MBA mid-point — reflections on what you learn from an MBA
Do a quick google search on ‘why do an MBA’ or ‘what you can expect from an MBA’ and you get a lot of posts from academic institutions on the benefits. But I didn’t come across many perspectives from students or MBA alumni. So now I’m half-way through my 2 year part-time MBA with MMU. I thought I’d share some reflections on what I’ve learnt along the way so far.
Making the decision to do an MBA
It’s worth a quick recap on the background that informed my decision to start an MBA.
I knew I didn’t want to take a break from my career ( nor could I afford to) — I had sold my car and worked on a savings plan so I went for the self-funded option which would allow me to spread the cost and commitment over 2 years. But before I made the decision I knew I needed to speak to others who’d done an MBA.
Luckily there’s some people in my wider network that I know who are MBA alumni and after speaking to a few people I felt confident in that I stood to gain more from the experience than less. I’ve studied part-time while working before when I did my IDM qualification so I was confident I could handle working and studying and so here I am, half-way through and thought sharing the realities and practicalities of what I’ve got from the journey so far would be helpful for others considering if an MBA is for them.
My key learnings from the MBA so far are split out into the practical skills side of what you learn when studying an MBA and then a summary of the business skills and insights I’ve gained from my studies so far.
Soft skills
Disciplined Time management
Doing a part-time MBA takes commitment, it means thinking about how you can structure your time effectively to keep pace and not let it overwhelm you. Certainly practical parallels to a demanding job!
Early on in the course I asked for the high level deadlines and module timings, so I could quickly see when deadlines were due. Getting those dates in my diary well in advance has made it easier to plan around assignments and also to ensure I have something positive to look forward to after a deadline. Rewarding success and hard-work is also key, after all we need to enjoy the process.
My other bit of advice is try out a few different ways to group your time, to start with I tried doing an hour every morning, that worked for a while but as i’ve also volunteered to be the president of our junior chamber in Manchester I’ve had to change tack. I’m working a 9 day fortnight which gives me 1 dedicated study day every 2 weeks for my MBA and then I top this up with a half day on a weekend or so. It averages out about a day a week, and is a little more time intense nearer to assignment tine.
Managing Expectations and embracing feedback
Managing your expectations of what it means to do an MBA has also helped me challenge my perfectionist streak. I always strive for something to be as good as it can possibly be ( quite often putting a lot of undue pressure on myself). Doing a MBA part-time, compared to an undergraduate and masters which were full-time study, reminds you that you don’t have the luxury of endless days to procrastinate.
Also reminding yourself that doing an MBA is a learning experience in itself, the skills i’m writing in this blog are the practical examples of how doing an MBA really sharpens your focus on being clear about expected outcomes and the process itself.
This is where feedback is crucial as well, we’re continually learning and growing and each assignment has been a chance to learn something new. Continually reminding myself that even if I don’t get a high mark I’ve taken away a new set of models or considerations to apply to my work is the key outcome. You learn just as much through the learning process as you do with the context. Plus its the process of getting the MBA that makes you stand-out not getting a distinction, as MBAs aren’t judged like undergraduate degrees of a 1st class honours.
Taking on board the tutors feedback every stage of the way and crafting your assignment technique, is as much a reminder that our work is always evolving as its shaped through working with people. I’ve improved the quality of my written assignments from my first essay back in May. Reassuringly my husband does teach on an MBA so getting his feedback has also been invaluable. The MBA really does help shape this mindset and provides you with the resilience you need in business.
Networking
The last personal benefit of doing the MBA for me has been networking. The MMU MBA is global and there are students in my cohort from South Africa, Dubai, India and Nigeria. Hearing different perspectives also reminds you of the diversity of business thinking.
It’s also been a conversation starter when you meet people to share your experiences of studying at MBA level.
Though the element I’ve enjoyed the most is getting to network across the Co-op group. As I embarked upon my MBA I’d just joined Co-op and it’s been a fantastic way to network with colleagues across parts of the business in a way I wouldn’t have done otherwise. For example my last assignment was on governance and I chose to select the Co-op bank capital shortfall as a lesson in corporate governance. Sir Christopher Kelly did an independent review of the bank and group failings in 2014. He now sits on the Co-op group board as an Independent Non-executive director and I was able to reach out to him and ask some questions based on his experience. I’d have never made that connection without the MBA and my perspectives on corporate governance have been informed through this level of connection.
Lastly Co-op digital has been super-supportive and as I’m now coming to a mid-way point I’ve said I’d like to share some of my learnings with our Senior Leadership Team so will be delving into some of the Co-op learnings and insights I’ve picked up so far.
Business learnings
Finance
Understanding key financial trends and managing cashflow are a key measure of company health and success, although a balanced scorecard view of core performance metrics helps to steer your organisation to better outcomes.
Governance and risk
How a company manages risk via governance processes enhances the overall value an organisation can add both to itself and society
Change management
Have the right people, with the right skills, who are bought-into the change to lead the change
Operations
Your operating model is a source of competitive advantage
Marketing
Understanding your audience and market trends allows you to create compelling propositions
HR
How you develop your people needs to align to how you want to develop your business
What’s next
It doesn’t seem long now until I finish, while there’s just under a year left, I feel like I’m over the hardest part — which was a relentless series of modules and deadlines.
Strategy in practice
My last module is strategy, which is the bit iIm most excited about as the cornerstone of what I’d hope to get from an MBA is learning about strategic thinking and models to join together all the key functions of a business into a successful venture. I’m also excited to use these skills in my voluntary role as president of JCI Manchester and also apply them back into Co-op digital. I’m already sensing a blog post on what I get from the strategy module will be particularly interesting.
Dissertation dilemmas
And then the final step between me and the graduation ceremony is my dissertation. September -May 2021 will be me getting into the details of a topic which allow me to bring all of my MBA learnings to bear. It’s still early days but as I’m at the Co-op I’m interested to explore the emerging model of platform Cooperatives as we shift to more ethical and sustainable models of business but with a digital operating model. This seems like it’s an interesting area to explore is how more purposeful companies operate an online first model
I hope you have found this an useful overview of the practicalities of doing an MBA as well as what you can expect to learn. With the overwhelming information out there coming from the institutions it seemed like getting a regular student who’s been able to hold-down a job while managing to still enjoy a social life seemed to be a much needed useful and honest account of the reality of undertaking an MBA. I’m happy to chat with others thinking about going down the MBA route and would love to hear from you if you’re going through this journey too.
