Anyone who has ever been near the president of the IEDC – Bled School of Management knows that she is a woman of incredible energy and immediacy. Danica Purg has almost merged with the prestigious Slovenian school over time, which has grown into one of the most recognizable institutions for management education in Europe since its establishment in the 1980s, largely thanks to the immense dedication of its leader. In an interview for Lider, which, in partnership with the school and the European Commission, is organizing the conference '4th Industrial Revolution' on July 3, she reveals how and to what extent the COVID crisis has affected the school and business leadership as such, why they insist on connecting art with business management at Bled, and how she views quotas for gender equality.
What do you expect from the autumn, have you already taken any steps in case of unfavorable developments?
– We are ready to offer topics and modules online, but this will impact our revenues and everything related to it. In the autumn, we will hold some major international conferences online. The International Academy of Management, a prestigious global association of leaders from the business and academic world, will hold its annual conference at IEDC, and if possible, we will organize it both live and online so that participants, at least from Croatia, Slovenia, and other nearby countries, can come to Bled, while others would participate online. Also, in September, we will hold the CEEMAN annual conference. The International Association for Management Development in Dynamic Societies is headquartered at our school, and at the conference, we will discuss the role of biology in leadership and other professions. We will also take the opportunity to award the best CEEMAN professors, researchers, and managers, and this conference will be held online for the first time.
At Bled, special emphasis is placed on art and creativity within management education; what exactly does this mean and how does it look in practice?
– We believe that in the era of globalization, data economy, and artificial intelligence, traditional functional skills are still necessary but insufficient for leadership and management. In these times and in the near future, other competencies are becoming more important, such as creativity and innovation, the use of imagination, intuition, and senses so that, as the renowned leadership professor Edgar Schein said, we can hear more, see more, and feel more. Art is a great tool and metaphor for developing these skills. Our school is an art gallery where we have over 200 paintings, and everyone says it is truly an inspiring place, but that is just the beginning. For example, we bring in a famous violinist, Miha Pogačnik, who not only plays the violin but also dissects music. For instance, he plays Bach and then asks: 'What do you hear, what do you feel, is it a conflict in music or harmony?' etc. After that, the participants discuss it, and he guides them through the entire composition by asking questions and digressions and teaches them how to become good listeners. We also learn from visual arts. We ask our participants to paint a picture together, which is a good form of teamwork. They can then observe the painting closely and try to figure out what it conveys. People usually look at a painting for about two seconds, but as managers, they need to be better observers if they want to be successful. Looking at a painting and discovering its essence helps improve the skill of observation as such.
