4 Important Ways An MBA Can Prepare The Future Business Leaders Of America

With the 2024 US presidential election looming, there’s a huge question mark hanging over the qualities our future leaders need to earn our trust. 

Fortunately, according to research by the accounting giant PwC, there are definite actions that a leader can take to foster it. These include clear communication with staff, transparency about issues such as sustainability, as well as the responsible use of AI.  

But what is the best way to develop these qualities in our future leaders? 

To help answer this question, we spoke to Scott Beardsley (pictured right), dean of Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, about how the high ranking school’s MBA program helps prepare not just trustworthy future business leaders of America—but the world.

Find Out What Kinds Of Students Join Darden’s MBA Class.

1. Active learning 

To understand the Darden teaching method, we need to travel back to Ancient Greece.

Back in 2000 BC, when Socrates’ cousin travelled to Delphi, the braggard told everyone there that there was no one in the world smarter than Socrates. This, obviously, was quite a bold claim—one which Socrates himself decided to interrogate, via a method of back-and-forth questioning with those who now held this belief (ultimately using his superior intelligence to prove that he was not superiorly intelligent). 

Today, Darden is one of the few schools in the US where the Socratic method is still in use—though used to interrogate ethical business practices rather than anyone’s individual cognitive abilities. Instead of prototypical lectures and notetaking, MBA students are usually asked to read through a prescriptive text before coming to class with their own formulated ideas and arguments.

“That’s active learning,” Scott explains. “It places the learner in the position of being the general manager, so every day, you're learning how to be the decision maker. You’re also practicing it in a safe environment, with friends and colleagues, which allows you to learn from them.”

The emphasis on collaborative idea-sharing is promoted by the fact that, at Darden, up to 50% of a student’s grades come from class participation. 

Plus, learning from others creates a greater sese of communication and teamwork, which ultimately helps to instill a more allocentric (rather than egocentric) approach to leadership.

2. Practicing business ethically 

The questioning nature of the Darden classroom extends to its discussion around social impact, which is incorporated into all parts of the MBA program. 

In fact, last year, the school was ranked number one in the world for its carbon footprint by the Financial Times. 

“A lot of people tend to make the joke that business ethics is an oxymoron, but we don't think it is,” Scott says. 

“We ask a lot of questions related to it: is it required to make a tradeoff between making a profit and having a purpose? In many cases, it's not necessarily tradeoff, you can have it both ways.”

Business ethics is a core part of the school’s curriculum, and as such students are frequently encouraged to look at what “having it both ways” can consist of, such as when negotiating with shareholders.  

Equally, students can partake in various school-wide projects regarding sustainability and social impact, such as working towards Darden’s 2030 Sustainability Goals—which includes reducing water use and eliminating single-use plastics.  

3. Leveraging technology 

It’s fair to say that there has been a level of scaremongering in the media over the exponential proliferation of AI, from warnings of mass job losses to even a kind of Terminator-esque human extinction. 

Scott, on the other hand, takes a slightly more rational approach: “Intelligence itself applies to everything. This is just the artificial version of it.” 

In the Darden MBA, students learn how to apply AI as they would their own minds to analyze business problems and—more importantly—to create solutions.

“We look at where AI make the world a better place, improve human wellbeing, improve a given industry, find new cures, find new ways of doing things more efficiently, or innovate entrepreneurship,” Scott explains. 

4. Entrepreneurial thinking 

As one of the most fundamental values of American society, entrepreneurship encompasses the freedom to think both independently and outside of the box.

“A tremendous number of our students want to be an entrepreneur at some point in their life,” says Scott. “The real question is, when do you want to do it? The minute you graduate? Or do you want to do it a little bit later?”

Through active learning, ethical teaching, and access to Darden’s Batten Institute—which runs flagship venture programs and features a startup incubator—students are equipped with the tools to put their business savvy and creativity to the test. 

Demonstrative of this go-getter attitude, famous Darden alumni include Steven S. Reinemund, the former PepsiCo CEO, and Kate Kelly, a former Democratic Idaho State Senator. 

While there is certainly an air of skepticism surrounding leadership, and who is suitable to lead, gaining an MBA at a top b-school can help foster the qualities needed for individuals to make a positive and far-reaching impact.

Ready to start your MBA journey? Discover more about the best business schools.