In November, we had our third module, led by Pierre Casse. The module covered responsibility, avoiding pain when making mistakes, the tyranny of averages and the ability to switch between different leadership styles based on the situation.

We had lots of group interactions, from small teams to big games involving all 37 classmates. Some class-wide cases were wild: the group dynamics went crazy, agreements were tough and emotions ran high. After these games, you leave with a bunch of self-reflective questions. The module also included several tests to help identify our leadership styles, which gave practical insights on areas for growth.

One day ended with a lecture by Galina Yuzefovich, a literary critic you might’ve read on Meduza. She spoke about “critical thinking” as part of the Skolkovo MBA-8 humanities series. There were alternative lectures, too. You could hear Leonid Klein on the history of entrepreneurship or Dmitry Gutov on contemporary art.

The last day was dedicated to an ongoing leadership course, introduced for the first time in MBA-8. We worked with coaches in groups of six all day. Our coach was Maxim Belukhin, trained at Executive Master in Consulting and Coaching for Change programme at the INSEAD Business School. The sessions felt a lot like group therapy, but participants could give advice.

Classic Freudian analysis helps answer “why,” Jungian analysis is more about “what for.” Group coaching at Skolkovo leans closer to Jung, focusing on questions like: What should you stop doing now? What should you start doing now?

Key insights:

— Leadership means seeing what others don’t or “Leadership – win in crisis situation”;

— Crisis is great if leadership uses it to reinvent reality. Crisis is bad if leadership can’t handle it and stagnation occurs Which in today’s fast-paced world might mean disappearing entirely;

— Cool example: At an annual company meeting, employees are asked to come with a job offer from another company. It creates a freer atmosphere;

— People won’t warn you about risks in rigid environments, causing missed opportunities. What’s the atmosphere like in your company?

— Leaders spend 80% of their time removing obstacles for people;

— Leadership is creating an environment where people achieve, grow, enjoy Happy people work better and see their impact;

— Start task discussions by defining evaluation criteria, not immediately discussing solutions;

— The meaning of your words depends on how your audience reacts;

— Leadership growth: 70% experience, 20% mentorship, 10% formal education;

— Leadership: accepting responsibility to enable others to achieve shared goals under uncertainty;

— Don’t do things that don’t excite you. If you don’t care, why should anyone else?

— Sometimes leaders shouldn’t tell the whole truth—or even the truth at all—to avoid causing pain;

— Happiness leads to action. Unhappiness can lead to blaming others, fantasizing or compensating;

— Acknowledge people’s limitations, but never forget their potential.

“The Baroness” Game

When the baron left, he asked the baroness to stay on their island or she would be punished. She left anyway to see her lover. Returning, she found a madman with a knife blocking the bridge. Her lover refused to help. A boatman agreed to help for money she didn’t have and her friend didn’t lend it to her. Exhausted, she returned to the bridge at dawn and was killed.

Who’s most to blame: baron, baroness, lover, friend, or boatman?

Answers. Numbers are groups’ names. My group 6.

Game Insights:

1. People interpret the same text in different ways.
2. Personal values strongly affect perception. Emotions signal personal values.
3. How people see the situation depends on their perspective.
4. Perspectives shape assumptions; making hypotheses is crucial for entrepreneurs. Personal values strongly affect perception. We survive by challenging old assumptions.
5. Understanding different people’s perspectives is crucial. We can assume that we don’t fully understand each other. And if we’re still alive in 2017, absolute understanding probably isn’t that vital. Communication isn’t about passing information back and forth, it’s about how we “invent” each other.
6. In teams, leaders should ensure everyone shares the same perspective.
7. The сommitment to a common reference can be a condition for business success. Vision — dream with deadline.
8. Differences in viewpoints can spark creativity.
9. The same differences can also lead to conflicts.
10. Inventing new ways of looking at problems can be a significant advantage.

Leader’s value orientations

Pierre suggests categorizing leaders’ values into four groups:

1. Action: results, action-oriented, directness, pragmatism, experience, achievements, change, decisiveness.
2. Processes: systematic, detail-focused, evidence-based, verification, analytical, unemotional, methodical, structured, planning.
3. Relationships: human motives, team spirit, empathy, relationships, teamwork, emotions.
4. Ideas: possibilities, new plans, imagination, self-centeredness, new paths, improvement, potential, alternatives, hard to grasp.

— The leader’s role is to shift the team into the right mode at the right time. Simply assembling a team isn’t enough.

