What happens when a top-ranked traditional Business University puts humanity at the core of its curriculum?

Humanity at the Core of Business – teaching Identity Empowered Leadership to 250 master students Excelia Business School La Rochelle

Together with Steven Asei-Dantoni and Barbara Asei-Dantoni we challenged the status quo of the traditional student inception program. We were given carte blanche by Exelia Group, to re-imagine and re-design the inception week programme. 5 Days filled with workshops, lectures, and activities. Rituals and new traditions formed the basis of this human-centered experience within a conventional business education context.

The week started off with 250 individuals from different backgrounds, strangers to one another. Throughout the week we witnessed barriers coming down and authentic human connections being made as students embarked on a journey of self-discovery and unfiltered interaction.

We designed this unique week around the pillars and principles of our respective areas of expertise:

• Identity empowerment
• Ubuntu philosophy
• Corporate anthropology
• Feminine leadership
• Ancestral wisdom
• Origin storytelling
• Value-based leadership

The societal challenges the world and this upcoming generation of leaders face demand a new definition of leadership, of power and influence. The prevailing leadership paradigm has failed society as a whole, both women and men – and needs to be shifted. This class of 2022 gave us hope for a new generation of leadership, in which humanity is at the core and courage and vulnerability prevail. 

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