Some of America’s most senior executives took time off this week to help the homeless in Los Angeles get back into employment. Managers on the Pepperdine University Presidential Key Executive MBA programme at the Graziadio school spent a full day coaching members of the homeless community to help them develop the skills needed to get a job.

The day was part of Graziadio’s civic leadership programme and was organised in conjunction with Rescue Mission Alliance and the Union Station Foundation in Los Angeles.

The aims for those homeless men and women selected for the programme are to raise self-esteem and to gain personal confidence and competence in the processes of searching for a job and interviewing. The aim for the executives was to understand the reality of homelessness and to strengthen listening skills.

The big challenge for the EMBA participants is to be good listeners and observers of behaviour, says Wayne Strom, who runs the civic leadership programme at Pepperdine. Leading up to the coaching session, there was a three and a half hour classroom workshop focused on listening and observing and additionally two 16 hours sessions in class. There also is a workshop the morning of the event for students to recap parameters and expectations for students and clients.

Executives on the programme this year include the president of a computer hardware and software support company, an ear nose and throat doctor and the founder of an advertising company.