Duke Weekend Executive MBA Student Blog
Looking Back at the Last 2 Years
Two years. Life has brought such a huge amount of change in such a short time. In two years, I have gone from applying to different schools, and trying to decide which schools interested me, to studying for my GMAT, and then seemingly endless hours of classes, to finally being finished with my MBA from Fuqua. I am done with my classes, but am still working on my concentration. Wow. As I start to catch up on my sleep, and reflect back on the changes that the last two years have brought into my life, it is amazing to see how far I have come, and realize how much further I still need and want to go, using the tools I’ve been taught.
As part of the Weekend Executive MBA class, I learned a lot about leadership. I have had so many opportunities to demonstrate the leadership skills that I’ve learned from Fuqua, and reinforce those in my workplace. I’ve had the opportunity to shape others’ views on what leadership is, shape my employees’ careers, as well as shape my own destiny using those new skills. It is very cool.
I posted before about my leadership class at Fuqua, and that being a leader is about influence, relationships, and inspiring others. Leadership is not about creating followers, but more about creating the next generation of leaders. I’m focusing on creating more leaders in my career, in my personal life, and even through Girl Scouts.
My kids have certainly benefitted greatly, and they have been on the receiving end of more than a few of my attempts to practice my new skills. I know I’m doing well when they respond positively, and I know I fail at demonstrating some of my inspirational leadership when my teen rolls her eyes at me.
At the end of the journey, I’ve changed a lot. Not just from sleep deprivation. I see now how much time I have in my day-to-day schedule to create and take advantage of new opportunities. That is time that I would not have found before. My time management skills have been honed to a very sharp point, and my business skills tempered with a great deal of learning. I think I’m a very different person now from the one who started this journey two years ago. I like what I see in the mirror, and am anxious to move on to the next phase.