What Should a University Do to Cultivate Real Leaders?

Traditional academic education often faces a major paradox. While university lecture halls offer a safe environment and deep theoretical foundations, the real business world demands entirely different qualities: agility under pressure, risk tolerance, a high level of personal responsibility, and an empathetic approach to people. The question is not whether academic teaching needs theory, but how higher education can bridge academic knowledge with the uncompromising reality of the market.

Participants in the first Round Table meeting—organized in Brno by NEWTON University in cooperation with the Czech Management Association (ČMA)—searched for answers to these challenges. In an open discussion, experienced leaders from the field met with students from the Business Leadership professional program.

Renowned international analyses, such as the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report (2023), consistently show that analytical thinking is joined by leadership, flexibility, resilience, and lifelong learning among the key competencies for the coming decade. Similar findings come from McKinsey & Company (2023), which states that successful organizations require leaders capable of navigating teams through high uncertainty. But how can these skills be effectively developed in young people while they are still at university?

School as a Protected Environment vs. the Uncompromising Reality of Companies

A university inherently operates as a protected environment. Failing an exam usually means taking a retake. In real business, however, every wrong decision carries concrete financial, time, and human consequences. If students are to grow into real leaders, they must cross the boundary between school and company during their studies.

As Lukáš Rudy emphasized at the Round Table, a crucial step is getting students directly into company environments. While school provides a safety net, it is only a real company that 'slaps hands' when mistakes occur. According to Rudy, the ideal tool is a mini-project where students are thrown into deep water and have the opportunity to swim completely without a safety net. It is in these moments that the fastest professional and personal growth occurs.

Petr Střelec raised the question of the depth and duration of such an experience. Short-term field trips or multi-week internships are not enough to cultivate real leaders. For an internship in an expert position to have a real impact, it should last at least one year. The first six months are spent on onboarding and absorbing corporate culture—only in the second half of the year does the student gain sufficient insight and courage to try more real, responsible projects.

This approach is supported by expert articles in Harvard Business Review (2023), which emphasize that leadership development does not work through one-off training sessions, but through immersive, long-term experience tied to direct responsibility. Similarly, Czech analytical media like Hospodářské noviny point to the growing demand among companies for graduates with pre-established management habits.

An Incubator for New Stars and Debunking the Myth of Loneliness at the Top

Connecting academia with practice is not a one-way street that benefits only students. For companies themselves, collaborating with universities represents a strategic advantage. Ladislav Chodák pointed out that through active students, companies can systematically scout and nurture new managerial stars before they enter the open job market.

When cultivating future leaders, however, it is also necessary to address the downside of executive roles. High-level leaders frequently face pressure, isolation, and the feeling of being alone in their decision-making. As analyzed in detail in the article on NEWTON Today, Loneliness at the Top Is Obsolete: Why We Are Building a Centre of Excellence, modern leadership rejects the concept of the solitary hero. Universities must offer students a community, mentors, and a peer-to-peer support network that helps them understand that sharing experiences and consulting with other professionals is a sign of strength, not weakness.

'Watch Out, It's Windy at the Top': Courage, Responsibility, and Healthy Self-Confidence

Stepping into a managerial role requires a fundamental mindset shift. Renata Červenák Nývltová stressed at the meeting that a university's task is to build a sense of personal responsibility, healthy self-confidence, and the courage to make tough decisions. Students need to be openly prepared for the fact that 'it's windy at the top'—meaning that higher positions bring significantly more pressure, stakeholder expectations, and accountability for the entire team.

An OECD study, OECD Skills Outlook (2023), notes that socio-emotional skills—such as emotional regulation, stress resilience, and dialogue capability—are becoming the key distinguishing mark of successful managers. If universities fail to prepare students for these soft yet critically important aspects of management, graduates risk early burnout upon their first encounter with reality.

Students' Perspective: Shadowing Leaders, First Real Revenue, and Humanity

How these principles work in practice is best illustrated by the experience of students in the Business Leadership program. As part of their studies, they get the unique opportunity to directly shadow top executives of Czech and international companies, as highlighted in the report NEWTON Students Shadow Leaders of Czech Business.

At the Round Table, students formulated their own observations on what holds the greatest value in their education:

• Kryštof Hanzal: The school's role lies in opening doors to business leaders while creating a safe space where you can make mistakes, analyze them, and learn without fatal consequences.
• Nela Novotná: Theory is useful, but the key is following through on real projects. A real mindset shift happens the moment you earn your first 10,000 CZK on your own project.
• Katrin Skalníková: Real-world practice and shadowing give you immense perspective and purpose. Just as valuable as discovering inspiring role models is seeing behaviors or practices in experienced leaders that you personally want to avoid in the future.
• Lukáš Dyml: True leadership in the 21st century is not measured solely by numbers and metrics. Essential pillars of sustainable management are humanity, empathy, and a deep understanding of others.

This viewpoint aligns with trends described in Forbes CZ, which regularly points out that the young generation of leaders demands authenticity, open feedback, and meaningfulness from their mentors.

What, Then, Must a University Do to Cultivate Leaders?

Conclusions from the Round Table and global research point in a clear direction. If a university is to fulfill its role as an incubator for managerial talent, it must stand on these pillars:

1. Integrate Long-Term Practice into the Curriculum: Replace short-term internships with year-long corporate placements and real mini-projects without safety nets.
2. Enable Shadowing of Top Managers: Connect students with leaders directly in their day-to-day work, as realized in the Business Leadership program.
3. Foster a Culture of Learning from Mistakes: Create an environment where mistakes are not punished, but serve as an impulse for reflection and growth.
4. Build on Community and Mentorship: Overcome loneliness at the top by establishing strong networks and a Centre of Excellence.
5. Develop Humanity and Socio-Emotional Skills: Train leaders who understand not only financial metrics, but above all, the people they lead.

At NEWTON University, we believe that this combination of academic rigor, human approach, and intense connection with real business is the only sustainable way to cultivate individuals who will shape the future of business.

Sources:

• Allen, S. J., & Burnside, R. M. (2023). Leadership Education in Practice: Experiential Learning in Higher Education. Journal of Leadership Education, 22(3), 45–58.
• Carucci, R. (2023). What Makes a Great Leadership Development Program. Harvard Business Review. Available from: https://hbr.org/2023/03/what-makes-a-great-leadership-development-program
• Forbes CZ. (2024). Mladá generace v byznysu: Jak mentoring proměňuje český leadership. Forbes Česko. Available from: https://forbes.cz/
• Hospodářské noviny. (2023). Jak české vysoké školy propojují teorii s praxí a co požadují firmy od absolventů. HN.cz. Available from: https://hn.cz/
• McKinsey & Company. (2023). Developing Global Leaders: Building Leadership Capabilities for an Uncertain World. McKinsey Insights. Available from: https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights
• NEWTON Today. Osamělost na vrcholu je přežitek: Proč budujeme Centrum excelence. NEWTON Today. Available from: https://newton.today/en/loneliness-at-the-top-is-a-relic-why-we-are-building-a-centre-of-excellence/
• NEWTON Today. Studenti NEWTONu stínují lídry českého businessu. NEWTON Today. Available from: https://newton.today/en/newton-students-shadow-leaders-of-czech-business/
• OECD. (2023). OECD Skills Outlook 2023: Skills for Resilient Societies. OECD Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1787/3a5d0121-en
• World Economic Forum. (2023). The Future of Jobs Report 2023. World Economic Forum. Available from: https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-future-of-jobs-report-2023/