So, as you’ve probably noticed, I haven’t been posting lots of neat blog posts in quite a few months. Well, there’s a very good reason for that. I have been finishing up my last few classes of my MBA!
Yes, you read that right! Your friendly neighborhood Administrator now has a few letters after his name. I received an MBA with a Specialization in Data Analytics from LSU-Shreveport. Since I have been specializing in Data Analytics for several years, I actually saw this as a huge growth opportunity for me.
Some reasons that I wanted to go back to school for my MBA:
- I felt the need to improve my leadership and people management skills. I have worked in leadership and/or management roles for many years now, but wanted to focus on bringing these up to a higher level quickly.
- I needed to learn how to manage difficult situations. From “bad actors” to COVID-19 to interpersonal conflict, we covered many different areas that managers and leaders must deal with over time – and I wanted to have an idea of how to deal with them before the situation came up.
- I needed to get far out of my comfort zone. Since I have been dealing with technical presentations, technical conferences – such as SQL Saturday – and lots of technical people for quite some time, it’s nice to be able to “see how the other half lives.”
- Cross-cultural relations. With the globalization of all industries over the last few years, it is only a matter of time before we are all expected to work with many other cultures. There is no better time than to get better at working with others than right now!
- “You’ll learn how to analyze any company from many different perspectives and you’ll develop the ability to understand the strategy, operations, and performance of that company, quickly and effectively,” says former HBS professor-turned-top-business-blogger Michael Roberto.
But one of the biggest things I learned from my MBA program is to start watching others for leadership lessons and ways to deal with different situations. For example, I learned a lot from:
- Albus Dumbledore – Harry Potter
For those that don’t think that ol’ Albus doesn’t have any leadership lessons, you should read some of the following links.
- https://www.inc.com/partners-in-leadership/unlock-these-10-powerful-leadership-lessons-from-harry-potter.html
- https://yourstory.com/2016/12/leadership-lessons-albus-dumbledore
- https://leadchangegroup.com/10-management-lessons-from-harry-potter/
2. Jean Luc Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation
Picard has lots of great leadership lessons, which can be read thru here:
- https://www.fastcompany.com/90454147/5-things-star-treks-captain-picard-can-teach-you-about-leadership
- https://redshirtsalwaysdie.com/2016/06/16/lessons-in-leadership-i-learned-from-captain-picard/
Or a book that I totally recommend – Make It So
So, with that my dear readers, I thoroughly recommend getting an MBA today yourself…
Until next time, dear readers…