The International: March Newsletter is Out!

The BU Brussels March Newsletter is Out.  Click on the image below to access the full pdf:

If clicking the image does not bring you to the newsletter, click the following link:

http://freepdfhosting.com/fd68c0c265.pdf

How can internships prepare you for the real world? A reflection on internships and an experience at NATO

This month alumna Kathleen Machet submitted this Alumni Perspective:

No matter what kind of prior experience or exposure to an industry you have: internships prepare you for the real world. My time as an intern through BU Brussels at the US Mission to NATO in the Public Diplomacy division was rewarding on many levels. I gained a tremendous amount of insight into a dynamic and multi-cultural organization, my own government and myself. Internships open doors, and build upon the curriculum enriching the educational experience.

Joining the US Mission at NATO as an intern gave me an insight into the political and diplomatic structure and the makings of my own country; it also gave me a wide perspective on the inner workings of a global organization. I had the opportunity to work alongside diplomatic and political experts as well as military personnel and through exposure and interactions with individuals from varying backgrounds I was able to build upon the educational foundation that BU had given me. It transformed class room education into diplomacy in action.

In addition to field experience an internship builds skill sets that are essential in today’s competitive global workplace. I strengthened and applied my skills in analytical abilities communication and in time management. I learned the importance of clear communication and analytical skills. I assisted in research and messaging support on speeches, social media posts and interviews for the Ambassador which required impeccable attention to detail and analytical analysis. Communication and strategy, a critical component to all jobs must be clearly thought through and the impact of the message analyzed.  These experiences forced me to consult with experts within and outside the mission and also allowed me to try to think like an Ambassador, the target audience and my superiors. In addition, balancing work and school forces a certain dedication and schedule that made my organizational skills stronger than ever: such as in the real world these skills are crucial as young professionals learn to balance work and home life.  

Along with improving my written communication skills I benefited from having to refine my oral presentation skills from having to do briefings to high level officials, consulting with military experts on key issues for the website and creating briefing documents for the ambassador: I learned to be direct and efficient. It is essential to be able to adapt your approached to varied backgrounds in the real world. It is also important to know your audience and tailor your message.

Internships make available a mentorship structure and support system that isn’t easy to find in entry level jobs. For me I was encouraged to interact with role models on many levels from interviewing for academic related papers, attending seminars and discussions inside and outside of NATO and interacting with Washington. In addition, BU encouraged me to work with an academic mentor in an independent study that built upon my interests, academic education and real life experience. Through working with Ambassador Bettzuege I was able to reflect and build upon my experiences and interests at NATO, making for a rewarding and well-rounded experience.

We have spent a lot of effort, money and time getting our education and we owe it to ourselves to apply it and challenge ourselves every day. Having an internship has allowed me to push myself and gave me hands on learning that enhanced my education from BU. I would encourage us all to take opportunities to enrich our education and broaden our cultural interactions in our professional and everyday lives. The career of tomorrow is waiting behind an unopened door. Let an internship and BU help you open it up, if you don’t you may never know what’s behind it.

Guest Blogger: BUB's Joris Lacroix - A Visit to BUB Dublin and N. Ireland

This semester’s visit to the BU Dublin program was a little different for me. Usually I simply give a presentation to the BU students that are studying abroad at BU in Dublin, which is located on the lovely Dublin City University campus (DCU).

This time around my visit coincided with a trip to Northern Ireland that is planned every year for the BU Dublin students. I was invited to go along on this trip, which was a great opportunity not only on a personal level, as I had never been, and knew very little about Northern Ireland, but also for recruitment purposes as it allowed me to know the 54 students on the trip on a more personal level.

Along with Dr. Gordon Kennedy, a history teacher for BU Dublin I was a ‘chaperone’ during this trip. It was a great experience, as I learned a lot about Northern Ireland, and how still to this day there is a great divide, and hostility between the Catholics and the Protestants. I was shocked, and amazed to find out that there were ‘peace walls’ separating the two communities in Belfast, as well as the fact that at 11pm, every night the gate that separates the Catholic side from the Protestant side is closed.

Most of the students on the trip were in their junior year of university, and for the most part loved studying in Europe. With a tasteful mix of Irish history, and Guinness, a diet that is sure to please just about anyone with interest in Ireland, the BU Dublin program provides a great framework for making American students want to come back and continue their studies in Europe.

