The CEO Skills Not Taught To MBAs

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Think You’re MBA Material? How to Know For Sure

 

So you want an MBA…but you’re not quite sure why. Well, you’re not alone. If you’re still paying off student debts – or have a mortgage and family – accruing more debt is a scary proposition. If you have a steady job, you bound to ask why you should rock the boat. Let’s face it: An MBA requires you to really challenge yourself (and probably forsake many of your guilty pleasures too). It’s a huge commitment. If you’re not sure what you want to do, you’re taking a big gamble thinking an MBA will give you direction.

So you can keep weighing the pros and cons. That way, you can keep on believing that you’re doing something…without ever taking any concrete steps. Or, you can engage in some deep self-reflection to figure out who you are and what you like, to align your values and interests with a career.

That’s the advice of Matt Trinetti, the director of The Escape School, a curriculum that helps professionals transition to more fulfilling careers and lives. A “deliberate journeyer” who bypassed business school after leaving corporate life, Trinetti straddles the fence when it comes to earning an MBA. But one thing is clear to him: Returning to school is part of a larger debate. “It’s not just about deciding whether or not an MBA is important for your career,” he writes in Brazen Careerist.  “It’s figuring out whether an MBA fits within what’s important to you and what you want to get out of life.”

Drawing from the work of psychologist Rob Archer, Trinetti shares a list of potential motivators to guide whether you should enroll in an MBA program. They include the following:

  • Intellectual stimulation
  • Being surrounded by like-minded peers
  • Location (the chance to live in a new city)
  • Prestige (or name/brand recognition)
  • Career opportunities or access to alumni (or a broader network)
  • Salary increase, among others

However, Trinetti doesn’t limit prospective MBAs to this decision criteria. “The decision to do an MBA (or not) is a personal one. It depends on what kind of person you are and who you want to become. It requires [that] you define what a good decision looks like.” Just as important, it requires you to understand your true values. “[You need to understand your] values — what’s most important to youindividually. Not your parents, teachers, friends, colleagues, The Financial Times, Richard Branson or even Brazen Careerist.It’s easy to confuse our values with the values that have been passed down or piled onto us.”

Don’t Miss: The MBA: Is It Really Worth It?

Source: Business Insider

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