Post MBA career myths- Part 5: The MBA guarantees success
You spent a great deal of time checking out the MBA rankings to make sure you pick the best business school that gives you the best return on your investment. You looked at the statistics that show what salary you can expect three years after graduation. Career progress statistics. How many people have found a job three years after graduation. Check. Check. Check.
When you ticked all those boxes, your definition of success focused on income and promotions. There may have been moment when you heart wanted to say something…but your heart doesn’t guarantee return on investment.
So, you graduated, your salary went up and maybe you added the word “senior” or “director” in front of your job title.
3–5 years later you’re feeling deeply unhappy and unfulfilled. Somewhat ashamed. Definitely disappointed. You keep changing jobs or you stay with the same company, while the increase in salary is inversely related to how happy you feel at work.
What happened?
The MBA is not a magical spell. It doesn’t guarantee success. It doesn’t help you define what success means to you. It doesn’t prepare you for how much your definition of success changes.
The highest ranking business school globally, INSEAD, did a piece of research that shows how 10 years after graduation, MBAs move away from the conventional definition of success (income and promotions) to finding jobs that are more aligned with their values and interests.
Success isn’t guaranteed. You have to know what it means to you and how you can leverage the MBA to achieve your definition of success.
But how do I do that? — I hear you ask.
Your success depends on you acting like the CEO of your life, not the student.
Here’s the difference:
When you are in the student mindset, you believe that someone out there has the formula or the answer. And as soon as you find them and you learn the formula, you will have the answers too. You think the stuff you will learn during the MBA will give you the answer.
When you act like a student, you constantly ask ‘how?’. You look for others who are more experienced than you, or appear more successful, and you ask them how they did what they did. You are not the leader of your life and career.
When you act like the CEO of your life you realise that only you can create the best results for yourself. The only person who has the answers is you. Your brain is the best brain. You can create all the results you want by using your brain and thoughts differently. Nobody knows you better than you. And nobody can make the best decisions for you.
You take responsibility for your life, your career, and your results. You do the work.
Part of the work I do with MBAs is helping them take charge by looking at what they want, changing their thinking about themselves and what is possible for them. We create a vision of success that is long term and the belief that they can get there- even if it’s not clear yet how they will do that.
If you are serious about figuring out how to get the sense of fulfillment, achievement, and contribution you crave from your career, sign up for one of my strategy sessions.
Here’s what we’ll do during the call:
1. Create a crystal clear picture of the work you want — I’m going to help you uncover with incredible clarity what you want in your career and life, and help you define a simple set of 3–5 goals you can focus on to move towards your dream work and life.
2. Identify the biggest 2–3 obstacles you’ll need to overcome to get there, so that you can be focusing on closing the gaps that keep you stuck in a job you don’t like.
3. Leave the session re-energized, knowing exactly how to shift to a career that excites you and fulfills your aspirations (even if you feel like you’ve tried everything and nothing else has really stuck).
Sign up here or message me directly.
This is part five of a five part series.
Post MBA career myths- Part 1: The MBA will help you change career
Post MBA career myths- Part 2: The MBA will help you leave a job you hate
Post MBA career myths- Part 3: The MBA will help you figure out your dream career
Post MBA career myths- Part 4: The MBA with give you more career options
