Practical management coaching for future managers
From mid-April to May 21, the entire IBS group worked intensively in small teams of four to five people on selected Harvard business cases from the three main areas of management, marketing and CSR/sustainability. The seminar consisted of five four-hour sessions and two offline sessions in which they worked on complex case studies such as Moderna, Apple Music, Veja (Conscious) Sneakers, Starbucks and Pepsi. In addition to working on the cases in detail, the students prepared presentations on various assignments that included a comprehensive analysis of business reports of leading companies over several years. These included business model analysis (CANVAS) in an industry context, Porter's Five Forces analysis, financial ratio analysis (Balanced Scorecard & Controlling) as well as understanding sustainability/ESG ratings and considering recommendations from financial analysts. In this way, students were able to combine and apply knowledge from various courses in a practical way.
Gaining management experience
The groups consisted of finance and marketing students. Some took on formal leadership roles right from the start, while others acted as informal leaders or team members. "During the course of the seminar, the formal leadership positions changed so that each student had the opportunity to gain leadership experience," said Prof. (FH) Dr. Dominika Galkiewicz, lecturer at FH Kufstein Tirol. "A key aim of the seminar was to develop a productive work ethic and to understand the concept of a business personality as opposed to a private person." Small coaching exercises encouraged competition between the groups and enriched the students' personal team leadership toolbox.
The specific coaching measures included
- Team building exercises to encourage focused group work.
- Regular feedback on short exercises based on objective, work-related arguments to create a common understanding of the 20/80 percent working method according to Pareto. (20 percent of effort leads to 80 percent of results).
- Peer review evaluations followed by feedback sessions on the implementation of the 80 percent work method, a standard in case teaching and project management.
- Differentiating the business persona from the personal persona and preparing elevator pitches modeled after Steve Jobs and properly adapting to future job descriptions.
- Introduction to good team leadership habits - from dress code to professional behavior.
- Expressing appreciation at the end of a project through prepared compliments and appraisal cards.
- Using the right arguments to negotiate higher rewards such as salary and grades.
This personal toolkit is continuously developed and deepened in project management and leadership coaching workshops. The seminar optimally prepared the students for the demands of the professional world and strengthened their leadership skills.