Today’s management students are the leaders of tomorrow. They will occupy various roles in organisations and cover a wide array of responsibilities. These future leaders need a unique blend of analytical and soft skills to navigate the diverse challenges organisations face today. But how can business education cultivate these essential skills to ensure they are ‘employable’ and ready to lead?

There are countless ways to prepare aspiring managers for their roles. Yet, successful hires possess a well-rounded skill set, personally and professionally. The training of managers, especially in Higher Education, ranges from traditional classroom instruction to hands-on experience. The methods are as diverse as the challenges managers face. Navigating technological change, maintaining employee engagement, managing diverse teams, handling conflict, and balancing strategic goals with resource constraints, are just a few examples of the many challenges managers encounter.

High skill requirements, including soft and hard skills and increased educational attainment, are crucial components in shaping the employability of tomorrow’s leaders. However, a pressing question remains: How can we best equip future leaders in Higher Education with multifaceted competencies in a highly competitive job market? The answer lies in the versatility inherent in a manager’s role.

Which skills make a manager employable?

Today’s work environment is complex and becoming ever more so. The traditional role of ‘the manager’ already paints a picture of almost super-human requirements. Unlike anachronistic concepts of managers adding value through standardised tasks and basic leadership skills, business schools increasingly highlight the multi-faceted role of managers, the need to cope with ambiguity and change and the diversity of skills required. While managers may set the direction of the firm, it is more likely that they are ‘strategic facilitators’ channelling and balancing complementary and conflicting views and agendas.

This requires strong leadership skills grounded in personal and professional values. Conflict resolution skills ensure a harmonious workplace, while analytical abilities like critical thinking and data analysis enable informed decision-making and problem-solving. Thus, management is not a technical exercise but is fundamentally about guiding interpersonal dynamics, enabling teams to strive towards higher objectives. This paints a picture of a manager who excels in both analytical thinking and empathetic leadership.

This picture is not only depicted by recent management research and head-hunters but also increasingly forms the narrative of business and management education. Thus, it is a key challenge today to create learning experiences that enable students to develop these essential skills and capabilities and enhance their employability.

So, how can students learn ‘management skills’ at university?

Originally, university education focused primarily on theoretical knowledge, rigorously training students in analytical skills. This goal is effectively met through traditional lectures. However, as the demands of the job market have evolved, there has been a growing emphasis on complementing these conventional methods with more practical experiences. This shift recognises that theoretical knowledge alone is not sufficient; practical skills are essential for success in a competitive and dynamic workplace.

Higher education already utilises various contemporary teaching methods to prepare future leaders. Alongside traditional lectures, interactive discussions and case studies are pivotal for fostering critical thinking and practical application of management principles.

Many institutions also adopt flipped classroom approaches, where students study materials independently before engaging in collaborative sessions that encourage deeper exploration and problem-solving. Experiential learning through internships, simulations, and hands-on projects further enhances managerial skills by providing real-world contexts and challenges. These methods collectively aim to cultivate adaptable and forward-thinking managers capable of navigating complex business environments.

There is more: Hands-on management experience through Co-Creation

Teamwork and collective problem-solving have become more established in management education. A widely used method is Co-Creation, where students actively collaborate to work on and refine management content. What sets Co-Creation apart from other collaborative approaches?

Co-Creation stands out by employing a learning and problem-solving approach in which students engage with specific challenges alongside senior educators and peers. It provides distinct benefits by embracing individual experiences and accommodating the student’s variety of educational backgrounds. Co-Creation can transform teaching into a hands-on experience, placing students at the centre of the learning process.

By giving students a central role in the process and encouraging their active participation, a dynamic and interactive learning environment is created. This method, therefore, not only mirrors the complexities of the modern workplace but also fosters a deeper understanding and stronger skill set. The curricular attempt to simulate a real manager experience also aims to boost engagement and motivation.

Our approach to Co-Creation – the CoCun Project

Since the summer term of 2023, we have tried the Co-Creation approach on MSc and BSc-level courses on Strategy and Organization. On the post-graduate level, we are utilising an extensive role-play format focusing on the challenges of strategic renewal and organisational transformation. Additionally, Co-Creation has been integrated into a compulsory organisation theory course. The goal is to provide students with a unique educational experience that enhances their personal learning and skill development, and even more importantly, laying a solid foundation for a successful career in management.

To gain input for the creation of the courses and evaluate our teaching concept, we rely on two advisory boards, an external advisory board with practitioners and a student panel, within our Co-Creation project. The practitioner advisory board consists of the industry experts Stefan Kolm, a Human Resources and Organizational Development Specialist and Tobias Leisgang, responsible for innovation and sustainability at a leading automotive supplier.

As an educational expert, Prof. Radka Newton, Lancaster University, supports the external advisory board. Since the end of 2023, the student panel has been made up of the management students at the University of Bamberg: Marie Patschke, Katharina Eichberger, Anna Kienlein and Vera Gauck.

