How B-schools create leaders

When recruiting young MBA graduates for my organisation, I don't consider their domain specialisation or even high marks: I look for one key quality. Leadership. My thoughts are on creating leaders within the organisation -- people who can lead other people, companies and society.

A leader is someone who can influence the thoughts and behaviour of people. Leadership isn't an inherent trait; it comes from practice and can be nurtured. And that is what B-schools need to do -- help students develop their leadership potential.

When I visit B-school campuses during placement week, I seek several attributes that point to good leadership ability. The first is personal integrity -- someone with a sense of honour. I want people who can speak the truth, even when telling the truth can go against them.

I look for someone who is an excellent communicator, and who intuitively understands how to interact with people. I want an uncluttered mind -- he should be able to see the larger picture and simplify complex issues. And last, but definitely not the least, he should be able to inspire people to work together.

The trouble is, no management institute is focusing on creating these attributes in its students. MBA programmes create leaders in spite of themselves, simply because they admit high-calibre students who go out and actively seek leadership qualities.

That's why B-schools need to spend even more time on their selection process. More personal interaction with the applicants will ensure that they admit only the cream of the crop.

B-schools also need to remember that leaders beget more leaders. So while they should ensure increased interaction for students with industry leaders, they also need to make sure that the faculty possesses qualities of leadership.

Not only do they need to be at the top of their respective fields, they should also be able to inspire their students to work together and scale new heights of excellence.

Raja Shekharan is senior vice president, Caritor India. He graduated in 1989 from Jamshedpur's Xavier Labour Relations Institute.