What ways do you hope your career will change when you’ve earned your MBA?
My hope is that I move into a role with a wider scope, directing more of the strategy execution within a business. My background is in marketing and product management, and my ambition is to take on a Chief Operating Officer role where I can design and optimise the full end-to-end commercial journey for a business. The MBA helps reinforce my practical experience while also filling in knowledge gaps across that spectrum from creating to fulfilling demand.
What skills have you learned in the programme so far that you’re most excited to take to work?
First and foremost is time management. It’s amazing how much you can take on when you are deliberate about how you spend your time, plan accordingly, and commit to that plan. When you know what your plan is you can ironically be more flexible about changes that arise – you know where the tradeoffs can be made and how to set expectations when new tasks or projects come up.
What’s the best piece of advice you ever got from a boss or coworker?
When you’re thinking about making a job or career change, make sure you’re running toward something, not running away from something. In running toward something you have the opportunity to define and craft what you want in an opportunity; in running away you’re defining your next move based on what you don’t want – which isn’t the same as defining what you want.
—Allyson Barr, EMBA Class of 2023