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Managers who spend a few months in developing countries working on humanitarian projects become more responsible leaders. Being in direct contact with poverty-related issues profoundly transforms leaders’ management style and substantially improves their leadership skills upon return to their country. This is the main conclusion of a research study conducted by ESADE professors Nicola Pless and Thomas Maak, which was recently published in the Journal of the Academy of Management Learning and Education.

The researchers applied quantitative and qualitative methods to monitor all of the participants involved in the Ulysses Project, a leadership development programme run by PricewaterhouseCoopers which involves sending teams of managers to developing countries to work with NGOs, social entrepreneurs and international organisations. Participants in the programme were involved in teamwork experiences and were challenged to translate their business knowledge and expertise into projects aimed at reducing poverty, addressing environmental issues and improving health.

Changing how one sees the world and oneself

In the course of this research 70 business managers from the Unites States, Central America, Europe and South East Asia took part in two-month long humanitarian projects in Namibia, Kenya and Cameroon (with an NGO working to reduce the social and economic impact of AIDS), Zambia (with an agricultural development NGO), Madagascar (on a UNDP project to guide business entrepreneurship), Eritrea (on a UNDP project devoted to developing the mining sector) and in Ghana (with a Mental Health provision NGO).
     
Fort the Ulysses programme study the researchers undertook qualitative and quantitative interviews, according to scientific parameters, with the participating managers before and after their participation in the projects so as to observe changes in knowledge, values and attitudes at both a professional and personal level.
 
The research results are surprising. In all the established relevant fields for global and responsible leadership they detected an increase in knowledge and changes in attitude related to the vision or way of seeing things, of speaking and of responding to events. In this sense almost all of the participants, more than 90%, gained knowledge and awareness of the global situation related to social, health and environmental matters, and they also became more aware of the major responsibility of business managers in the world.

Furthermore, important changes in personal behaviour and attitude were noted. “The findings suggest that upon return, all of the participants taking part in the Ulysses programme become more socially responsible, more empathetic, more respectful, more tolerant, and also develop a greater awareness of their own prejudices and learn to suspend judgement", says the ESADE Researcher Dr. Pless, an expert in organisational psychology and personal management. “They also develop certain leadership attitudes such as moral awareness, stronger values and a global mindset".

According to the ESADE Professor, the teamwork experience in developing countries even affects self-development growth: “Leaders gain an increased awareness of their own personal limitations and development needs. They are taught humility, they find a deeper purpose in life, they become more aware of the importance of relationships, and they feel a stronger need to balance their work and personal life".

Transforming experiences

The types of field assignments that managers were involved in were very touching and emotional experiences, and this key aspect could explain the behavioural changes. “The areas that had a greater impact on the participants were those that gave specific exposure to the real problems at hand, such as poverty or pandemics such as AIDS", explained ESADE Professor Thomas. Maak, an expert in business ethics. “One team of managers in Kenya spent two months working on an orphanage, where they had to take care of children who had lost their parents due to HIV-AIDS. Another team spent weeks with a family whose youngest daughter – the best in her class – had developed HIV after having been raped by her neighbour", he added.

The study concludes that international service-learning programmes of this sort have enormous potential to develop the qualities that are critical for responsible global leaders. The authors are convinced that incorporating learning experiences of this kind into the training programmes of multinational corporations, business schools and training providers would be a very valuable asset to prepare current and future leaders to cope with the challenges that the future will bring.

ESADEKnowledge, a new knowledge portal 

The complete study can be found in the new knowledge portal recently launched by ESADE. The new portal, www.esadeknowledge.com , brings together all the publications produced in ESADE. The new web resource has been launched with more than 2,100 documents, among which should be highlighted some 500 academic articles and papers, as well as case studies, books, lectures on subjects such as management, marketing, the economy and finance, entrepreneurship, innovation, globalization and law. In this way ESADE seeks to disseminate and facilitate access to the knowledge created by its faculty and researchers with the highest scientific and academic standards. The webpage will grow on a daily basis with all the studies, reports, articles and videos that ESADE members produce, with the aim of converting it into space for encounter and a point of reference for academics, scientists and people around the world.