— When people are shifted into an unfamiliar mode, they might say something like, “I don’t really like this task I’ve been assigned, but I learned a lot.” It’s an opportunity for people to experience something new and grow. No pain, no gain. Know your cup of tea!

— Usually, people naturally fit into two of these segments at a time. It’s important that the management style matches the context. Here’s how these segments combine:

• Idea + Action — entrepreneurial leadership mindset, the ability to kick off new projects;

• Action + Processes — operational leadership mindset, the ability to turn projects into processes;

• Process + People — managerial leadership mindset, the ability to unlock people’s talents;

• People + Ideas —professional leadership mindset, the ability to be the best in your field and inspire others through it;

• Action + People — line leadership mindset, the ability to stay focused on customers and the market;

• Processes + Ideas — strategic leadership mindset, the ability to see the big picture and think strategically.

— We can’t really motivate people, but we can demotivate them if we pay too little.

— Not better, but the best;

— People can see the truth.

How to achieve high performance

|Healthy Ways|Unhealthy Ways|

|Set ambitious goals|Dismiss others with “You’re wrong…”|

|Encourage open discussion|Pretend not to understand someone on purpose|

|Listen to each other|Set strict limits, like deadlines|

|Build on each other’s ideas|Show dissatisfaction|

|Manage group dynamics|Ask provocative questions|

|Test hypotheses|Have emotional discussions|

|Challenge one another|Create chaos|

|Make sure everyone understands the context|Benchmark against the best in the industry|

|Track progress|Use and fuel conflicts|

If the discussion goes flat and hits a dead end, that’s when it makes sense to use unhealthy methods. Once a decision is made, switch back to the healthy ones.

How to switch leadership styles depending on the context and the people involved?

The chart has two main axes. Vertical – the leader’s personal effort in terms of imagination and creativity; Horizontal – the level of the leader’s involvement in day-to-day operations.
★ – the most suitable leadership style based on the assessment of the business situation, the team’s competence and engagement and the company culture.

The model describes four leadership styles:

1. Leading by example – High operational involvement, low creativity. The leader constantly shows and tells people exactly what to do. There’s little discussion and a lot of directive energy. An alternative name could be: “Do what I say, now.” Leading from the front.
2. Leading through teamwork – High operational involvement, high creativity. This style relies on joint discussions and collective decision-making. It takes time and can sometimes fall into the trap of the “tyranny of the average.” Leading from within.
3. Leading through inspiration — Low operational involvement, high creativity. Here the leader helps the team see problems from a new perspective but doesn’t take part in implementing ideas. Leading from the side.
4. Leading by empowering — Low operational involvement, low creativity. The leader trusts the team to come up with ideas and execute them. The focus is on support, shaping the vision and strategy, helping overcome roadblocks and recognizing individual contributions. Leading from the rear.

To choose the most suitable leadership style, Pierre suggests using these criteria:
a. Assess the business situation – Is the company operating in a high-risk or low-risk environment? How competitive is it?
b. Assess the team – Is the team highly motivated? How engaged are they in the company’s work?
c. Assess the corporate culture – The more conservative the company, the more likely its leaders will gravitate toward the two right-hand quadrants.

Based on these three criteria, the leader can choose the style that fits best.

Comprehensive leadership course with Maksim Belukhin

The last day of the module was a small-group leadership course. During the course, we received short reports based on our 360-degree feedback survey, which we had filled out a month earlier. The survey was designed to highlight both our strengths and the areas where we could grow. It compared three perspectives: how we see ourselves, how our teammates see us and how the school’s experts evaluate us.

In our groups, we took turns getting team assignments, completing them and then analyzing the group dynamics after each exercise. For example, one participant was given a scenario to produce a short pantomime of a scene from the movie Moscow Doesn’t Believe in Tears. They received a script with roles, props and a video camera. The final video couldn’t be longer than four minutes.

It’s interesting to see how you show up in these exercises and how your teammates do too. The biggest benefit of these games is probably the deeper trust they build within the team.

Conclusion

I’d give the module an 8 out of 10. What I liked: All the self-tests before each theory block, they really help you see how Pierre’s concepts apply to you; Group work – absolute fire; The full leadership course flows naturally from Pierre’s ideas and makes them feel personal, creating a solid mix. What I didn’t like: Pierre’s course got cut by a day to make room for the leadership program; Compromise is not great.