“Time for leadership and trust”: UCU Center for Leadership was opened in Lviv

Presentation of UCU Center for Leadership was held at the Ukrainian Catholic University on October 20. The Center’s mission is to make a breakthrough in research of the topic, methodology and training of leadership. Chief Executive Officer of UCU Center for Leadership, Professor of LvBS Andrew Rozhdestvensky, delivered a lecture entitled “New society: leader’s vision” and dwelled upon the Center’s development plans: “If we talk about vision, then we want to be recognized among Ukrainian practitioners and researchers as the world-class experts. We believe our cases will be helpful for the world in the future.”

The first speaker of the presentation, Ihor Skochylias, Vice Rector for Research of the UCU, called the Center’s opening a very important event for the university and its community. “This allows us recalling the path it was created by under the leadership of Bishop Borys. The Center’s opening is important for our community since it means creation of a platform, where the academic sphere, business and public space can meet. We expect the Center to facilitate opening those leadership models that are needed in our country in different spheres.”

Oleksandr Kobzariev, Head of the City Institute, remarked that leadership is being re-conceptualized in the world. “I find it difficult to imagine the world without competition, sacrifice and serving. Since these are the things leadership encompasses. The leadership we need, Ukraine needs, the world needs, consists in serving people, sacrificing you to give light to people. Now we face crash of elites, we have another challenge to replace oligarchic elites with community leaders who will serve the community,” – Oleksandr Kobzariev said.

After his speech, Andrew Rozhdestvensky told that UCU Center for Leadership will carry out research using the experience and methodology of one of the leading business schools in the world, Ivey (Canada), and will develop its own. Within the framework of the Center, the team will develop managerial training cases that will be included in educational program of both Lviv Business School LvBS, UCU School of Public Management, Institute of Leadership and Management of UCU, and other programs. The project is being implemented due to support of Ihor Ihnatowycz and his wife Marta Ihnatowycz, President and CEO of investment company First Generation Capital Inc. in Canada.

“I have good news: leaders are made, not born! – noted Yaroslav Rushchyshyn, founder and Director General of Trottola OJSC, co-founder and member of the Supervisory Board of LvBS, the presentation participant. – A true leader should be the generator of social capital and trust between people. Classic administrative hierarchy of the 19th century, that is the vertical, is already being destroyed. We are moving to global business, and our graduate will tomorrow work online with a boy from Uruguay. And how can these people be united in one company?This is relationship between people, trust. The 21st century is the transition from hierarchy to leadership and trust.”

Another presentation speaker, Vladyslav Rashkovan, partner of Investment Bank SD Capital, Ex-Deputy Head of the National Bank of Ukraine, spoke about the lack of strong leaders today in Ukraine, and stressed: “The 21st century is the time of uncertainty. And the task of a true leader is to find those things that will unite people in conditions of uncertainty.”

Father Stepan Sus, rector of Saints Apostles Peter and Paul church and the chaplain, believes that leader is the one capable of conducting dialogue even under critical conditions: “Leaders are those who can maintain their ideas and beliefs, but be able to communicate and listen to each other. This is the feature of mature leadership.”

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