That is where BUB comes into play, as Brussels is the capital of Europe, and the European institutions looking to be more and more involved with Ireland and Northern Ireland, these students can look to Boston University Brussels as a great way to receive a degree from BU whilst finishing their European studies.

Overall the experience was a positive one, and I can safely say that we will be looking to do this again, and hopefully open the opportunity to go on this trip to our own students.

Interview with BUB's Chris Kindermans, MSc PMP

Boston University’s own Chris Kindermans sat down with us recently to discuss the Project Management Institute’s PMP®, Project Management Professional exam and integration into the curriculum at BUB. He will be leading the two-day pre-exam course hosted by BUB on March 30th and 31st from 08:00 to 17:00hrs.

 

What value do you feel Project Management training has to today's professional?

Project Management is the discipline of planning, organizing, allocating, and managing the scarce resources of a company or an organization, in order to achieve its specific goals and objectives. This type of training let acquire all students, wanting to work and to develop a career in any kind of organization or government body, a vital skill or competency that makes them stand and perform in line with the organizational requirements and expectations in this times of Globalization. Acquiring Project Management knowledge should be given the same consideration as learning how to read and how to write.

How has the class at BUB been created to meet the needs of the students?

In line with the exponential growth of the number of certified Project Managers in the world and with the explosive demand from the national and international markets, for trained Project Managers, BUB has decided in 2006 to create 4 Project Management training modules, in line with those modules, offered by the main campus. These 4 modules haven proven to cover all needs of the students.

Have you found a good response so far?

Right from the beginning Project Management classes belong to the top classes of BUB, in fact they belong to the top tier from a participants point of view.

How do you see Project Management contributing to the development of a leader?

In order to become a good project manager, someone has also to develop a set of interpersonal and leadership skills. To name some: We expect a Project Manager to be Ethical, Professional, Respectful, Fair, and Honest. He/She should be a good communicator and inspire a shared vision for the project team. She/He should be competent, empathic, and enthusiast. We also require from a project manager a good capability of finding sustainable solutions, solving problems, negotiating, motivating people,  and conflict handling. We train the students in all those areas, which all belong to the skills set of a great leader.

Is there a place for Project Management in International Relations?

When we go back to all of the above, it goes without saying that project management skills, competences and knowledge belong to the key attributes of a successful Manager, working in International Relations. Knowledge of cultural differences is yet another competency, to be acquired by project managers. Globalization thrives on competent project managers and proper resources allocation.

Do you see a difference in the approach to Project Management internationally as opposed to the US?

Except for dealing with some cultural aspects, there is no difference between the US approach  and approaches in other parts of the world. Courses at BUB are largely inspired by the PMBoK, the Project Management Body of Knowledge, an ANSI standard, issued by PMI. PMI, the Project Management Institute, with currently more than 550.000 members worldwide, has issued only one global standard for project management and everywhere in the world, people who want to be certified have to study the same PMBoK and they have to pass the same type of exam. Worldwide, there are now more than 600.000 PMP's, certified Project Managers from PMI. A proof that the profession of Project Manager is really global, and the courses at BUB are aligned in the same way.

The Evolution of Leadership Study

Today we're going to take a look at how academic thought about the field of leadership has changed over the years.  One of the first things that new students to our Master of Science in Leadership program find out is that Academia hasn't had just one approach examining what makes for a great leader.

First, the Great Man

This is where most people still seem to be when it comes to thinking about leaders.  It is summed up in the old adage Great leaders are born, not made.  The idea, popular in the 1800's, was simply that great leaders were great men (remember, this theory pre-dated gender equity); that is, they were born with a certain set of inherent traits that propelled them to great feats and thus into the history books. 

Just as history has been said to be written by the victors (that is, after the fact from the point of view of those to who triumped), this theory looked at those who emerged as leaders with 20/20 hindsight and ascribed their qualitites as those of great leaders.  Hmmm... does that sound tautological to anyone else?

Next, Combinations of the Right Traits

Next it was considered that it wasn't simply inherent traits in the individual that contributed to effective leadership, but those that could be learned as well.  Perhaps one was born with oratory acumen, but that doesn't mean that it wasn't possible to learn how to become a better speaker still.  No longer was it left to genetics one's chances of becoming a great leader.  Now one could strive, learn, and grow to increase one's skill in certain traits associated with effective leadership.

