Women in MBA: Show 'Em (What You're Made Of)

An article our Dean recently wrote on perceptions of the MBA somehow reminded me of one of the Hillary Duff's chick flicks I watched a couple of years ago, 'Beauty and the Briefcase'. Starred as a fashion journalist Duff was given a mission by Cosmopolitan to write an article on "finding love in the business world".  Undercover.  On her first day of secretarial 'work' at a financial company in New York, a comment she made (of course, gleefully) was, "There's so many men!"  

Not only the business industry, I'm not sure if it probably takes a longer time than we expect to overcome the traditional perception that men still outnumber women in MBA classrooms. Anyway, I'm now sharing here my experience of and thoughts over some 10 weeks' old in the full-time MBA. 

A (not so) male-dominated MBA program: my experience so far
We were told that our batch, Ben Eibhinn, is different; no locals, very much diverse (both in nationalities and professional background) and... we have more female students.  Although I had always been part of a multinational working culture, the diversity of our class has so far taught me:

1.  Femininity and leadership: not about being 'too nice'
I think I'll make an extreme example. Growing up being trained how to dress well by my royal, protective mother, I'm practically seen most of the time 'looking nice' and neat (as girls normally point out to me).  Long-haired, with a typical Indonesian obedience, taking seriously all tasks given, introverted, far from competitive nature and soft-spoken, an immediate (male) manager of a past job labelled me as "Miss Nice Girl". Easily. 

Although I have long realized that Singapore has one of the worst workplaces in the region due to bad office politics, that was quite the first time I realized how femininity could be perceived as a sign of weakness... and how wrong such perception is.  I did leave the company -- I left its leadership, to be precise. 

More women are getting through the glass ceiling as more and more female leaders rising to top position in business.  Yet, primary biases on female leaders of being too nice and emotional still exist; all the debate and studies on gender and leadership continue to intrigue and challenge our perceptions.  Hopefully. 

In the classroom context, both academics and my fellow classmates are there to equip me to be an effective leader.  I found myself from time to time pondering over the shape of a leadership style that is both genuine in its femininity and being effective as I feel comfortable of being myself.  I'm still working on it. 


2.  Female leaders and their mentor(s)
Mentorship exists in MBA programs.  I was encouraged reading articles on how female MBAs are apparently benefited from pursuing mentorship even beyond the classroom as successful female leaders are known to choose their mentor at their workplace, mostly senior men in the organization. Leaders are constantly put under the spotlight, receive criticism as they take risks and make mistakes; and leaders work hard to learn from all of those. It makes sense to me to have a mentor as a sounding board and whom you can take feedback, encouragement from.

Speaking of which, I am grateful to have access to few selected men as lifetime mentors, although they're now scattered in different parts of the world.  An example is the most recent major life decision I made: to choose taking an MBA in a country foreign to me.  Either a South African or a Malaysian pastor in their 30s, a humble busy American businessman in his early 50s, fathers of a couple of friends (American and Srilankan) in their 50s and 60s are the men I took out of my rather limited list of qualified senior men I purposefully went to for an opinion. 
And now, I am more than thankful to have and treasure a male mentor who takes me seriously in aiming for a distinction.  


To female (future) MBAs and leaders; shine. Show 'em what you're made of.  No matter how male-dominated it could be.

Hooker, Props, Flankers: Why the soft skills in your MBA?

Scotland vs South Africa, Murrayfield Stadium, 17 November 2013

Having been living in the country for eight weeks I've been exposed to and fascinated by anything Scottish; from bagpipe playing to men in kilts, from snow sports to ice hockey and rugby matches.  As much as I could, apart from my study I want to learn more about the local culture and people.  Not only that, taking a break from study on a weekend like we did last week is something that I like to use as an opportunity to know my classmates by having some deeper conversations with them, something that we can't really do when we're down with assignments, attending classes and meetings that take up most of our days.

So five of us headed for Edinburgh last weekend for the autumn international rugby match; only the Canadian classmate is familiar with the sports, not for the rest four of us.  A day before the match I found myself reading a document on 'rugby union for beginners' -- Complicated rules? Yes.  Especially when you're totally new to the sport and you had to read all those rules on your own.  

It's definitely a team-based game with 15 players in each competing team.  Every player has a numbered position and interestingly, 'each position requires a different set of physical and technical attributes and it is this diversity which makes the game so accessible to all.  From the power of the forwards to the speed of the backs, there’s a place in a rugby team for anyone who wants a slice of the action.'  So does say the guide.   

Not a sport-inclined person, I was amazed watching these sporty people playing in the rain, in the mud, and somehow it made me think about my own 'team'.  Being part of a team is certainly not new to me, but the past eight weeks have certainly added new meanings to it.  I think I knew at least one reason why: the team I was placed in is a group of people with different background, past working experience and personalities, yet situated to bear one, same 'identity' -- "Student".  

It is part of the 'grooming'.  Equipping students with soft skills combined with business knowledge, technical and analytical skills has been what reputable business schools around the world pride for.  Not only such students with that mix make better hires, they are transformed to be more effective leaders.  Articles, business schools blogs and websites write numerous arguments on this topic, why soft skills do matter in MBAs, how an MBA degree is designed to signify its graduates on leadership, communication, ethics and teamwork. 

The soft-skills: practical encouragements

Being part of the team I would like to encourage myself and fellow students to:

1.  Respect our classmates, respect the institution.

     We don't always agree with everybody, we don't always like how things work.  But the presence of every other person in the group we are placed in is there to equip us to be a more effective leader. So is the institution that runs the daily operations of the program we are currently attending. 

2.  Self-assess ourselves. Diligently. 

     That's why all the talks on emotional intelligence.  Effective leaders are not only confident about themselves, they also know how not to compromise their values in challenging situations, know the importance of developing interpersonal skills to deal with people from all walks of life, while they themselves handle stress and pressure.  

     

3.  Maximize our mentor's presence.

     Our mentor has gone through what we are now going through.  His/her presence is to guide us with their experience and knowledge.  Talk to, meet with our mentor and learn from him/her as much as we can.  Be grateful for their presence; we are privileged to have them. 

One year from now. And beyond. 

We will get over this indispensable MBA experience in less than one year from now.  And the soft-skills are not developed over night; we need to practice them, actively, inside and outside of our classes.  All the best.