Educational strategies of Russian managers as a factor of personal success and innovative development of society

The current state of Russian society and economy is characterized by the contradictory processes that impede innovative development. One of the most important subjects of innovation and modernization is the social and professional group of managers. A significant factor in the success of managerial decisions leading economy and society to the development and growth based on innovative technologies is the level of education of managers. The paper reflects the relationship between the level of educational capital of middle managers and development of society.


Introduction
The most important direction of the strategic development of Russian society is the innovative development of economy. These processes are based on the high level of human resources management, the modernization of management institute and the growth of the efficiency of management decisions.
The role of qualified and highly educated managers is especially growing in the post-industrial economy, where intelligent technologies, information and knowledge form the production of goods and services.
At the same time, there are a number of serious obstacles to innovative economy in Russia. Firstly, labor productivity in our country is significantly lower than that of the leading countries in economic development: "According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), preliminary estimated labor productivity in Russia amounted to $ 26.5 per hour in 2017. In terms of labor productivity, Russia was inferior to all OECD countries, except for Mexico, where it was $ 21. 6. The average for the OECD is $ 54.8, while the labor productivity of leaders Ireland and Luxembourg was about $ 99 per hour" [1]. In addition to other reasons, the insufficient level of education of modern Russian managers plays a significant role in this aspect.
Secondly, the complex, changeable and unpredictable modern social reality determines the symmetrical characteristics of the business environment and economic processes. This is reflected in the VUCA model [3] -an acronym that conveys the meanings of a challenging and unstable situation in global economy (VUCA: volatility, uncertainty, complexity, ambiguity), which becomes even more relevant during the Covid-19 pandemic.
This situation determines the demand for innovative management approaches, solution of non-standard management tasks, new management technologies, ability of managers to consider general situation, predict and prevent threats, apply a creative approach and form effective teams. This social and business environment places particular demands on leaders operating in the conditions of ever-aging knowledge, data and concepts. Within the framework of the concept of lifelong education modern successful managers, competing and operating in an uncertain market, must constantly learn and improve not only the level of professional knowledge, but also develop their soft skills -social skills and personal competencies.
Managers as a social and professional group and the representatives of the "new middle class", engaged in strategy issues at enterprises, from the very beginning of their profession, demonstrated characteristics setting them apart from other social groups. The direction to a high level of their education and the education of their children, selectivity in social environment and location of residence, interest in public life, preservation and improvement of their own resource characteristics (social ties, educational level and physical condition) play an important role in this issue [2]. American researchers of the group of leaders W. Warner and D. Rossides also emphasized the pronounced direction of managers to a high level, placing this group at the upper level of the middle class in their multi-class social systems [4].
Thirdly, the challenges of society and the market presuppose an appropriate level of educational programs for managers at different levels: an interdisciplinary integrated approach, focus on breakthrough innovative technologies reflecting the latest scientific knowledge, compliance of the content of education with the needs of social actors (employers, business and government). At the same time, educational structures in Russia do not fully meet these requirements.

Results and Discussion
What are the reasons why the education of managers is the most important factor in the transition to an innovative economy?
The innovative transition presupposes the intellectualization of economy: the increase in knowledge intensive technologies for the production of goods and services in order to increase the efficiency of the economic sector of society. New industries, new products and new technologies allow increasing productivity, automating labor, reducing production costs, increasing profitability and investment attractiveness of business and the country in general.
The innovative economy provokes positive changes in the life of society: new categories of goods and services more fully satisfy the existing and emerging needs of persons. New jobs for qualified specialists are emerging, the quality of life of people is improving, the food, economic, and defense security of the country is increasing and the investment rating is increasing.
It is obvious that such transformations of society and its economic subsystem are impossible without a high level of education of managers in all spheres of production: public administration, industry, services, financial and banking sectors, digital ecosystem of society. The creation and maintenance of a high level and the dissemination of new knowledge in society is the basis of the post-industrial economy and innovation.
In this regard, the authors designate the most important problem of Russian society: professional education for managers of a varying quality [5].
Thus, the group of professional managers in Russia is complex in terms of educational status. Some managers do not have enough competence, which creates problems in the identification of their social and professional status.
Firstly this is explained by the fact that the manager group includes the representatives of different generations. Depending on age, the group includes the representatives who began their career in Soviet times and the representatives of generations of the 90s, 2000s, 2010s with different levels of education, professionalism, set of values and life experience [6].
The system of higher professional education majoring in "Management" is heterogeneous, and, despite the massive graduation of specialists in this area, it often does not meet the market and time requirements for the quality of education.
Business education (MBA) is enough expensive. High-quality training in this area is available only in the largest cities of the country, a small part of the professional community, while "using classrooms to educate working managers is a good idea, but pretending that you are creating managers from those who never managed anything is a real fraud ... " [7].
It is necessary to note that the management paradigms which are popular in Russia are based on Western management concepts, where the manager's career and professional achievements are closely related to the concept of personal life success. Therefore, the issues of the level of education of Russian managers remain very topical.
The educational capital refers to the objective resource characteristics of a person (along with financial situation, social status of parental family, residence in an urban or rural area).
The general trends in the relationship between the level of education and the direction towards success, reflected in a number of modern Russian studies, are as follows: -A significant impact of personal resource availability on the direction to the achievement of life success, an active life position, new higher levels in personal and professional life [8]; -A direct dependence of the level of education of a person and intergenerational educational mobility (the desire of a person to increase his educational capital in comparison with his parents) [9]; -The higher the level of education of the individual, the stronger the achievement values and strategies of behavior are manifested.
The study of the values of middle managers, conducted in 2017-2020 allowed us to reveal that the representatives of this socio-professional group stand out in terms of the level of educational capital from the average Russian person.
In the professional group of middle-level managers, not only persons with higher education predominate, but also a high level of education of the closest people (spouses, friends, as well as a higher level of education of parents) was noted.
Middle-level managers noted good level of education as one of the main factors for the achievement of success in life in Russia (57%), along with such factors as the presence of connections (56%), a relevant in-demand profession (33%), career (28%) and material wealth (32%).
It is revealing that Russians in general choose material wealth as the main factor in the achievement of success, and managers, playing the role of "cognitariat" or "knowledge workers" [10] (E. Toffler's term as opposed to "proletariat"), note that it is a high level of education that contributes to success in life in modern Russian conditions. This can be considered as an indirect sign of the transition of Russia to a postindustrial economy, where the cognitive components plays a leading role in the development of society and To a large extent, the level of education and cognitive activity predetermine the ability of a person to successfully adapt to a changing social environment [11], which affects the achievement of success. We also note the fact that education associated with professional success, which is the most important sphere of life and achievements, is considered as a factor of success [12].
With regard to the studied socio-professional group of middle managers, we note that in terms of educational capital, its representatives are in a more advantageous position in comparison with Russians in general.

