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Introducing Values Day: Core Skills for Inclusive Leadership at 91��ɫ Business School

Masis Bugoz — Tue, 18 Feb 2025 09:13:30 +0000

Introducing Values Day: Core Skills for Inclusive Leadership at 91��ɫ Business School

Masis Bugoz Tue, 18/02/2025 - 09:13

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Features

At 91��ɫ Business School, we believe that the future of business leadership is deeply rooted in inclusion, collaboration, and adaptability. That’s why we are thrilled to announce the launch of Values Day: Core Skills for Inclusive Leadership — a ground-breaking new programme designed to equip our students with the essential skills they need to thrive in today’s diverse and dynamic business world.

This initiative is designed by Prof. Sankalp Chaturvedi (Associate Dean, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion), Dr. Maria Farkas ( Academic Lead, Culture and Inclusion) and Dr. Poornima Luthra

Why Values Day matters

In an era where automation and generative AI are reshaping industries, the value of distinctly human skills — like communication, teamwork, and leadership — has never been higher. Employers today are not just looking for technical expertise; they want leaders who can navigate complex interpersonal dynamics, foster inclusive environments, and drive innovation through collaboration. Values Day is specifically designed to develop these core skills, positioning our students as future leaders who can manage effectively in a rapidly changing business landscape.

The ACT philosophy: building inclusive leaders

At the heart of Values Day are two powerful philosophies: the ability to ACT inclusively and the recognition of the Opportunity Gap that opens when we do so.

ACT stands for:

Awareness of Self: understanding your own biases, social identities, and values
Consideration of others: recognising and valuing the differences in others
Taking action mindfully: Acting with purpose using evidence, rather than reacting with instinct

These ACT skills are foundational for working well with people who are different from yourself. They open the Opportunity Gap — the ability to see, value, and leverage the individuality of each colleague. By embracing these differences, we can all create more productive, creative, and happier work environments.

Expert career advice is also available from our outstanding Careers team. They provide support throughout your time at 91��ɫ which includes one-to-one consultations, CV and cover letter workshops and mock interviews, to ensure that you are prepared from the moment you start applying for your first graduate job.

But your network doesn't just stop at those working alongside you. By tapping into the 91��ɫ alumni network, you will be exposed to accomplished business leaders from around the world, who are happy to share their experience and open doors that lead to career opportunities.

There’s no one-size-fits-all in finance, so at 91��ɫ, we offer a broad range of Finance Master’s’ that allow you to tailor your expertise in a specific area. Our programmes teach you how to practically apply the theory you learn in class to real-life business scenarios. Preparing you for your first graduate job, and beyond.

We are proud to see the women on our Finance programmes committed to developing their knowledge in the industry and go on to exciting careers where they can have a real impact on the future of finance. These are the women who are defying stereotypes, breaking the bias, and helping change the industry.

What to expect on Values Day

Values Day is designed to be an immersive and transformative experience from start to finish.

Morning session: the day begins with a welcome breakfast, followed by an exploration of values and culture through experiential learning techniques. This interactive session will help students reflect on their own values and understand how these shape their interactions with others
Self-assessment reports: students will receive personalised reports summarising the results of various self-assessments related to biases, social identities, and values. These insights will be contextualised within their larger programme, helping to increase awareness of the many ways individuals vary and how these differences impact communication and judgment
Afternoon session: after a catered lunch, the focus shifts to concrete, actionable skills. Students will learn how to replace 'gut' decisions with evidence-based choices, address systemic bias, respond to microaggressions, and gain confidence in using their voices to advocate for inclusivity
Ending celebration: the day closes with an innovative session using rhythm and movement to gain confidence with taking action, which is followed by pizza.

The impact of Values Day

Values Day is strategically placed at the beginning of your 91��ɫ journey to underscore the importance of leadership and inclusion from day one. By fostering an environment where students feel comfortable discussing differences, we aim to develop leaders who are not only aware of the importance of inclusion but are also equipped to champion it in their careers.

