Career development programs: creating tomorrows’ leaders? Chandratreya Abhijit P*, Kulkarni Gayatri** *Indira Institute of Management, Thathawade, Pune-411033, Maharashtra. **Assistant Professor, Indira Institute of Management Thathawade, Pune – 411033, Maharashtra. Abstract Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent.Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership knowledge and skills. This is called Process Leadership. However, we know that we have traits that can influence our actions. This is called Trait Leadership, in that it was once common to believe that leaders were born rather than made. While leadership is learned; the skills and knowledge possessed by the leader can be influenced by his or hers attributes or traits, such as beliefs, values, ethics, and character. Knowledge and skills contribute directly to the process of leadership, while the other attributes give the leader certain characteristics that make him or her unique. The days of assuming that a good manager is also a good leader are gone. Clear distinctions are being made between the two. Managers of the past often mandated change, but did not follow it. Today's leader is willing to adapt and improve their team by sharpening their leadership skills development, resulting in knowing how to efficiently lead by example. Most of the B-Schools of India run Career Development Programs wherein they hold workshops, training sessions, invite guest speakers etc. These programs are meant to enhance the knowledge of the student of the current business practices. By combining a mix of theory and practice, it leads to the overall development of the student and maybe in future changes him or her into a leader. These programs are meant to empower the students to develop the skill set of the modern leader and it will help them to achieve their career goals. The researcher will, through primary research, try to find out the effect of these Career Development Programs on the students of B-Schools based in Pune, Maharashtra and try to suggest methods for making them more effective. Top Keywords Career Development Programs, Leadership, B-School activities. Top |