A bit of background

Last week I informed my boss that I had signed up to a month-long leadership course called altMBA. I was going to fund it myself. I needed 1 day off a week plus maybe some tax-offsets.

He got a little annoyed that I didn’t discuss it with him first. He questioned why I chose the course instead of courses offered by another training organization that we deal with extensively.

This forced us to have a discussion about my future in the company. I voiced that although I had learned so much whilst working, I wanted to grow faster and harder. I see immense potential in the business, the people and the community we serve, I want to make change. And I want to make change fast.

He revealed that he had earmarked me to get into a senior leadership position, he hinted at me becoming a shareholder and taking on the baton from him – deeply humbling!

Regarding the course, to his credit, he made a good point; any type of up-skilling in the business must be intentional, should have the backing of the whole company and the knowledge learned should be passed on to other team members.

Where is this up-skilling leading to?

My boss is a phenomenal individual. I will relieve you from reading a list of his virtues but lets just say I am extremely grateful to be his mentee. Working under him, I’ve gained a deeper understanding of our business and built influence among key stakeholders. I don’t want to lose this opportunity.

I have the power to implement processes and new ideas. In a nutshell, I can really do something here. But I don’t have all the tools yet, and part of me is afraid if I wait to long, this opportunity will pass me by

How do I level-up?

How do you choose the area of growth you want to focus on right now to reap the greatest rewards? My goal: become a stronger leader to make change fast in my company. I narrowed my choices to the following:

• Complete an actual MBA. I would gain a recognized qualification. Make connections with a group of like minded people and really delve into latest theory behind leadership, marketing, data analytics, finance, HR and the rest. Cost would be upwards of $30,000 and it would take two years to complete. Much of the material I would learn may not be applicable to my job for another few years.

• Do a shorter Business finance / Accounting course to understand the finance / accounting side if things. Time and money would be saved. I would get a better understanding of one very specific and important part of the company and may be able to weigh in on important decisions.

• Focus on soft skills that are foundational for any leader; empathy, compassion, courage, decision making and the like.

Number 1 was a definite No. Sad to say but I feel much of the value in an MBA is in the name and the accreditation. If you need the degree to get an opportunity, then by all means, go for it.

For me, it was a toss up between a short finance course or something like the altMBA. I will be doing both. AltMBA just came first.

Why I chose to do the altMBA right now.

Participants are chosen intentionally

Unlike other short online courses, not everyone gets in. The selection criteria is not based on grades or experience. Its based on your goals and how motivated you are to make a change in the world – I’m assuming. If this is true, the level of engagement in the course will be phenomenal.

Learnings are based on experience

There are books, videos and general content material, but from my research that makes up only 25% of the course. Much of the learning is from conversations you have in your groups and a TON of feedback. You are required to give feedback on all team member’s work which in turn exposes you to a bunch of perspectives. You also receive thoughtful and generous feedback from your group. If you value feedback, you can appreciate how amazing this is!

Its supposed to be a struggle

I understand I will have to read about 9 books in the month leading up to the course. There are 3 projects to complete every week along with feedback and reflection tasks. You are expected to engage in meaningful discussion and bring your whole self. For me this is by far the scariest aspect. What am I going to contribute to a group of experienced leaders and business owners? Its a challenge on trusting the process and showing up no matter what.

Why do they make it so difficult? From my guess, 1) To illustrate how much more you can accomplish one day than you can imagine. 2) To get familiar with fear and putting yourself out there. 3) Lastly, the harder the struggle, the sweeter the reward right?

Key takeaways

Some of the key takeaways from the course as mentioned by alumni were personally relevant tome. My goals for the year are to be braver, take more risks, have greater empathy, generosity and love for the people around me, and show up even when I’m scared. These are also the same values that altMBA attempts to foster. So here I am 🙂

To summarize..

I am hoping to put myself through something mentally, emotionally and socially taxing to “level up” and make real change in my company.

I will use this opportunity to make some commitments

• Trust the process that is riddled with imperfections and struggle
• Celebrate uncertainties and failures – without these there is no growth
• Be brave, and show up as my authentic self.
• Put my hand up when I’m struggling
• Be grateful to even have such innovative opportunities
• Remember I got through the selection process so I have something to offer