The Future of Leadership
Recently, The Lisbon MBA went to Brazil to reinforce The Lisbon MBA’s mission to attract more Brazilian, and especially more female applicants to the International MBA program. Maria José Amich talked about the institution’s mission to attract more women to promote gender diversity. However, the struggle should be broadened to religion, nationality, and race, since all these elements lead a company to greater performance when balanced. During her interview with Você S/A in Brazil, the Executive Director mentioned the future challenges for Leadership and The Lisbon MBA’s mission in preparing their students for what’s to come.
When speaking about women, in particular, it is a known fact that the salary difference is still a major issue in many countries. In Brazil, women earn about 20.5% less, and this makes us wonder “why more than 50% of women have higher education and yet do not occupy proportional leadership roles?” At The Lisbon MBA, this is a matter of great focus, since only 1/3 of the International MBA and 1/4 of the Executive MBA classes are women. As an answer, we have created the Woman in Business Award, which rewards women in business.
The fact is the market is changing. Technology is constantly growing, and Artificial Intelligence is becoming more and more a present reality. People need to adapt and become technology savvy while never forgetting the human factor. Soft skills are tremendously important to a leader, especially when dealing with different people with different backgrounds. “In the corporate world, if we don’t have structured vision and values, aligned teams and the ability to motivate employees, we can’t move forward.”, stated Maria José.
At The Lisbon MBA, the soft-skills are an important differentiating factor: “We train empathy and human contact. The more conflicts and change we experience, the more we develop our leadership potential.”
At the end of the interview, Maria José Amich shared the desire in attracting more Brazilian applicants: “Nowadays, 1/3 of foreign students are Brazilians and about 40% bet on following a post-graduation in Portugal and Canada. Moreover, there are special conditions when it comes to visa, cultural integration and it is an opportunity to work in a more global perspective.”
Besides the Woman in Business Awards, The Lisbon MBA has other scholarships available, namely Entrepreneurship, Merit, The Lisbon MBA, and the Social Impact Award. These scholarships can cover up to 50% of the tuition fees.
Portugal is, for many reasons, one of the most attractive countries. The country has one of the biggest employment rates for immigrants and is one of the top choices for Brazilians searching for new opportunities.
Portugal, and especially Lisbon, is an entrepreneurial hub with an established ecosystem that has been attracting more and more investment for new start-ups. “These businesses originate big opportunities for permanent work”, according to Maria José Amich, The Lisbon MBA Executive Director, in Época Negócios.
Source: Interview to Maria José Amich at Você S/A and Época Negócios (content in PT)