MBA leadership module shortlisted for employability award

Warwick Business School’s LeadershipPlus module, a core element of its Full‑time MBA, has been shortlisted for the Graduate Futures Institute's Academic Employability Awards for the second year running.

The accolade underlines the School’s ongoing commitment to linking leadership development to career outcomes, with the module named in the Postgraduate Employability category. This recognises academic programmes that embed employability into curriculum design rather than treating it as an add‑on.

The awards, now firmly established in the UK higher education calendar, are judged by sector experts and supported by organisations including diversity think tank Guild HE, UK membership network Enterprise Educators and edtech firm Symplicity. Winners will be announced at a ceremony in London on April 30.

Dawn Eubanks, Course Director of the Full-time MBA and LeadershipPlus module leader, said: “This is fantastic recognition of the hard work and strategic foresight of all those who work on the module.

“Employers consistently tell us they are looking for leaders who understand themselves as well as the systems they work in.

“LeadershipPlus is designed to develop that self‑awareness and translate it into observable behaviour. Being shortlisted again suggests that this kind of deep, reflective approach is resonating beyond WBS.”

LeadershipPlus sits at the heart of the School’s one‑year Full-time MBA, which is ranked seventh in the UK by the Financial Times, and is distinctive in both scale and structure. Through a series of experiential workshops, lectures, seminars, case studies, and applied projects with the likes of financial services firms HSBC and NewDay, and health retailers Holland & Barrett, it combines academic theory with psychometrics, live leadership experiences and consultancy work with external organisations.

Mandy Sumner, Change Delivery & Product Director at NewDay, said: "We have been working with Warwick Business School to support their Full-Time MBA programme through LeadershipPlus group projects. NewDay provided a real-world problem statement focused on establishing an agile delivery framework for a multi-client environment.

"The experience was excellent from start to finish – from our engagement with Warwick Business School to collaborating with a highly capable and motivated group of MBA students. The quality of insight they brought was impressive, offering fresh perspectives grounded in rigorous analysis. Their recommendations will be used to inform key strategic operating model decisions as we move forward."

The module is delivered in close collaboration with WBS faculty, the WBS CareersPlus team and performance psychologists Mindflick, which counts former England cricket captain Sir Andrew Strauss as one of its board members and works with Olympians and FTSE 100 leaders. In sum, the module models effective teamwork for the students.

Leadership development embedded in the MBA

By integrating WBS CareersPlus into the design of LeadershipPlus, the module complements the one-to-one coaching and interventions from the careers team, including its development centre assessment and career-oriented workshops that inform students’ personal development as leaders.

Sarah Jackson, Careers Manager, said: “Leadership development and employability are often treated as parallel tracks. What LeadershipPlus does differently is weave them together over time. Students are coached to develop and articulate their own style of leadership, test it in real situations and then refine how they communicate that to employers.

“LeadershipPlus gives people the time and space to reflect on what they personally stand for while preparing them to lead, manage and influence other people successfully in today’s complex and multicultural environment.

“As a School for the Change Makers, LeadershipPlus is a personal change journey that underpins the rest of the MBA, ensuring students continue to develop confidence and the ability to achieve their career ambitions while driving positive change as a leader.”

Discover Warwick Business School's Change Makers.