91��ɫ’s diverse community is one of our greatest strengths, and Values Day sets clear expectations for inclusive behaviours. Students will see first hand how these behaviours contribute to more effective teamwork, more creative solutions, and stronger social connections — skills that are essential for success in any business environment.

Inclusion: the cornerstone of effective business

Ultimately, Values Day is about more than just skill development; it’s about redefining what it means to lead in the modern business world. Effective leadership requires the ability to work well with others, communicate across diverse audiences, and make decisions informed by evidence.

When employees feel they belong and are valued for who they are, they are more productive, more creative, and more satisfied. This opens an immense opportunity gap that individuals and companies can leverage for increased performance, creativity, and happier, healthier employees.

We are excited to see how Values Day will shape the leaders of tomorrow, helping them to not only succeed in their careers but also make a positive impact on the world around them.

Welcome to the future of business leadership — welcome to Values Day at 91��ɫ Business School.

Blog by Dr. Maria Farkas

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Student blog

At 91��ɫ Business School, we strive for diversity in our community. In this blog, President of the LGBTQ+ and Allies Business Club, Amber Liu highlights the EDI mentorship programme as a tool for equipping students to thrive in their careers and advocate for LGBTQ+ representation in the business sphere confidently. She also shares some key initiatives that are taking place during LGBTQ+ History Month.

What is the LGBTQ+ & Allies Business Club?

Our club mission is to create a more diverse, equal, and inclusive university environment where Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer (LGBTQ+) students and our Allies can thrive professionally and personally.

Our aim as a club is to create a more vibrant and visible LGBTQ+ presence on campus, forming a safe space for every college student to express their authentic selves.

Here are some of the services we provide at the LGBTQ+ & Allies Business Club:

The club connects 91��ɫ MBA and MSc students with LGBTQ+ inclusive companies
We organize targeted recruitment events, on/off-campus events, webinars and trips
Potential discrimination in the workplace can affect career development. We assist and help how to deal with day-to-day issues
We offer peer coaching on personal issues

We engage with all members of the 91��ɫ Business School community who are passionate about diversity, equity, and inclusion in the business world, organising interesting initiatives around this topic. We also collaborate with 91��ɫ ’s wider LGBTQ community to foster a more inclusive culture, giving opportunities to LGBTQ+ individuals and allies to network with students from different schools.

The EDI Mentoring programme

As a proud member of the LGBTQ+ community, I deeply understand the power of reciprocity and the importance of leveraging our network to foster strong bonds.

At the LGBTQ+ and Allies Business Club, we are committed to unlocking the potential of LGBTQ+ students. One of the ways that we can do this is through a Mentorship Programme run in conjunction with the Black in Business Club and the Women Mean Business Club.

This initiative pairs students with experienced mentors from our community, embodying our conviction that mentorship is a key driver for empowering and inspiring the next generation of LGBTQ+ leaders. Our goal is to cultivate a supportive environment that not only enriches students' academic lives at 91��ɫ Business School but also builds a lasting mentorship network.

We see our mentorship programme as both a beacon of guidance and a powerful tool for empowerment, equipping students to thrive in their careers and advocate for LGBTQ+ representation in the business sphere confidently.

Our programme transcends the conventional scope of professional development; it's a journey of transformation. We aim to offer a distinctive space where students can pursue their career goals while nurturing a profound sense of belonging to our community. Importantly, we encourage participants to proudly embrace their identities, providing them with the guidance, encouragement, and steadfast support they need to navigate the challenges of the business world and personal growth.

As one of the initiators of the EDI Mentorship Programme 2024, my role includes structuring the programme, gauging our club members’ professional needs and preferences, and creating promotional materials. I've taken an active part in managing the programme timeline, designing a survey to capture students' preferences, and creating a mentorship flyer for distribution across the entire business school. I'm delighted to see that this year we've seen the highest registration of mentees, which is a testament to the enthusiasm of 91��ɫ alumni to mentor and share their insights with the next generation of leaders.

Key initiatives for LGBTQ+ History month

There are so many exciting things going on during LGBTQ+ History Month, focusing on student life, professional advancements, and EDI education. As part of the LGBTQ+ community at 91��ɫ, we strive to cultivate an environment where every student can achieve success personally and professionally.