Figure 1. Comparison of the educational level of middle managers and the population of Russia
In addition to the prevalence of people with higher education, researchers also note a high educational capital of the closest people of middle managers (spouses and friends, as well as a higher level of education of parents in comparison with other professional groups) [13]. At the same time, while some authors note that the educational level of Russian managers in terms of professional management knowledge is insufficient [13] (in comparison with Western colleagues-managers), other studies, on the contrary, show the increase in the educational level of managers in dynamics [14].
Managers choose the level of education as the dominant path leading a person to success, demonstrating high adaptability, a desire to increase knowledge and improve their professional competencies.
Here is a quote from the interview of a manager: "My path to success is education and self-education. Even if you have a decent higher education, you should not stop. Therefore, it is important to continue training through seminars, conferences, symposia and exhibitions" (male, 29 years old, territorial manager of an investment company).
At the same time, in modern Russian society, the mechanisms of social mobility and achievement of success are not balanced and contradictory, which is confirmed by the fact that managers call social ties a similar factor for the achievement of social success, along with education.
The level of education is an important parameter for the assessment of the level of general and professional competencies of any social and professional group. When it comes to a group of managers, this social characteristic becomes especially important. The employees of companies and organizations applying for a managerial position must meet certain criteria in terms of education, knowledge and professional experience.
A high level of education is necessary for a leader and is justified by the economic feasibility and market requirements for the quality of management.
The study showed that about 25% of middle managers do not have higher education. In comparison with the group of professionals (doctors, teachers, engineers) they have a lower level of education. This is explained by the fact that the profession of "manager" is quite young for Russia and with the development of the market economy. These positions were occupied mainly by persons who, first of all, had pronounced personal leadership qualities (ability to lead, initiative, proactivity).
With the development of society and economic agents, strict requirements begin to be imposed on leaders, including the level of education. This leads to the fact that the level of education of managers is constantly increasing. In 1994, 52% of Russian leaders had a higher education; in 2018 this level of education was already demonstrated by 83% of managers. More than a quarter of middle managers (27%) received 2 higher educations trying to meet the requirements of employers and increase their value in the labor market.
The significantly higher level of education of managers in comparison with the average for the considered industries is also confirmed by the following data obtained in the study: among managers, in principle, there are no individuals with basic and general secondary education, the majority of managers (80%) have higher education, 40% more people than the industry average have two higher educations.
The study of leaders also demonstrates their values, aimed at the high importance of education in their lives. The research shows that 70% of middle managers respond that they have a need to improve the level of education, professional skills and qualifications. Accordingly, 65% of managers are going to raise the level of education in the near future. 71% of respondents note that education is the most important intangible value and the main means to realize their life tasks.
Managers consider the improvement of their educational level as a specific practical value noting that it leads to higher wages.
The purpose of the improvement of education and its implementation are organically embedded in the overall strategy of professional and social growth and development, characteristic of middle-level managers. Middle managers are characterized by an active life and professional position, focused on achievement, career, improvement of their standard of living and professional positions.
On the other hand, such a strategy is stimulated by the labor market, when enterprises and organizations operating in conditions of constant crisis and high competition impose a high level of demands on managers, indirectly linking the level of professionalism of a manager and his level of education.

Conclusion
Thus, the study showed that the educational level of Russian middle-level managers significantly exceeds the educational level of employees in the related industries and Russia in general. At the same time, the educational level of managers is growing every year and the values of education are dominant in the system of their values. This reflects the process of intellectualization and professionalization of the social and professional group of managers and indicates a gradual transition to a post-industrial society.
Let us determine the main areas of education for Russian managers: -The concept of lifelong education, which allows permanent formation and development of new competencies; -Shorter and more concentrated MBA programs (as opposed to the classic 2-year programs) with the focus on a specific field of activity: finance, marketing, HR, etc.
-Segmentation of managers in training by levels (top managers, middle managers, line managers) and by area of specialization; -Improvement of education within the framework of their own training centers, corporate universities, created directly in a particular organization or an enterprise; -On-the-job education (online or with the help of modular programs).
If the above-mentioned tendencies in the educational capital of Russian managers continue, then the conditions for the development of the production of goods and services necessary for the innovative development of the Russian economy will become possible: the development of proactive analytics and forecasting losses from unforeseen changes in the economic conditions, the expansion of analytical functions with the introduction of CRM systems at all stages of the functioning of organizations and enterprises, the use of modern management technologies using automated solutions (CRM, ERP, project management systems, ECM, WMS, CAD, CAMS and other specialized systems, specialized software), continuous training of management at all levels in order to adapt the level of qualifications of managers to changing uncertain conditions of society and markets.