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The importance of continuous leadership development is more pressing than ever, as companies are realizing that to thrive in today's ever-changing environment, they need to cultivate and further develop leadership skills and organizational abilities.

WHU not only stands for excellence in management education, we also strongly believe in the concept of lifelong learning. Hence, the WHU Executive Education department is constantly developing its portfolio so that we can support managers and executives at all career and experience levels.

In order to further optimize the Open Programs portfolio for the needs of experienced professionals, the WHU Executive Education department is proud to announce the launch of its newest program, the Management Acceleration Program. Designed for managers and executives with at least 5-8 years of leadership experience, this comprehensive program empowers experienced professionals to navigate complex business landscapes, drive growth, and achieve strategic goals.

"In today's rapidly evolving business environment, continuous leadership development is paramount. Our Management Acceleration Program addresses the unique challenges faced by experienced professionals, providing them with the tools and knowledge to thrive in their leadership roles."

- Dr. Rebecca Winkelmann, Managing Director Executive Education at WHU

The Management Acceleration Program is a flexible learning experience designed to meet the needs of experienced professionals. The content of the program is in line with the bestseller “Management Essentials” and offers experienced managers a broad spectrum of topics that are relevant to their day-to-day work:

• Advanced Leadership
• Crisis Leadership
• Financial Literacy
• Strategic Decision Making
• Strategy Execution for Organizational Growth

Participants can personalize their learning journey by choosing three of the five modules, ensuring that they gain the skills most relevant to their career aspirations.

The program combines theoretical frameworks with practical applications and includes interactive elements such as simulations, role-plays and case studies. Participants learn from renowned WHU faculty and industry experts, gaining valuable insights and real-world perspectives.

Further details on the Management Acceleration Program can be found on the program’s website.

Ivan Kitta is Head of Marketing at GoodMills Deutschland: Aurora Mühlen and Müller’s Mühle, as well as Kellogg-WHU EMBA alumnus (EMBA 2020). In fall 2022, he participated in WHU Executive Education’s Advanced Management for Senior Leaders Program (previously named Advanced Management for Senior Professionals Program) in fall 2022. This article unfolds Ivan's reflections, offering a glimpse into the invaluable experiences gained during this empowering program.

"I met a group of highly motivated senior professionals from very different backgrounds: entrepreneurs as well as executives from investment banking, financial services, automotive, and consumer goods sectors. The spirit to excel in business leadership was amazing and lasted throughout all the modules and sessions of the program. I felt privileged to work with my high-caliber peers.

The mix of classic lectures with professors and interactive group work with peers was just perfect and allowed in-depth learning and networking. Professor Jürgen Weigand led us through the main building blocks of a business strategy, providing a step-by-step guide to develop your own business strategy. It was very hands-on and practical. The session, Managing the Unexpected, by Assistant Professor Lukas Löhlein was a great opportunity to discuss sources of strategic risks and strategic choices to manage uncertainty in business. Furthermore, Professor Dries Faems gave a deep dive into disruptive innovation: Starting with Serious Lego Play, we ended up setting up a test for a rapidly developed disruptive minimum viable product for working from home.

The sessions with James Healy (Olivier Mythodrama™) and Karsten Drath (Leadership Choices) gave a different view on leadership and individual resilience. James Healy’s Olivier Mythodrama™ was a top-class exercise in leadership psychology and behavior using core leadership archetypes when facing and managing unprecedented challenges. Executive coach Karsten Drath helped deepen one’s self-awareness as the inner source of resilience. I had the opportunity to practice various techniques and tools as well as peer coaching. In the end, Karsten helped me as well as every other program participant develop one’s individual leadership commitment.

Online sessions with Matthias Hartmann, CEO of Techem Energy Services GmbH and WHU Senior Fellow, and Tobias Rölz, Executive VP at Komax and Kellogg-WHU Executive MBA graduate, provided best practice examples of business leadership in the current #vuca world.

My main gain is the confidence to instantly use the tools and techniques whenever and wherever needed for dealing with my peers and clients. Since I could practice them in the course, I know what and how effectively works for me. I learned the habit of regularly nourishing self-reflection and thereby improving my self-awareness when coping with challenging situations, both expected and unexpected."

About the program

Designed to challenge your view on transformation, executive decision-making, and networked leadership, the Advanced Management for Senior Leaders Program will spark conversations with your peers and faculty. This empowering program consists of two in-class modules, comprised of 3 days each, and additional short online sessions in between modules.

As a takeaway, you will enhance your strategic impact and be ready to compete in market environments with disruptive innovators.

Learn more about the program

In November 2020, a group of 42 selected senior professionals came together in a virtual format to reflect upon their individual leadership challenges in times of a pandemic. The group of senior professionals attended inspiring sessions on crisis leadership to prepare them for events that could happen during their future time as a leader. In addition, participants were encouraged to reflect upon their personal as well as organizational resilience to cope successfully with unforeseen and stress-provoking events and change.

“I am thrilled to see that we created an intimate learning environment so that our participants had the opportunity to discuss their personal leadership challenges”, says Dr. Rebecca Winkelmann, Managing Director WHU Executive Education, who initiated the “Leading beyond the crisis” program. High-profile guest speakers from different industries complemented the academic and self-reflection sessions. They shed light upon the challenges of their corporations during the pandemic, and gave insight into innovative solutions. Participants appreciated the possibilities to personally interact during the seminar and to learn from each other in a fully virtual environment. A few of them share their personal learnings and take-aways:

“The topic and curriculum of the seminar could not have been timelier. What impressed me most was the seniority of the participants and the speed at which a mutual sense of trust was formed which, even in a fully virtual classroom, quickly fostered highly valuable discussions and peer-group connections.“

Armin Häberle, Head of Business Media Division & Managing Director „Die Stiftung“ Media GmbH

“Leading beyond the crisis Program” defined leadership differently with exchanges of real-life experiences and nowhere-to-be-found group works. Leadership during a time of crisis will never be easy, but I feel I will be able to understand the meaning, reason, and purpose better and more importantly, convey this understanding to my team.”

Ali Inal, IT Director of Enerjisa Üretim

“The Leading beyond the crisis Program successfully directed our awareness and understanding of resilience. What does resilience mean for me, my team, and the organization? How to handle the first signs of misbalance? The well-experienced coach Karsten Drath helped us gain a deeper understanding, and the exchange with peers in the online break-out groups was extremely valuable.

Friday and Saturday were filled with insights from industry speakers and consecutive deep dives into resilience. We later summarized that it was especially good to see that we were not the only ones with concerns, challenges, and questions on what this challenging time of Covid-19 is doing to us and our work lives. A lot of food for thought!”

Jutta Kaiser, Head of Retail Development - Strategy & Governance @ Customer Support at BMW AG

Managing and leading a business project is never a simple task, and especially doing it in another country. To successfully carry out a project, a team must face challenges that will enable them to grow, have a connection with each other, and as in this Sri Lankan experience, adjust to the resources provided.

Marianne Ohm, Managing Partner of codiviti UG and participant in WHU’s 6th General Management Plus Program, shares her program experience, challenges, and takeaways from an on-site business impact project in Sri Lanka in cooperation with the non-profit organization BOOKBRIDGE.

You will get her point of view on how the reopening of a learning center was made possible, the leaders who contributed and made it happen, a glimpse into the Sri Lankan culture, and the outcome of the project for the team and the Sri Lankan community.

Read part 1 and part 2 of her incredible learning journey!