Specifically, from LGBTQ+ and Allies Business Club, the most recent one was the visible stall to enhance visibility and build community. We aim to help everyone understand the origin, significance, and milestones of LGBT+ History Month. It is also our club’s belief that allies hold significant importance within the community. Hence, as part of the stall, we distributed pronoun badges and allies’ badges to students.

91��ɫ also held the LGBTQ+ Career Panel to demonstrate how to be your true self at the workplace, featuring amazing panelists. It reveals more opportunities for LGBTQ+ students to understand the diverse career paths and experiences within the LGBTQ+ community. This event was particularly empowering for students, offering guidance on how to embrace their identities within their future workplaces confidently. It also highlighted the importance of finding and fostering supportive networks and environments that celebrate diversity.

I particularly look forward to attending the film screening of The Dreamlife of Georgie Stone. This is because it provides a smaller group setting that allows for deeper and more nuanced discussions. We can share our thoughts, feelings, and experiences freely from watching this documentary. I think it is also a great chance to connect with others on a personal level, and even make friends who think alike!

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LGBTQ+ and Allies.

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4 minute read

The language of diversity: A guide to navigating inclusion

Sankalp Chaturvedi — Wed, 15 Jan 2025 12:14:02 +0000

The language of diversity: A guide to navigating inclusion

Sankalp Chaturvedi Wed, 15/01/2025 - 12:14

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Language is powerful, a mechanism that fulfils a human need to communicate. It connects and unites us, promoting love and compassion. It adds nuance to a blunt statement, paints a picture where none exists, and evokes emotion in a way that's hard to replicate.

It also divides us, sometimes unintentionally through misuse or misunderstanding, and other times deliberately as a tool for manipulation by those in power (such as in politics). This can significantly change the direction of a discussion or its outcome, with significant consequences.

Language is shaped over time by societies to express thoughts, emotions, and shared realities, and inevitably translates into behaviour. Historically or etymologically, language has carried lasting biases, seen in male-assumed job roles of chairman, workman, businessman, fireman, postman, salesman, craftsman – the list is endless. Ask young people to name prominent leaders or famous scientists and the majority will be male, even today.

Addressing embedded bias: the challenge

It is biases like these that have led to the need for equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI) policies across all organisations. However, intentions that are meant to initiate and celebrate uniqueness can potentially result in the opposite. By singling out disadvantaged or unrepresented groups we often end up creating yet more division. International Women’s Week events continue to draw mainly female audiences. In a similar vein, although Black History Month has a long-established history, the death of George Floyd in 2020 brought a renewed urgency to initiatives aimed at addressing racial inequality and celebrating communities of colour. But are these motivations engaging everyone? Those who are self-aware and passionate about inclusion will always engage in the ongoing debates around diversity and inclusivity, but it is those who don't believe there's a problem, or don't see it as their problem that we really need to reach if we are to create significant and lasting change to celebrate inclusivity for all.

There are other dimensions to this too. Uncertainty can breed fear, fuelling divisive rhetoric and reinforcing biases – especially in politics through social media. With the influence of social media, narratives are also spreading much faster than ever before. Once again, we find language being used for divisive purposes, encouraging the biases we are trying so hard to eradicate, with invisible forces creating the potential for yet more division.

Ensuring language unifies rather than divides

So we are fighting not only historical, cultural and social norms, but a growing narrative that is designed to further divide us. How do we counter this?

We must address these biases through our education system. Creating early touch-points with children to use language to unite rather than divide can promote compassion and community. This can shape the next generation with a different mindset, guided by what we call ACT: awareness, consideration and taking action.

To quote Henry Ford: "If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got". The defaults in both language and process need to change if we are going to create a new mindset. The real-world application of this framework has been instrumental in shaping culture and inclusion at 91��ɫ Business School.

We must reframe EDI to focus on inclusion for everyone. We need to appreciate what makes us all unique – that we are individuals, with different learning styles, motivations and passions. We need to dispense with "additional needs" and concentrate on "individual needs". Recruitment and admissions processes should aim to identify every candidate's individual needs (to achieve their own version of success), without any reference to what is "normal". Only then can we ensure that everyone's needs are met without creating specific "disadvantaged" groups.

