On January 15 and 16, the fourth two-day training module for leaders of membership business associations took place at the Kyiv-Mohyla Business School as part of the second phase of the UNDP Project "Strengthening Membership Business Associations of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Ukraine" in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine and supported by Switzerland. This project aims to accelerate the development of the MSME sector by strengthening the capacity of membership business associations (BAs).

The training began with a lecture by Eduard Maltsev, Deputy Dean of kmbs, on the personal development of BA managers. "The task of a manager is to ensure that people are properly selected, meaning they benefit the enterprise and develop themselves in the process."

Eduard emphasized that it is important for a manager to be an optimist, as BA members draw inspiration from leaders. He also highlighted that the role of a manager is to organize work. It's more about creating career elevators for people, ensuring their involvement in the implementation of the BA's mission. "A leader, however, appeals to the individual as such. They support the drive for development and self-improvement."

Additionally, participants in teams considered the roles of BA managers: mentor, coach, facilitator, and trainer. This helped them understand the values of these roles and the capabilities needed for them.

Leaders also attended a lecture by Olena Zhiltsova on personnel management in BAs, particularly on motivation management. "The motivational approach is to identify current needs, highlight the most important ones, and conduct a mutually beneficial exchange," the lecturer addressed the audience. There is external (external circumstances and stimuli for a person) and internal (based on a person's internal decision, motive) motivation. It is very important to choose an appropriate motivational method according to the situation.

The second day of the training module for business association leaders at kmbs began with a lecture by Marina Starodubska on effective BA communications. "Protecting reputation is no less important than the ability to create it," noted the lecturer. "In the era of post-truth, crises arise out of nowhere."

Marina Starodubska also spoke about the phenomenon of cancel culture, which is characteristic of value-sensitive audiences. "When we build reputation, we gain many benefits. However, we unconsciously fall under cancel culture," the expert emphasized. This culture is dangerous because not just one person, but their entire network will make the same move.

Together with the lecturer, the audience also discussed the algorithm for the initial assessment of negativity in the public sphere. There are 3 criteria for this: content assessment, resource assessment, and the necessity of response assessment.

"When we plan a project, we need to specifically envision it to the end," emphasized Elvira Faizulina during her lecture on project management for business associations. "Because if you can envision it, you can achieve it." The expert offered the audience a Product approach to project management, which involves 4 steps: describing the Product for the final project, creating the Product structure, describing the components of the Product, and compiling a Product creation diagram.

At the end of the first and second training days, business association leaders attended two open evening events as part of the Ukrainian-Swiss UNDP Project. On January 15, Arsen Zhumadilov, General Director of the state enterprise "Medical Procurement of Ukraine", EMBA-37, visited the school as part of the "My Business - My Country" evening event series.

"The state can intervene in social relations pursuing such goals: economic efficiency, social justice, and security," proposed Arsen Zhumadilov. During the lecture, he shared a general overview of the role of the state in socio-economic relations — key principles, structure, challenges, and opportunities — using the example of the healthcare sector.

On Sunday, January 16, project participants had the opportunity to talk with Hennadiy Zubko, Vice Prime Minister, Minister of Regional Development, Construction, and Housing and Communal Services from 2014-2019, a graduate of kmbs MBA-8, as part of the "State and Business" evening lecture series.

"Any leader must have ambitions and competencies that will help realize these ambitions," Hennadiy Zubko addressed the audience. "Equally important is stepping out of the comfort zone and understanding the risks that your decisions may lead to." Hennadiy told the audience about the role of leadership in the reform process, the challenges that arise during the process, and what can help, using the example of the decentralization reform that began in 2014. "If there is leadership and a strong organizational structure, there is success," emphasized Hennadiy Zubko at the end of his speech.

We wish our leaders to build a strong structure on the path to the success of their business associations!

"Strengthening Membership Business Associations of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises in Ukraine":