Getting Support for your EMBA at Work

Whether your company sponsors you through an EMBA, or you’ve chosen to pay your own way, you will still want the support of your employer while you study.

Although an EMBA does allow you to work and study at the same time, chances are your work is already taking up a considerable amount of the hours available in a day, and you’ll have to look hard to find a few extra that you can dedicate to your studies.

But that is where your workmates come in. Share your EMBA experience with them, while at the same time making changes on the work front. This will allow you to get the most out of your time at business school. Here are some top tips to ensure you get that EMBA support – at work.

1.    Delegate tasks

Time will be of the essence when you start studying for your Executive MBA, and that means some tasks will simply have to go. Delegate those tasks to work colleagues. The last thing you want is to be jeopardizing the work of those around you because you haven’t been able to fulfill your own commitments.

2.    Bring your EMBA to work

One of the key benefits of an Executive MBA is being able to put into practice at work, what you have learnt in the classroom the week before. But be sure to involve your colleagues in the process. If they can learn from your time in the EMBA classroom, they will be more willing to support you during the times you are away.

3.    Keep others informed

Be clear when you will be in the office, and when you won’t. This will vary depending on the makeup of your Executive MBA, but if those around you know when you are – or aren’t- going to be in the office and contactable it will make their lives a lot easier too. It will also ensure you don’t get interrupted during precious EMBA study time!

4.    Make it relevant

An Executive MBA will require you to be involved in a project. Make this project one from your own organization. That way, you’re getting expert comment from fellow EMBA classmates, as well as feedback and advice from business school faculty and industry leaders. Your project will be all the richer for it.

5.    Elevate people around you

Aaron Sylvan, an EMBA alum from IMD, is an entrepreneur. This meant he had the added task of running his own business while studying for his Executive MBA. But he found a successful way around that. “Elevate people around you so that they can do more and more of your job,” he says. “You may be shocked when professors place requirements on you that can force you to step back from business objectives you would previously have considered “critical”. “ Aaron says regardless of how hands-on - or hands-off - you are as a leader, you will need to push your boundaries and increase the level of trust and authority you give your colleagues.

6.    Change roles

If you’ve chosen to study for an Executive MBA, then your commitment is to your studies. This may mean you have to miss out on some key initiatives, a new project, or a major proposal at work. Don’t try and do the two things at once. Instead, look at how you can still be involved, but at a lesser level. Rather than leading the project as you would have done pre-EMBA, perhaps this time around, your role is that of consultant.

7.    Be realistic

It won’t matter how many people tell you to be aware of the time an Executive MBA takes, you won’t truly understand the commitment you’ve just embarked on until you start. If you’ve already made some changes and reorganized your schedule at work – great, but don’t be afraid to change it further if you find you have slightly underestimated the time and energy involved in the EMBA. It will be better for all involved in the long run if you’re honest about the level of commitment you need to make.

8.    Keep in touch

Although your colleagues may be the ones taking on additional roles to allow you to complete your Executive MBA, it wouldn’t have been possible without the support from your employer, so keep them informed. Suggest regular lunches or coffee meetings that coincide with the end of an EMBA module, so they can be the first to know what you’ve learnt in the EMBA classroom.

9.    Use your network

As soon as you step into the EMBA classroom, you’re stepping into an extensive network of experts around the globe. Experts in the form of alumni who have taken the EMBA process before you. So make use of them. Get in touch – and keep in touch – with them during and after your EMBA. Ask them how they managed to juggle work and study and if they have any top tips on how they maintained their work commitments and support from colleagues during their Executive MBA.

10.    Show your appreciation

A lot can happen during the course of an Executive MBA, but whatever changes and developments occur along the way, you need that support from colleagues and employers to endure. Upon graduation, show your appreciation – perhaps hold a mini graduation ceremony of your own in the office, acknowledging their efforts over the past year, take them out to lunch, or invite them for drinks… your shout. The EMBA wouldn’t have been possible without them.