My learnings at the Lagos Business School goes beyond the academics. The community of professionals has indeed brought back the core of etiquette.
Pedigree and Decorum
One very prominent thing you will notice when you study at LBS is the pedigree of the faculty. Most professors teaching at the establishment hold a doctorate. I had a breakfast chat with one of the lecturers who has taught at the business school for 30 years, and I asked how he has stayed up to date with the trends and evolution of the business world. He told me LBS injects good resource into research and continuous learning, with a goal to build and deepen the capacity of their faculty. I believe a good number of the faculty have achieved a terminal or final degree in their fields.
I’m so excited to conclude my Master’s program. All I can think of is the next phase – my brain wants to know more and do more. It is a contagious feeling, and evident through the passion the faculty exudes when they teach.
Another thing that is distinctively observed is the decorum in correspondences with the faculty. There is a symbiotic, cordial relationship between the executives and the lecturers. It’s like a silent applaud where both parties are recognized for their contributions to the organizational and employment career ecosystems.
Turn-It-In Originally
The quality of our work as executives is important. We are advised to present our thoughts clearly and originally. However, some might believe applying an entirely new perspective on a subject matter would make their work original. This seems almost impossible as there hardly is a thought that is wholly original.
At the Lagos Business School, executives are taught to adopt an analytical approach to consider information and material in other ways. We turn in our assignments on the platform Turnitin, to screen our work for similarity indexes. This rules out possibilities of plagiarism and as we progress with our courses, we find that we are indeed able to refresh our learnings to present them in an acceptably original form that aligns with our understanding of the topic.
Formation
Most of us are heads of departments in organizations, founders, and CEOs of companies – business leaders. LBS brings us all together. Executives from different sectors, with different perspectives and experiences to work in unison towards a common goal.
We are formed into groups where we discuss cases and work on projects. A member of the group assumes a leadership role each week, so little wonder we had an introductory session on emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence guides us to lead and participate respectfully without bias. Working in groups at this level, with executives of equal standing, for me is like a prep for boardroom positioning.
Participation
Part of the grading system at LBS is class participation. Productive participation is graded and in fact carries significant marks in the overall score card.
Many people are naturally quiet and are silent achievers. Consequently, they hardly get recognition for jobs well done, and may be overlooked for promotions or worthy appointments.
So, beyond scoring marks, I find that participating grooms me to be visible. The order of the day on professional networks like LinkedIn is visibility. The world cannot know you if you cannot be seen, and you cannot be seen if you cannot be heard – through active participation in discourse, fora, industry-leading contributions, and so much more.
There are other soft learnings, but I believe at this stage of our lives we undoubtedly know them to be true and determinant to success. They are dressing and punctuality.
It is simple – dress the way you would like to be addressed.
This quote below just might be the mantra of the faculty at LBS, and I’m sure we executives can all agree.
“If I have made an appointment with you, I owe you punctuality, I have no right to throw away your time, if I do my own.” – Richard Cecil
#MEMBA11
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