Dr. Bhanu Ranjandesigned and currently leads a soft-skills program for MBA and Executive-MBA candidates at an international business school, crafting global business leaders equipped to lead in the new economy. She holds a PhD in emotional Intelligence and Leadership Effectiveness and has over 20 years of experience helping individuals and teams with crisis management, negotiation, conflict resolution, management communication, personal branding, presentation skills, and emotional intelligence in the workplace. She is a sought-after speaker and actively volunteers for a variety of community-building initiatives, as well as being an officer in Singapore Armed Force (SAFVC).
No Doubt! It contributes to becoming a better decision maker.
I will not start this article which has such a straightforward answer with an introduction.
It has to start like this only. The message needs to reach the audience in a most powerful assertive manner.
To expand further as I had shared before in my 22.5 years of experience with executives, I have seen them transforming not after graduating EMBA but as it begins. What I mean is they get a diet of different ideas and concepts and visibility in various forms like we give enriching healthy diet to our body in form of minerals, proteins and fibres same way EMBA does the same effect to the executive’s decision-making skill.
Just think for a while and stay with me as you read, “If today we expose ourselves to excellent reading material, empirical cases which have relevant outcomes to learn and apply, live examples from the industry, and top of it, we encounter new trends in the market and vocabulary and last but not the least discussion from diverse thinking minds sitting next to us and just sharing and having healthy arguments.“
What does this do to you?
No doubt it transforms you and that also from day one till you graduate and later the journey can be never-ending too. In this current day and age due to the wide plethora of information provided to us, it is important for us to be able to navigate through these pieces of information and pick out the necessary. EMBA allows executives to escape their narrow mindset to view problems by the big picture where they are able to recognise several factors affecting the choices they make in their daily lives and career. Furthermore, EMBA teaches them to look at life through a different lens as it teaches them to be more selective and string different pieces of information together to make better decisions.
Let’s be honest here, we know executives are busy running their daily affairs but once they join this platform called EMBA it just allows them to experiment and listen more which encourages discipline. It Inculcates a Habit. Once you are committed to a plan, they regularly follow the regime of reading and inviting more ideas. The certain credit numbers and the feeling of achieving a better grade give them the rigour to outperform and think creatively and critically too.
Every EMBA has credits and grade allocation, this traditional concept of back to school does wonder to these executives who return to school after an average of 15 years or more.
In EMBA you are trained to be a leader, you are trained to adapt to tough situations and demands, not only does this teach them to be quick on their feet to come up with the best decision but also teaches them to take accountability for their choices as they learn to make decisions that are in the best interest of an organisation.
The EMBA course based on simulation allows them to take risks and test further their very own ability to make decisions which they could have never dared in their real lives.
This brings confidence and hence makes them yet better decision makers than before.
I will share a personal example here, yesterday I had a meeting with a few executives who were feeling totally confused with electives selection.
They are now spending more time researching which elective contributes more to their career growth and that requires understanding and foresight. They are having discussions with their bosses and colleagues to understand the prospects of discipline they intend to choose. I m confident after this healthy struggle they will make the wisest choices for themselves. Sometimes you have to go through the grind to feel the clarity. It is true for them too and EMBA provides that platform.
Further to add on EMBA activities involve group allocation and selection of partners which allows them to see who is the best in what area and then synergise the group responsibilities to perform the task.
This art of delegation is the biggest influencer in their career of decision-making. They welcome diversity and yet perform and get the same outcome.
To see business from an angle which has various dimensions makes them take informed empathetic decisions which also means keeping the bigger picture in mind and respecting each department to its core.
Many tasks involve collectively finance expertise and some involve operation knowledge and not to underestimate marketing, all of this was actually missing before they join EMBA because they came from one domain of knowledge. It opens their perspective and broadens their horizons after they sit with an HR and an analyst and a project manager at the same table. The other side of the table has an IT and digital analytics expert and marketing and sales officers who force them to think constructively and make timely decisions.
The biggest power of EMBA is it allows them to practice these decisions in their regular job which is going on a parallel in the EMBA journey.
I have many stories to share that start of EMBA has given them many promotions they wished for and that happens only when they show deserving conduct at their workplace.
To further quantify the data and make my argument strong for my readers I conducted a random survey amongst executives who had gone through EMBA journey in various institutes respectively.
The outcome for randomly selected 65 professionals openly confessed that they could make better decisions only because of EMBA. When I further nudged them and asked why? they had common pointers, which this article has already covered in previous paragraphs.
I would end up with this powerful feedback I received from an executive that EMBA showed me my Blind Spots, I’m so grateful for this journey. If not for EMBA I would have been a victim of my own sight.