Managerial Skills Masterclass with Mr. Ian Thomas

Southville International School affiliated with Foreign Universities (SISFU) is committed to giving the best learning experience to our students. This is why we hold a number of special sessions with guest speakers and professionals to discuss various topics that can further aid the pool of available resources and faculty that our learners regularly meet.

Last February 27, 2023, De Montfort University (DMU)’s International Associate Dean, Mr. Ian Thomas visited SISFU to meet our students and hold a masterclass on Managerial Skills with a focus on Managing People. While he has spent a number of years teaching, he’s been recently concentrating on International Development while spearheading partnerships with multiple regions around the globe.

Mr. Ian started the masterclass by recapping the previous session he taught at SISFU which tackled teams and the different roles individuals take on when interacting with their members. He also delved deeper into team dynamics by discussing various leadership styles that can affect corporate and organisational culture.

Prefacing different management skills, he mentions, “the hardest part of taking on management roles is the people because they bring problems.” He further explains that team members can come in with a myriad of hurdles that have to be solved and the evolution of corporations placing more importance on soft skills than technical skills can press the need to understand what motivates people. This opened the floor to a discourse on what students value as the most important skill managers and leaders should possess. Ultimately he advised that the vital tool in effective people management is the leader’s behaviour.

This masterclass with Mr. Ian was tremendously informative. Continuing initiatives like this are one of the many efforts SISFU and DMU maintain to ensure a remarkable partnership that sustains quality global education for our students. We are thankful for the time Mr. Ian shared in developing future industry and world leaders through this session. Our students can definitely look forward to more activities in their different fields of interest in the future!

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Written by: Victoria Clarabel Amante