Surprise! Skills you may not have expected to learn on a business degree

Accounting. Marketing. Finance. Sign up for a business degree and you know they're in your future. But business is a broad church and can offer a few things that might surprise you – here are some of the big ones.

As a business student you're going to cover the fundamentals, like the areas we mentioned above. But many degree programmes also give you a choice of elective modules related to your degree, so you can tailor your course and your learning to fit the things that intrigue you. 

That might mean entrepreneurial skills, coaching, management theory or a whole host of others. “One of the modules I enjoyed the most was ‘design in business’,” says business graduate Alessandro. “It helped me understand how to incorporate a user-focused mindset in every aspect of business.”

Business changes all the time. That means you need a flexible approach, and unis have lots of ways of helping you develop one.

On your course you might find one module focusing on the development of creative skills like presentation, negotiation and debating, while another one has you doing roleplay to get under the skin of how businesses work, exploring the ethics of different situations.

If you describe yourself as self-reflective then you're someone who seeks to add to your existing understanding. You make time to regularly re-visit and re-examine what you know to generate new knowledge.

Developing the ability to reflect on your performance and the way you learn, or approach tasks, will be a pretty useful skill once you're out in the business world. Your time both in and out of the classroom will help you hone it. 

“University isn't only about learning,” says business graduate Luis. “It's also about the experiences that play an important role in determining your future self.”

In business, an understanding and appreciation of other cultures can be handy in particular ways. You'll find that different societies take care of business in very different ways, and the multinational nature of business schools can help you start learning about them.

Business is a global game, and the diversity you'll find at university will help you to better understand different perspectives, outlooks and experiences.

Heard the term 'growth mindset'? It's basically about developing the kind of mind that's open to new suggestions, enjoys challenge and likes to constantly find new ways to get better.

Graduate Alessandro says the structure of your business degree can help with developing that  mindset. “The undergraduate timetable is designed in a way where the modules you complete in your first year will benefit you for second year and so forth.”

Plus, your fellow students will push you to improve, if you let them. “The students that I was surrounded by throughout my studies always kept me engaged and motivated to do my best,” says business graduate Murtaza.

Some of the most successful people in business get there by thinking from new angles. There's a story that Apple's Steve Jobs threw the first iPod prototype into a fishtank – when air bubbles came out, he told his engineers that this was proof it could be made smaller.

This is critical thinking at work – the ability to analyse problems, ideas, theories, even cooking dinner – and come at them from a new angle. Looking at the big picture and questioning it is a key skill in business.  

Business degrees feature a fair bit of group work, often working on case studies of real businesses to explore different aspects of a particular issue or industry.

It's great for helping you understand how you act in a group, and for learning about the different ways a team of people will interact. 

And the bonus? They're also pretty sweet skills to have for life in general. Learn to take care of business and you might learn a thing or two about taking care of yourself along the way.

Lancaster University Management School (LUMS) is one of the longest-established business schools in the UK and home to a thriving and truly international community. 

We are a triple-accredited research-intensive business school that combines world-class research with excellent teaching and high levels of student satisfaction. We welcome students and staff from more than 180 countries and have a presence in 24 countries, including campuses in China, Germany, Ghana and Malaysia.  

We challenge and support our creative staff, students and partners to realise their ambitions as they experience a transformational journey that leads to real impact on whole industries, societies and economies.  

Lancaster University is among the best in the UK, and has been the top university in the northwest of England for more than a decade.

To find out more, visit the Lancaster University Management School website.