you continue to grow and develop over many decades in a role. What’s great about the LEAP program is it gives you the time and space to do that, and then to make the commitment to yourself to implement it in the workplace. 

“It is all new territory. It can be both intimidating and just a little bit uncomfortable to step outside how you normally behave or to get feedback. This is an important extra opportunity for the students to take all of that on board and to make the conscious decision to change and improve behaviours.”

As part of this growth process, students are encouraged to pursue their passions in a practical manner. “We spend a lot of time asking people to think about what makes them happy and what somebody will pay you to do. The key components of employability are your competencies, observable skills, behaviours and your experience to date. So look at what roles you’ve had, your disposition, your skillset and also your own personal drivers and values. They are the four important quadrants of what makes you tick as a person, and they all overlap – that’s where real employability comes from.

“Taking this time to develop yourself is important, and it’s a vital part of the transition that we expect our students to undertake in becoming a fully rounded MBA graduate at UCD Smurfit School.”

First-hand stories

While some students are seeking career changes, many seek the MBA programme to switch roles within their current industry. “For example,” Edel explains, “for the last few years, we have had a lot of people from a healthcare background, who are fully qualified physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and senior nursing staff, that have decided that they no longer want to work at the frontline of medicine. They want to make a career transition into healthcare consulting. We’ve also had several medical doctors who’ve made transitions into being entrepreneurs and set up their start-ups.

These career shifts are often a result of modules like the LEAP programme, as well as the conversations had with alumni during networking events. In fact, the LEAP programme has classes dedicated to networking. “Networking effectively is a learned skill. So, in addition to 1:2:1 coaching, we teach executive storytelling, networking and LinkedIn networking.

“Not everybody is comfortable with networking, but when people understand that it has a purpose and how to incorporate it into their day-to-day business and social life, they feel more comfortable with it. It’s an important part of building your executive presence, which is very important in today’s business world – both in person and online. You need the ability to have gravitas to deliver your message.”

Available supports 

As far as supports go, Edel says it’s her job “to ensure that the path ahead of students is smooth and that there are no road bumps in their modules, especially when they travel together for certain modules.” She ensures that the programme works holistically, from admissions and recruitment to current and post-student experiences.

Edel also keeps the academic content as up-to-date as necessary to meet students’ career expectations while they’re on campus. “It’s important that I ensure we make long-lasting relationships with our students so that they become advocates for the school. And, when they become alumni, they work with us collaboratively to ensure that the network of MBA alumni works for both the school and for them. For the executive MBA students, my job is to ensure that they continue to experience all the supports they need as they’re going through their careers in the short term.” 

This often includes interview preparation, CV preparation and organising panels, networking evenings and executive evenings. “Then obviously,” Edel says, “it’s important that over their future careers, we stay in contact with them because they’re a part of the MBA community for life.”