Transformative Learning in Context at Lufthansa – New Perspectives, Ways of Thinking and Mindsets in Action

by Dr Martin Brigham, Ph.D.
Academic Director, IMPM

What might be the difference between knowledge and wisdom for a airline pilot? Knowledge would be the flying expertise built up from formal training and hours of experience in the air. Wisdom would be deploying that expertise and know-how whilst actually flying. While this might sound rather obvious, it suggests an important and overlooked insight, particularly in management education and development. Being great at what we do requires working in context, with action at the appropriate moment, seeing the consequences for yourself and those you are responsible for, all while being aware of the world outside. It requires, in other words, decisive, confident and contextualised acts of reflective judgement and action. How might such practical wisdom be cultivated for those who are responsible for running companies, public institutions, community and non-governmental organisations?

Lufthansa has been collaborating with the International Masters Program for Managers (IMPM) for over 20 years. Our joint ambition has been to help transform Lufthansa’s highly expert senior managers into practically wise executives who develop the company. Martin Schamberg exemplifies one such wise leader at Lufthansa. As a Senior Director at Lufthansa Technik, and one of over 600 IMPM alumni around the world, he reflects on his experience on the IMPM and how this changed his practice of managing “from stewardship to authentic leadership” and created impact at Lufthansa. Seven years after graduating Martin says the IMPM remains very fresh in his mind because the program helped him think, see and act in new ways: “it created different mindsets … if you are changing your perspective as a manager this is the decisive point and that will always remain.”

For management education to be innovative, shouldn’t its own design be innovative? A Henry Mintzberg program, IMPM is next generation management development for organizational impact and has been transforming the course of management education since the mid 1990s. Designed around mindsets, IMPM is a partnership of world-class business schools (Lancaster University in the UK, McGill University in Canada, Yokohama National University in Japan, FGV-EBAPE in Brazil and IIM Bangalore in India) that prepares you for the most senior responsibilities in business by developing your reflective, analytical, collaborative, action and worldly practice.

IMPM is a master’s level executive program customized to individuals’ personal, professional and organizational context. It is about developing your knowledge, practice and capability to better manage, lead and innovate in your company while creating company impact. IMPM helps experienced managers, entrepreneurs, community leaders and organizations develop by learning together with world-class faculty. See impm.org for more information, join one of our webinars to learn more or contact me via LinkedIn.

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