Liz Dixon believes that when students develop communication skills, they can practice Christlike leadership. Whether students are in a boardroom presentation or around the watercooler, Dixon says they can exemplify this type of leadership by communicating with integrity, respect, excellence, and faith in Christ.
Since 2014, Dixon, an associate professor at the BYU Marriott School of Business, has taught MBA 543: Oral Communication for Business Leaders—an advanced communications class designed to help students master presentation skills and connect socially with their coworkers. While students in the class practice presenting slide decks, they also attend a mocktail party to practice professional networking skills.
Work-related social events can be important for students, Dixon says, not only to develop in their careers but also to live the two great commandments taught by Jesus Christ: to love God and love your neighbor. “I go to these events to meet more neighbors,” she says.
As Dixon has worked with students who use the skills learned in the class to make connections with those around them, she’s seen people-focused communication turn business interactions into opportunities to build meaningful relationships. “Networking shouldn’t be work; it should be a part of who we are,” she says. “Networking is ministering to others, and networking is gathering people.”
So when Dixon teaches her students about networking, she stresses its importance beyond just career growth. “I have a whole presentation about widening your circle and meeting diverse people; finding people who don’t look or sound like you and being their friend and getting to know them,” she says. “It turns networking from a transaction into a relational experience.”
Dixon also gets a front-row seat to the impact of Christlike leadership as she coaches students for the Big 12 MBA Case Competition. While students don’t directly testify of Christ during case competition presentations, Dixon says she sees those moments as opportunities for them to quietly reflect their faith. “There is a light they have; it’s the light that emanates when we follow Jesus Christ,” she says. “It shows through everything you do.”
Dixon says that students demonstrate their faith by presenting solid business strategy grounded in BYU Marriott’s values of faith in Christ, integrity in action, respect for all, and excellence. Over the two years Dixon has been coaching the Big 12 competition, BYU Marriott’s teams have brought home two top three finishes and one Presenter of the Competition award. “When students present, they’ve got all the confidence in the world,” she says. “And it’s not arrogance—it's Christlike confidence.”
Regardless of where the team places, Dixon says that she views the case competitions the same way she sees her class’s mocktail party: as an opportunity to help gather people to Christ.