The Benefits of an Executive MBA #2: Increased Self-Confidence

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From holding their own in the boardroom to establishing a successful start-up, newly-confident alumni speak of what they’ve achieved post-EMBA.

When Emily Abols joined the Executive MBA program at ESCP-Europe, she was already at a management position within her career. With 12 years of experience in advertising and marketing, she was managing two to three people on a daily basis. However, to develop her career, Abols needed to add to her personal skillset and she turned to the EMBA to do so.

“As a marketing person, you need to speak with people in other areas of the business, such as the finance department and the legal team,” she explains. “The EMBA has given me the confidence to speak with them.”

It’s also given her the confidence to drive her team to reach their goals. Abols is now managing seven staff and has more confidence to try different things. “The EMBA taught me different ways of thinking and working and gave me insight into different nationalities and cultures and the way they perceive things, which has in turn made me more flexible,” she says.

Maximising potential

Stepping into the EMBA classroom is about more than just fulfilling your professional life – it’s also about defining the direction you want your life to take when you graduate. “The [E]MBA provides significant added value that doesn’t appear on the core syllabus,” says Dr Kerry Sullivan, MBA program director at Surrey Business School in the UK. “This includes growth in personal skills, confidence, efficacy and a strong network you develop over the time of the course.

“These skills, coupled with the knowledge you gain, make a strong package of Human Capital that enables the holder to maximise their potential in the commercial world,” Dr Sullivan says.

One EMBA alum who has maximised the potential of her Executive MBA is Lindsey Nefesh-Clarke, founder and managing director of Women's Worldwide Web (W4), an online collaborative platform dedicated to girls’ and women’s empowerment through education, microfinance, access to ICTs (Information and Communication Technologies) and networking.

“When I embarked on my [E]MBA at ESCP Europe Business School, I did not anticipate that I would emerge 18 months later with a business plan to found an international NGO!” she says. “That’s where self-confidence comes in.

Nefesh-Clarke also says she sincerely doubts she would have had the confidence to found W4 if she hadn’t completed an [E]MBA. “Beyond an opportunity to develop and refine hard and soft business skills and to strengthen one’s awareness of the global business environment in order to navigate it confidently, the [E]MBA constantly challenges you and cultivates an entrepreneurial spirit and leadership skills, all of which can really enhance self-confidence,” she says.

“I often say to people, including friends and contacts who are considering pursuing an EMBA, that as a result of my [E]MBA, my career has taken a quantum leap and I have the privilege of doing my ideal job which combines various domains I’m passionate about: development; education; microfinance; corporate social responsibility, social entrepreneurship.

A feeling of self-fulfilment

Statistics from the 2011 QS MBA Applicant Survey reveal a range of motivations behind many candidates’ desire to pursue an EMBA, however, the greatest by far is to improve employment prospects (80%). This is followed closely by progressing one’s career (69%) and for personal interest (65%).

While the Executive MBA delivers in each of these areas, as evident in the EMBA alum profiles, it also leaves graduates with a sense of self-fulfilment.

“Even before you start to see any professional benefits from your studies you’ve already accomplished something,” Abols says. “You’ve made a commitment for 15 months, a very demanding commitment, and you feel a great deal of satisfaction at the end.”

Abols says the EMBA also opens more doors because you can see the range of opportunities available to you. “Just graduating with your EMBA, you feel you’ve accomplished something, but that’s just the beginning of the journey. You have much more to go.”