Finally, Situational Leadership

While recognizing that leadership traits could be learned as well as inherent in the personality was a step forward, academia was still re-examining its approach to the field.  It was recognized that a great leader in one context (say, the battlefield) was not necessarily a great leader in another (democratic politics).  A great prison warden would not necessarily be as effective as the head of the local Girl Scouts troop.  Thus was incorporated the approach of Situational Leadership, that is, the recognition that it is important to look at the context in which one is applying her skills to determine her effectiveness as a leader as much as the skills themselves. 

Context means not only the situation (the environmental factors) but the followers as well: who they were and how they operated.  Therefore leadership is now seen as a function of traits (inherent and learned), characteristics of the followers, and the nature of the situation.

And what traits are associated with effective leadership?

• Capacity (this one leans towards the "you're born with it or you aren't")
• Achievement (a mix of inherent and learned skill/effort)
• Responsibility
• Participation
• Status

As you can see, these traits nicely mix those you are born with, and those you can improve through effort and will.

What's the next step in the study of what it takes to become a great leader?  I'm not sure but our MSL students will be some of the first to know and apply that knowledge out in the real world!

The International: February Newsletter is Out!

The Boston University in Brussels November Newsletter is out!  Click on the image below to access the full pdf:

Note: if image does not work: use the URL:

http://freepdfhosting.com/ffea163467.pdf

The MSL and Post-Graduate Success: An Interview with Alumna Claudia Ritter

This month we had a chance to sit down with Claudia Ritter, a graduate of the BU Brussels Masters of Leadership degree in 2011.  In response to many applicant inquiries as to how the MSL degree is used post-graduation, we focused the conversation on how she's found value in applying her knowledge in the work world.

Claudia, thanks for joining us today.  I'd like to talk about your experience with BU Brussels's MSL program.  What initially interested you about getting a Masters in Leadership degree at BU?

I was at the time cycling through a career transition, leaving a highly politicized working environment to set up my own consultancy in cross-cultural communications in Brussels. I had held senior management positions in EU public affairs for twenty years. I had gathered significant experience building international teams, managing international projects, organizing European-wide campaigns and developing international media strategies. And I felt ready to design and deliver leadership programs for companies and organizations challenged by the complexity of multicultural working environments: when seeking to enter new markets, when sub-contracting to other countries, when driving a change process...

At the same time, I wanted to update my knowledge, preferably in an academic environment. The BU Masters in Leadership degree seemed to fit my objective: the courses are being taught by industry-experienced  professionals who combine their practitioner’s skills with academic structure.

Did you have any expectations about what you would be learning?  If so, what were they?

My expectations were clear, at least I thought so. I wanted business-focused knowledge for immediate use in my daily work. But I got so much more out of it than just topical content. I learned about strategy, finance, negotiating, leadership and team dynamics. But I also learned that good leadership development programs – whether in higher or in executive education – are not just a series of classes you sit through to obtain your degree or certificate.

Good leadership development programs are those that have a long-term value because they become a transformative journey. They do not simply teach you about leadership, telling you what you should do to be successful. They also help you capture the spirit of leadership by integrating emotionally intelligent leadership practices. They are not only about achieving learning goals, they also address the powerful drivers of leadership behaviors. And those are skills you need in today’s international workplaces. Ignore the real state of an organization you work for, ignore the norms of the groups you interact with in your professional relationships, and you are set up for failure. Know how to navigate complexity, and organizational systems and cultures will support you.

Every choice to go back to school involves weighing out time and money investment against what you perceive the value of the program will be.  What did you expect the value of the MSL to be for you specifically (not just value to the typical student)?  Were there certain issues you wanted to address, or career goals you wanted to obtain?  Did you use the MSL to help you in a career transition to a new career, or to advance in your current position?

I wanted to position myself on the market. There are many consultants around- many competent colleagues. So how would I make a difference? I already had my academic credits, but I felt that a postgraduate Masters from a renowned American University would help.

And indeed, it has. Not only have I embarked on new learning, I have accessed new networks. Two former co-students of mine in Brussels have become business partners. A professor on the campus in Boston has given me valuable advice relating to my professional activity, though we never met in person. I can present myself as a seasoned professional who combines twenty years of experience in the industry with up-to-date academic learning. This has by the way helped me win an important contract last month. The MSL has opened many doors for me: to new learning, to exciting business partnerships, to an academic community I feel that I belong to, and to new clients.

