“Responsible leadership education has its roots in the early 2000s through pioneering work initiated by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) drawing in the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) and culminating in the formation of the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI) in 2004. The GRLI brought together leading businesses, business schools, and learning institutions to integrate global responsibility into education, practice, and institutional transformation leading to the development and launch of the Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) in 2007 with support from UNGC, EFMD, AACSB International, Net Impact, Aspen Institute and ABIS. The Council on Business & Society (CoBS), GRLI, and PRME have since played catalytic roles in advancing the concept and practice of responsible leadership education. In today’s increasingly complex and interconnected world, a fresh approach is needed—one that re-imagines how leadership is cultivated in business education for systemic transformation.”

The CoBS, GRLI and GBSN are delighted to publish this white paper – the fruit of a co-development workshop at Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa. Other partners and key players – UN PRME and the Harvard Business School Institute for Business in Global Society (Harvard BiGS)– have been invited to share their thoughts.

In addition, with the aim of making this publication a “living document” for the wider benefit, we invite all those working in higher education and with an interest and commitment to business, social and environmental impact to send us their comments and input for future versions of the white paper.

The White Paper: 4 key focus areas

In this first version, 4 dimensions of the responsible leadership education topic are covered. The first deals with empowering students through practical leadership and durable curriculum design. Here, emphasis is laid on developing students as individuals first with the aim of helping them to understand their own motivations and values as a foundation for putting into practice responsible management and leadership in their future careers. Experiential learning, with contact with practitioners in the field who might serve as potential role models, is also recommended. And lastly, among other insights and recommendations in this first section, that of equipping students with negotiating skills and a firm foundation in understanding business and impact within a global context through geopolitics, are also proposed.

Developing leaders with a global and community mindset is the second section in this white paper, where “respectful curiosity” serves as a starting point for all learning and creativity. Diversity, wider community spirit and practical cross-border problem solving initiatives provide further triggers among others.

Technology and innovation, unavoidable factors in today’s world, naturally form the third focus section of this white paper. Here, one of the major recommendations is that of developing contextualized approaches to integrating technology by recognizing that different regions and continents require tailored solutions based on local needs and infrastructure. Present too, is the pressing need to advocate for universal AI regulations addressing transparency, ethics, and sustainability. And predominant is the belief that AI should be viewed as a collaborative tool that should not replace human judgment.

And finally, how do we know we are developing responsible leaders? Measuring impact – the fourth section in this publication – points to lobbying for alumni impact featuring in accreditation reports for schools of business and management. This includes not only positive actions that are aligned with the UN SDGs, but also monitoring of any cases of misconduct or legal proceedings resulting from unethical behaviour. All in all, impact measurement means shifting from the current emphasis on short-term career placement metrics upon graduation to long-term societal value creation.

Practical reflection. And action

Following on from these four sections, the white paper also features questions worth exploring which will help us to go deeper into the various dimensions of responsible leadership in terms of our own actions, those of our institutions, and the wider context. A tool to develop an action plan is also proposed, as well as useful readings and content that the CoBS, GRLI and GBSN has produced on the theme.

We invite you to download this white paper, reflect, and perhaps use it as a trigger for debate with your students or trainees. Moreover, please feel free to join in the debate and add additional content you may think important or useful to include by reaching us via our website contact page or by sending a message via our LinkedIn page.  

With special acknowledgements to the people who made this debate and publication possible:

Dr. Armand Bam, Stellenbosch Business School, Prof. and Deputy Dean Tales Andreassi, FGV EAESP, Abigail Cuyler, Stellenbosch Business School, Prof. Frederik Dahlmann, Warwick Business School, Prof. and Associate Dean Concépcion Galdón, IE Business School, Tom Gamble, ESSEC Business School, Executive Director CoBS, Dan LeClair, CEO Global Business School Network, Prof. Ulrich Leicht-Deobald, Trinity Business School, Nomfundo Makhanya, Stellenbosch Business School, Prof. Daniel Malan, Trinity Business School, Prof. Sourav Mukherji, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, John North, Director of the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative, Anshuman Sisodia, ESSEC Business School Alum and Snr Editor CoBS, Nicole Tauté, Stellenbosch Business School, Samantha Walbrugh-Parsadh, Stellenbosch Business School, Prof. Qinqin Zheng, School of Management Fudan University, Prof. Adrian Zicari, ESSEC Business School, Academic Director CoBS. And with special thanks to Anshuman Sisodia, Chief Editor of this white paper, and Mélissa Guillou, CoBS Head of Design.

Useful links:

• Connect to the CoBS, GRLI, and GBSN via LinkedIn
• Read a related article: The making of a good business school: Distinguishing purpose from profit
• Watch the masterclass on The Purpose of Business Education with Profs. Mette Morsing, Tanusree Jain, and Adrian Zicari.
• Visit the CoBS downloads page for a range of free content and research-based insights.

Learn more about the Council on Business & Society

The Council on Business & Society (The CoBS), visionary in its conception and purpose, was created in 2011, and is dedicated to promoting responsible leadership and tackling issues at the crossroads of business and society including sustainability, diversity, ethical leadership and the place responsible business has to play in contributing to the common good.  

• Follow the CoBS on LinkedIn
• Download magazines and learning content from the CoBS website downloads page.

Member schools of the Council on Business & Society.

• ESSEC Business School, France, Singapore, Morocco
• FGV-EAESP, Brazil
• School of Management Fudan University, China
• IE Business School, Spain
• Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, India
• Keio Business School, Japan
• Monash Business School, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia
• Olin Business School, USA
• Smith School of Business, Queen’s University, Canada
• Stellenbosch Business School, South Africa
• Trinity Business School, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
• Warwick Business School, United Kingdom.