We need to measure progress in inclusivity without relying on checkboxes. A renewed focus on intersectionality is essential if we are to move beyond initiatives that, by isolating specific groups, risk entrenching the divisions they seek to overcome. Can a student with Indian heritage who grew up in Africa apply for a bursary for African students? How can individuals truly embrace their identity when they are still expected to fit into predefined categories?

In the United Kingdom, there is definite progress to make organisations become truly inclusive. The recommendations of the UK’s Governments Inclusion at Work Panel must be turned into actionable change; working beyond theory towards actionable processes that bring meaningful impact in the near future, for everyone.

The Equality Act, which serves as the foundation for several UK policies, is now 15 years old and overdue an update. Should it evolve into a more modern Inclusivity Act? What would such an act look like in today's world—one shaped by shifting demographics, digital transformation, and AI—where narratives and meanings spread faster than ever?
Global organisations like the AACSB have amended their accreditation scheme to adapt to a changing narrative around EDI. It will be interesting to follow how it brings together the conflicting narratives from around the world, particularly from the US. Importantly, do mixed signals help unify or divide everyone?

Bias and division can hurt us all, so it is in our interests to understand, promote and expect inclusivity throughout our lives. This will require changing the defaults, celebrating individuality and using language to unite rather than divide.

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From bias to belonging: The role of language in building inclusion

Main image: VictoriaBar / iStock via Getty Images Plus

4 minute read

Championing Black voices

Masis Bugoz — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 17:21:24 +0000

Championing Black voices Masis Bugoz Thu, 27/01/2022 - 17:21

The Leonardo Centre is expanding.

We’re looking for two senior research fellows: one with expertise in Business Organisation, Leadership and Governance; and the other with expertise in Business Strategy and Innovation.

The Leonardo Centre on Business for Society’s mission is to experiment with, and implement, innovative models of business enterprise designed for the transition towards a more sustainable, inclusive and healthy world.

The two new senior research fellows will help us advance our mission by working in partnership with businesses and leading sustainability researchers to co-create and experiment with new logics of business enterprise to advance social and economic outcomes.

If you would like to join our cross-disciplinary team of researchers and make a positive change on how businesses operate, apply now.

Find out more and apply:

Closing date: 24 February.

23 October 2023

Featured EDI

Featured EDI

Introducing Values Day: Core Skills for Inclusive Leadership at 91��ɫ Business School

Introducing Values Day: Core Skills for Inclusive Leadership at 91��ɫ Business School

What I didn’t expect from 91��ɫ’s Full-Time MBA programme

Why positioning matters in senior salary negotiation Careers

Faith Ruto, Executive MBA 2011

Why Values Day matters

The ACT philosophy: building inclusive leaders

What to expect on Values Day

The impact of Values Day

Inclusion: the cornerstone of effective business

Explore our programmes

Download a brochure

Sign up to our newsletter

Share

Celebrating equality and inclusion at the Business School

Celebrating equality and inclusion at the Business School

What I didn’t expect from 91��ɫ’s Full-Time MBA programme

Why positioning matters in senior salary negotiation Careers

Faith Ruto, Executive MBA 2011

What is the LGBTQ+ & Allies Business Club?

The EDI Mentoring programme

Key initiatives for LGBTQ+ History month

Discover LGBTQ+ and Allies Business Club

Equality, diversity and inclusion

Explore our programmes

Share

The language of diversity: A guide to navigating inclusion

The language of diversity: A guide to navigating inclusion

More blogs

"No jobs are safe from AI, but some are safer than others": Professor of Practice David Shrier on the future of work

Why business leaders should force employees to use AI

Expert Q&A: Henry Dimbleby on the hidden ways ultra-processed foods harm our health and why the government must act now

Addressing embedded bias: the challenge

Ensuring language unifies rather than divides

Leading EDI through education

Share

From bias to belonging: The role of language in building inclusion

Championing Black voices

Share