How have you applied the knowledge from the program in your work life?

I integrate much of my theoretical learning at BU into my own leadership programs. But, most importantly, I use a lot of BU’s teaching methodologies, blending them with my own. I love bold mixtures of learning techniques that are conducted over a period of time.

My programs are not designed as one-time quick-fixes – or correctives -, but built as multifaceted processes that permeate the three layers of any organization I work with: the individuals, the teams in which they work,  and the culture of the organization. They combine intellectual and emotional learning. They blend contextualized content with action learning and coaching, where participants use what they are learning to diagnose and solve real problems in their organizations.

No doubt BU has inspired me to design leadership programs that are different from what you normally find in the executive training arena.

Do you look at others (peers, underlings, bosses, clients) differently now?  If so, how?

Studying leadership, if taken seriously, transforms you. It changes the way you relate to colleagues, business partners and clients, because it changes your mindset. You learn that being a good leader does not mean that you have to be the toughest gal or guy on the block, nor that you have to head a team or an entire company. You learn that leading is about inspiring people, about creating places of resonance, and about making sense. You learn that leadership effectiveness goes well beyond the management of resources and the rational operation of organizations. And, yes, studying Leadership has fundamentally changed the way I look at others. I have become more open, more tolerant, more curious – and more aware of the need to create innovative leadership practices. Interestingly, I seem to always be meeting people – new colleagues, partners, friends – who share my interest in helping leaders cultivate a broader range or depth of social and emotional competencies not just for added leadership strength in their own organizations, but for the vitality of our economy. That’s synchronicity at its very best…

Why do you think that leadership is such a hard topic for people to understand?  I've found that many people feel they should be interested in it, but very few actually go forward and try to learn more about it.  Do you agree?

I believe that strong leadership programs have to be focused on intellectual and emotional learning. They are not just about tackling reality, they are about implementing ideals too. This is not what you typically find in most business schools and executive training centers, at least not yet. They continue to operate according to traditional metrics, such as financial performance and organizational strategy. These will of course always be important considerations. But in today’s diverse and constantly changing global market we need a new generation of leaders with that extra dimension that makes the difference, with that extra set of new skills. We need people not only responding to economic challenges, but to ethical and cultural challenges too. People not only interested in  aligning their underlings, but also in developing attuned relationships.

This is a principle that many colleagues of mine, my business partners and myself apply when developing our leadership programs targeting the executive education arena: we increasingly build on the concepts of authentic leadership and emotional leadership. Our clients love this approach as it combines business-focused know-how with techniques to uncover their own strengths and ideals, and to use their daily work as a laboratory for learning and personal development.

I am convinced that the most forward-thinking business educators will over time recognize the importance of transmitting, alongside topical content, certain skills and behaviors in higher education to help their graduates become true leaders instead of mere managers. That would be long-term value for people and organizations. Imagine what our societies would be like if  they were structured around the concepts of resonant leadership. What would our parenting be like, our schools, our businesses, our communities…

And I am sure that we will get there. Remember how unusual the breakthrough concept of « emotional intelligence » (EI) seemed to us when Daniel Goleman first coined the term in the early nineties of the last century ? How could EI possibly exist when it could not be measured, unlike the intelligence quotient, the IQ ? Today, EI is a respected area of academic research. We know from two decades of analysis within top organizations that resonant leaders excell not only through skills and smarts, but also by connecting with others.

One question we've been asking people is "Why Leadership and Why Now?"  If someone were to ask you why they should learn about leadership now as opposed to later, what advice would you give them?

Today’s markets are complex and highly competitive. The sooner you position yourself with a degree from a top-ranking university, the better. And Leadership it should be, provided that the classes blend proven traditional management models with these new work skills: self-awareness, empathic understanding, self-mastery, and personal responsibility. Learning about leadership now makes you fit for the future. It helps you navigate international business environments - building trust, developing attuned relationships with colleagues and clients, detecting differences in management and leadership styles in other countries or organizations - and adapt your strategy. It will take you into the ranks of leaders-to-be benefitting not only their own organizations, but also their families, their communities, and society as a whole. I have witnessed it myself when  enrolling as a student with BU: learning about leadership in an academic context not only changes the way you interact in your professional, but also in your personal relationships, in addition to opening up great networks. 

Thank you for your time Claudia.  Congratulations on all your successes.