The Selfless MBA Student (isn't that an oxymoron)

Picture from Ross MBA

Most people have a very specific image of an MBA student; hyper Type-A personality, arrogant, focused on money and getting ahead. That image does not match my experience with my classmates in the weekend MBA program. I have found them to be motivated, energetic, service-oriented, concerned with the people and community around them and very interested in making a positive difference in the world.

One of the best experiences I have had in the program was defining a personal vision statement. Always on the lookout for tools, we found one at franklincovey.com. The tool was very helpful in identifying individual values and goals. After completing our individual vision statements, we each provided feedback to each other on the vision statements.

Personally, I liked the clarity that this exercise gave me in articulating my core values and focus. The comments and my team member’s visions also allowed me to further reflect on how I view and approach the world.

The feedback could have been agonizing, but actually it was an enjoyable and uplifting exercise and really allowed our team to better understand each other. I was so impressed by the positive energy and focus in the feedback to each other. I admire each of our team members more than I did before the exercise because they are amazingly positive and service oriented people.

We all identified certain characteristics, such as being compassionate, dedicated and energetic, as highly important characteristics of effective leaders in general. Selflessness was also addressed in each of our statements, which is consistent with our consensus rank of selfishness as uncharacteristic of effective leaders in the Beliefs Assessment. This speaks to our desire to be effective leaders in our personal and professional lives, and the similarity of our beliefs regarding what traits typify effective leaders. It also supports our general belief that being a good person enhances leadership effectiveness

Over the last year, we have studied many successful and unsuccessful companies and business ventures. It is so striking how important a leader is in setting the tone and establishing the culture, which is a critical factor in determining whether the firm is successful.  A leader's values and vision make all the difference.  After getting to know my teammates so much better, I am convinced that each of them will change the world for the better!

Picture from Buzintown