Finding Effectiveness Without Evaluation- The Enigma Of Executive Education

Experience without learning is meaningless and learning without experience, even more so. It is a critical fact, supported not only by the conventional thought process but substantial statistical proof. 

Recruiters believe in hiring talent that helps create leadership teams to face the challenges of an ever-evolving future. Individuals who undergo learning-oriented programs command a greater possibility of career success, whereas institutions bank on the success of their stars to further strengthen the position of their programs.

However, the culture of materialistic education is a misguided phenomenon, seeping erroneously in the executive sector. Majority of the executive education programs seem like a far-fetched effort to meet the mass needs. There is still not a single parameter which may quantify the results of executive education. Moreover, the driving force behind such programs is a misinterpretation of a prevailing opinion. The education industry may bank on the numbers they generate, but only to create a haze because when averages combine, the highs and the lows reduce to a single, misleading unit.

Yet, the current Executive Education model is agreed upon by educators and leveraged by recruiters for retention, promotion, and acquisitional purposes. But where does the consensus lay for a professional undertaking the program?

Observing executive education through a quantifiable lens- 

The single-most important element of executive education, the professionals who invest time and money to elevate their skills, shouldn’t be forgotten amidst a cloud of rigid institutional principles and recruiting interests.

While the numbers may tell a different story for the educators and employers, the professional vision disagrees quite strongly. Recent reports state that within an elite batch of 40 under Forty business leaders, a mere 15% recognized Executive Education as an enabler of success. 

This statistic is indicative of one key fact—current executive education programs either don’t have ROIs or the ROIs are incalculable in quantifiable terms. The executive education model needs a system which scrutinizes the end-result of such programs and quantifies it under the wings of productivity and not just insignificant averages.

The Desired Outcomes of Executive Education Need to Evolve 

Organizations need to transform their outlook on executive education to resonate with the employee perspective. Instead of implying it as a means for retention or promotion, executive education needs recognition as a tool for solving the bigger picture. 

A shift so significant will not only enable higher returns but increase pragmatic learning subsequently. The only question that remains — how to transform executive education programs into the ideal model of success?

Every professional arrives with a different block of knowledge, experience, and expectations. Growth holds different meanings for every professional and thus needs different means to close down on reality. 

The foremost step for such a transformation is to build infrastructure that personalizes the programme and makes it more relevant for the professional involved. Education should be disseminated based on individual growth needs. A customized approach will, thereby, aid exponential growth within pervasively reducing timelines and transform barriers of language, prerequisite knowledge, and experience into enablers.

The concept of Artificial Intelligence(AI) based Learning may prove vital because of its AI-based framework which maps the user orientation and designs a curriculum for every individual.

Beyond the Basics - 

The scope of such a transformation isn’t just limited to the fundamentals of imparting education.

Organizations command an opportunity to pave the way forward by introducing in-house Advanced Management Programs for professionals. Introduction of compatible Modular courses, in collaboration with accredited business schools, can act as the compatibility interface between the Organization’s culture and internal terminology.

Technology, too, has stepped up its game with the introduction of ‘Gamification’ of educational content. This strategy generates personal interest with unparalleled efficiency, but its effects aren’t as distinct as instructive or adaptive learning.

Scaling the bigger picture, a transformation in the education model will spark benefits for every stakeholder. For the recruiters, the major advantages lay towards the creation of a highly productive talent pool whereas, for the professionals, growth will hold a new meaning - one in cohesion with productive learning. Executive education often stands as the last stage of formal learning for any professional. But it can no longer be judged upon falsely-fed averages. Success, today, follows proportions of varied ingredients, and together, we can bring a change that not only affects individual dreams but elevates the nation’s state with just the right mix of innovation and education.

Vikas Gupta

Guest Author Vikas Gupta is Managing Director of Wiley India. He is a recognized and award-winning thought leader in the publishing and knowledge industry. In a career spanning over 20 years, Vikas has been a forerunner in leading many innovative products and business models in the space of technology-driven learning solutions, research and faculty development, professional certifications and skill development. He has authored/co-authored 15 books till date, and his books in the field of IT has sold over two million copies worldwide. At present, he is the Managing Director of Wiley India, Co-Chair of the FICCI Committee on Publishing and the Immediate Past President of Association of Publishers in India (API) and the promoter-member of the Education Promotion Society of India (EPSI). Vikas holds a bachelors degree in Electronics Engineering and an Executive MBA from ISB in association with Kellogg School of Management the Wharton Business School and Fundação Dom Cabral, Brazil. He also holds a PG Diploma in Printing and Publishing from London.