They offer essential guidance for advancing the CoCun project from a student’s perspective with their experiences. These independent boards assist us in continuously enhancing and adapting our courses based on their different foci. By harnessing the feedback provided to craft a dynamic learning environment through Co-Creation, we are not just shaping students into managers; we aim to make them downright employable.

Why Co-Creation gives management students an employability boost

How does the employability of the applied Co-Creation approach become evident? Our advisory board members give us some insights:

Bridging the theory and practice gap

Co-Creation has long been considered a promising pedagogical concept. It aims to bridge the gap between theory and practice by actively involving students in real-world scenarios and applying theoretical knowledge to explore various solutions. Our advisory board member Stefan Kolm highlighted that filling the void offers important further advantages: “The immediate connection between theory and real-world economic challenges enables students to acquire essential cross-disciplinary skills like teamwork, holistic thinking, and adaptability, which are crucial for independently solving diverse job-related demands and problems.”

Stefan also advocates for incorporating current events and addressing specific issues. These include immersing oneself in situations and devising various strategies to apply, navigating dynamic environments, and understanding the impact of one’s decisions: “What happens if I change my strategy? What about reporting, how does my social environment react?”

In this manner, the impact and effects of decision-making can be explored beyond textbook references. He concludes that successfully preparing future managers requires bringing the real world into the university classes: ” Incorporating the practical world in university teaching is highly important. “The professional life is of course made up of practical tasks! The project therefore allows us to develop the skills required in today’s working world”

Adopting different vantage points

Especially, our student advisory board highlights the importance of adopting multiple perspectives through Co-Creation, emphasising that students can engage not only from their viewpoint but also by assuming the roles of stakeholders. MSc students Katharina Eichberger and Marie Patschke stress that Co-Creation plays a crucial role in enhancing students’ employability.

Marie, who has already gained professional experience in the M&A sector, emphasises that “by e.g., replicating the operational strategies of large corporations. The CoCun project focuses on developing vital skills such as effective communication, stakeholder coordination, self-initiative and independent problem-solving.” Similarly, Katharina, a student intern in the Human Resources department, highlights how the CoCun courses develop additional qualities that boost employability, as “teamwork, collaboration with external partners, and understanding diverse perspectives within project dynamics.”

Anna Kienlein, is also a management student, and in addition to her studies works in the field of communication and competence management. She adds: “These skills are crucial to teaching because they are often overlooked in conventional classroom settings.”. Through these immersive experiences, Co-Creation not only prepares students for real-world challenges but also cultivates their ability to excel in dynamic professional settings. Both Katharina and Marie agree with Anna’s statement: “This hands-on approach provides practical skills and insights that are highly sought after in today’s competitive job market.”

Steering through uncertainty

Practitioner board member Tobias Leisgang (Manager for sustainability and innovation at a large automotive supplier), states that employability benefits arise due to the strong problem-based focus of Co-Creation. The approach immerses students in challenges they are likely to encounter in their professional careers. For example, the implementation of Co-Creation requires students to navigate team dynamics.

Tobias argues that “initial team formation can be challenging, especially with members from different disciplines and value systems. Experiencing and resolving conflicts within a diverse group is valuable, as it mirrors real professional team dynamics.”. Moreover, these diverse team compositions stimulate the exploration of multiple solutions, thus showcasing the significance of Co-Creation.

Tobias underlines this difference: “Unlike predefined step-by-step solutions, working in heterogeneous groups fosters the discovery of various solution options and paths, highlighting diverse perspectives.” Encountering these challenges means handling and overcoming uncertainties in the courses. Therefore, he also suggests “real-life examples like supply chain disruptions could teach students to manage novel situations that lack established solutions”. Thus the approach equips students with valuable navigation skills and ultimately enhances their future employability.

Implementing Co-Creation

In an era where adaptability and continuous learning are paramount, Co-Creation prepares managers not just to lead but to thrive in these challenging management environments. It transforms theoretical knowledge into practical wisdom, ensuring that the managers of tomorrow are not just prepared but are agile, innovative, and resilient. Through our implementation of the Co-Creation approach, we aim to enhance management education for students, striving towards sustainability.

Within our courses at the University of Bamberg, we intend to uphold this pedagogical approach to ensure our students are well-prepared for their careers. However, it’s important to maintain focus on the theoretical component, as Tobias Leisgang advises: “Co-Creation is essential but should be balanced with traditional teaching methods (e.g., blended learning). While Co-Creation fosters the development of practical skills and new knowledge, integrating scientific research into teaching is also crucial.” Co-Creation isn’t just a trend; it’s transforming managerial training into a gateway to employability.

Contributors: Isabella Dittmar (University of Bamberg), Prof. Dr Martin Friesl (University of Bamberg / NHH Norwegian School of Economics), Christoph Brielmaier (University of Bamberg), Prof. Radka Newton (Lancaster University), Stefan Kolm, Tobias Leisgang, Katharina Eichberger (University of Bamberg), Vera Gauck (University of Bamberg), Anna Kienlein (University of Bamberg), Marie Patschke (University of Bamberg).

For additional insights, trends and perspectives on employability, visit the conversation here.