Understanding, practising and embodying transformative leadership.
A transformative leadership journey
The goal of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program is to support a network of scholars to be stewards of social transformation and economic growth in their communities, countries and across Africa.
An essential aspect of this is the development of transformative leadership skills in every scholar.
The Mastercard Foundation has defined transformative leadership as ‘the act of engaging others in an ethical manner to generate positive and lasting change.’
In their transformative leadership journey, Mastercard Foundation Scholars participated in experiential learning opportunities including work-based placements, summer schools, enterprise support and reflective practice.
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program co-created a leadership curriculum with scholars around the pillars of understanding, practising and embodying transformative leadership.
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Understanding transformative leadership
- This included introducing the concept of transformative leadership, inviting Scholars to explore their strengths, reflect on the journey that led them to this point, identify ambitions for moving forward, and gain practice in working effectively within diverse teams.
- Practicing transformative leadership
- This focused on developing graduate attributes through practising transformative leadership in different settings and contexts both in the UK and in their home regions.
- Embodying transformative leadership
- This focused on Scholars’ packaging up their transformative leadership journey and learnings, especially in terms of building their network.
Learnings
- Alumni have indicated that they found leadership activities outside the classroom to be as impactful in their development as their learning in the classroom
- The summer schools and Edinburgh Award are two features of the transformative leadership offering; both were viewed as transformative and life-changing for scholars
- The Edinburgh Award was noted in particular for its mandated voluntary work and structured reflection activities.
- Mastercard Foundation Scholars reported improvements in leadership capabilities across the board, with understanding and empathy, listening to others’ opinions, introspection and reflection scoring highest for reported improvements.
Recommendations
- Broaden the definition of a university education
- Integrate skills including leadership, resilience and enterprise into the academic curriculum
- Decolonise the curriculum.
Testimonials
The Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Edinburgh transformed how I understand transformative leadership and how it can be applied in communities here and beyond. I learned how to reflect on leadership and how to engage with the communities I serve.
Postgraduate Mastercard Foundation ScholarThe University of Edinburgh
It prepared me to take on extraordinary challenges, to question and be curious, and importantly, to recognise and own your capabilities and use them to transform your life and the lives of others.
Postgraduate Mastercard Foundation ScholarThe University of Edinburgh
Scholar story
Dorcas Mensah
Dorcas Mensah graduated from University of Edinburgh in 2017, after completing a Masters in Africa and International Development. She has returned to Ghana (where she completed her undergraduate degree in Business Administration at Ashesi University in Accra) and is now on Advisory Lead for Challenges Worldwide, a global organisation which supports the growth of enterprises in emerging economies.
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