Imma Pomares and Chakib Haouada from the 2015 MBA programme talk about leading oneself
The new academic year for the MBA started on 15th September. The class is made up of 66 students coming from 25 different countires such as Japan, Libya, Egypt, USA, Colombia and Peru, amoung others. The students range between 25 – 32 years and all have a mínimum of three years work experience. Inspite of their differences they share a common denominator, they are anxious to learn, grow professionally and prepare themselves both professionally and personnaly for a world with no frontiers.
The MBA´s academic year started with a development module focused on Leading Oneself. This programme is based on personal development and focuses on helping students to develop their personal skills so that they can work better with the rest of the group.
Imma Pomares and Chakib Haouada, students on the 2015 International MBA talk about their experience on the Leading Oneself programme which took place at the residential centre in Collbató.
Q. What have you learnt at Collbató during the first module of the Leading Oneself programme?
A. I. Pomares: A large part of what I learnt can me summed up in the phrase our professor Carme Gil said ‘the map is not the terrain’. We need to understand that our reality is not necessarily the same as that of the people who are influenced by our decisions.
This module gave us the tools to act in an assertive manner in many different situations allowing us not only to self evaluate but also to have a clear vision and to be able to take other types of management tools, like feedback and use them to help us to effectivley lead a team. This is essential for personal growth and also the growth of the others in the team and results in better team work. These are all difficult concepts and they are difficult to assimilate as theory but in Collbató we have been able to learn these concepts, that will be key in our personal development, in a more experimental way though workshops, outdoor activites and role play.
Q. How was your experience?
A. C Haouada: I would say unique. The module Leading Oneself was the first that we did just one week after the programme started. In our group we didn’t know each other that well, this allowed us to get to know each person better, be more confident and see the rest of the group in a different way.
Q. In what ways do you think the Leading Oneself programme can help your professional career?
A.C. Haouada: We all know that before joining the work force whether it’s in a position of responability or not we are people with parameters which influence our way of acting, making decisions and relating to other people. I think the Leading Oneself programme touches on those parameters and being able to know ourselves and also understand other attitudes and opinions gives us balance and objectivity in our decision making.
A.I. Pomares: This module has allowed me to understand that profesional success is linked to your ability to relate well to the other people in your team. In order to achieve this it is necessary to know yourself and to work on those individual aspects that could interfer with the harmony of the team.