Leadership Development at HEC MBA Paris: Field exercises with Military Academy in Brittany, The MBA tournament & Specialization

At HEC, Leadership is integrated throughout the program. Leadership development is offered as a specialization and involves top speakers, experiential learning, and the latest research & techniques that challenge all previous notions. HEC’s multicultural class helps students evolve their understanding of cultures and learn how to lead a multicultural team. Students are taught how to deliver leadership at critical moments, how to motivate, and how to empower a team towards success. The program also develops critical thinking and hands-on leadership techniques to succeed in the real world.

Here are the various aspects that complete Leadership learning at one of France's top Business Schools.

HEC Paris Leadership Center

HEC's Leadership Center was founded in 2008 and has a fruitful partnership with L’Oreal, Alcatel-Lucent and MSD China. The center seeks to develop in students a capacity to be challenged. It also aims to nurture ethical and responsible leaders who understand how the business, social and environmental spheres interact with each other.

The Center fosters cross disciplinary collaboration at HEC to develop innovative research on leadership in conjunction with the industry. It also organizes the  CEO speakers series that sees the world's political, military, sports and business leaders on campus, share their leadership experience and insights. Experiential leadership programs are implemented that emphasizes on multicultural management abilities.

Off-Campus Leadership Seminar

The Off-Campus Leadership Seminar is an annual event where HEC MBA students participate in a 2-day seminar at the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr or St Cyr Military Academy in Brittany. It helps participants to understand, develop, and express team leadership skills through a series of field exercises. All the various activities are supervised by French army officers.

MBA students are constantly challenged both mentally and physically as they seek to build their leadership skills through a variety of individual and team activities. The team challenges are aimed at developing individual leadership skills, and at the end of the task, members of the team as well as the military representative give feedback. The Individual challenges involve seemingly impossible tasks that help participants overcome their fears by testing their physical limits.

General Management & Leadership Club

The General Management & Leadership Club is most sought-after campus resource for opportunities in general management and leadership across industries. The club nurtures interaction between alumni leadership roles, both in France as well as abroad, for top-notch mentoring. It also provides students with skills and techniques through leadership development programs, aimed at quick vertical growth in top companies. The club maintains constant interaction with executives all over the globe.

General Management & Leadership Club regularly holds seminars and workshops. It facilitates general management and internships that enable faster career progress. Recent events include conferences on Leadership under Extreme Conditions and Entrepreneurial Leadership, as well as a seminar on Leadership Development Programs.

MBAT - The MBA tournament

MBAT is the annual sporting event at HEC, and sees participation from 15 top European B-schools, which involve 1,500 students and 70 nationalities. It is the biggest MBA sporting event in Europe. The tournament lasts for 3 days, and has sports contest as well as festivities at the HEC Paris campus and around. There are 22 sports at MBAT, and besides the usual ones like football and athletics, there are also rare ones like Babyfoot, Petanque, Salsa Dancing and Frisbee.

The MBA tournament is completely organized by students. They manage the venues, sponsorship, the participants, equipment, accommodation, and the entire logistics of conducting such a massive event. It helps develop leadership and teamwork skills and enables them to apply classroom lessons in the real world.

Specialization - Leadership in Global Organizations

During the 2nd phase of the HEC MBA program, called the Customized Phase, students can take up the Leadership in Global Organizations concentration. It fosters the development of leadership skills with strong analytical and strategic skills. The specialization has a focus on problem-solving and decision-making in the global context. Cross-cultural understanding and management are also covered.

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