What’s Wrong With MBA Students

I teach at business schools around the world and they’re more similar than different. In Europe, the classes tend to be more international; that forces me to be global in my outlook. In the US, students are more accustomed to interaction, which makes it easier to get a vigorous discussion going. But in both places, there’s one thing that worries me about my students: they’re too eager to please.


What’s wrong with pleasers?


The pleasers in my class still act like undergrads: wanting to please the teacher and get good grades. When I ask a question, they proffer the answers they imagine I’m looking for. Such students will make excellent corporate foot soldiers but they won’t make great leaders. They aren’t thinking for themselves; they’re just trying to second-guess me.


What’s worse is that, in focusing on their grades, they’re missing the point altogether. You’re not there for the grades: you’re there for the learning. Not for the external documentation but your internal, personal development. Apart from not flunking out, you shouldn’t be there for the grades any more. (And by the way, I have never known an employer ask about your MBA grades.)


Why do an MBA?


By the time you do an MBA, you should know why. And that reason had better be your own. You want to broaden your knowledge base or deepen your finance skills - or maybe you want to find out whether or not entrepreneurship is for you. Whatever your goal, you are paying for a very expensive program. If you don’t know why you’re there, then you shouldn’t be.


The best students I have view their MBA tactically: one step on the way to a destination they’re determined to reach. They pick and choose their classes and modules strategically. They aren’t afraid to argue because they know they need to stretch and test themselves. They have set and are following their own agenda, not mine.


Are these students high-maintenance? Yes, quite often they are. But I love them for that. I love their determination and focus and I take them very, very seriously. If they can apply that kind of clear thinking to their careers, they stand a far better chance of applying it to their businesses. So at the risk of annoying every other business school professor out there, here’s my advice: to get your money’s worth from your MBA, know why you’re there, pursue that goal ruthlessly and with total focus. Forget about grades and bend the program to your needs.


Leave us your comments and send your suggestions at recruiterbook@yahoo.com