On November 2, the regular meeting of the MBA/EMBA business club took place on the GSOM SPbU campus on Volkhovsky Lane. 25 participants - alumni and students of MBA/EMBA programs, managers and owners of companies - discussed the current topic of people management: “Business unconscious. Games that employees play."

The event was hosted by alumni of the MBA/EMBA program with expertise in business consulting for leaders and teams: Igor Vorsa, MBA 2004, business consultant, partner of the Course on the Yard project and Albina Suslova, EMBA 2022, business psychologist, organizational consultant, partner of the Course on the Yard project.

 The format of the MBA Business Club meeting involved the analysis of practical cases and group discussion of possible approaches to solving them.

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“We have been learning certain behavior patterns since childhood, they help us grow and develop. Everyone has their own “set”, and in life we choose from it those models that correspond to the environment around us and contribute to the achievement of our goals. It’s as if we are “playing” this life, and those around us react to our game with their own. It’s the same in business: employees unconsciously bring into their work moments those patterns of behavior that helped them in everyday life. Sometimes they are destructive. We decided to reveal several cases from our work to show participants how to understand that a manager is being drawn into a “game” and how to respond to this in an environmentally friendly and safe manner. The participants themselves noted that the first assumption that came to mind in the analyzed cases could be erroneous, and for a more objective assessment, the actions of employees should be considered from different angles. And communication helps best with this - it is this that allows us to understand the true reasons for the current situation and find joint solutions to overcome it,” Albina Suslova said about the meeting.

The expert is confident that recently formats have become in demand in which participants take an active part in discussing the subject of discussion and share their experience. This, on the one hand, involves everyone in active work, on the other hand, it makes it easier to assimilate the material and enriches it through the discussion of personal experience and different points of view.

 

All participants noted the practicality of such meetings and said that the format for developing joint decisions allowed them to “look at their business from the outside,” “hear the diverse opinions of colleagues,” and “expand the boundaries of perception.”

 

“Such events keep alumni connected with GSOM SPbU and allow them to return to the state of learning and gaining knowledge. In addition, each alumnus is interested in expanding and strengthening connections with other alumni. Involvement in joint projects or creating a business becomes a good basis for the constant interest of alumni,” Igor Vorsa is sure. “We plan to continue meetings in this format and expand the topics. The format of the business club provides the opportunity for each participant not only to contribute to the formation of possible solutions to cases, but also to propose topics for discussion. Interest in active formats, in our opinion, will grow.”

 

Meetings of the GSOM SPbU Business Club allow alumni and program students to exchange opinions on issues relevant to entrepreneurs and top managers, as well as find contacts for possible cooperation in the future.