How to survive and thrive on an executive MBA

Helen Riley was just about to start an Executive MBA when she received a major promotion from her company, office supplier Lyreco. “All of a sudden I was Finance Operations Director with a big team,” she says. “It was in the middle of the pandemic so the focus was very much on the finances and my employer. . . had also just acquired another large company.”

But Riley decided not to postpone the 18-month program at Edhec Business School in Lille, northern France, and instead to find a way to juggle the EMBA and her multiple responsibilities.

“It was a question of priorities. I am a single mother of two children; Family is – and will always be – my top priority,” she says. “We planned some extra activities for the kids in advance, which they really enjoyed. And when schools had to close, I had to ask my friends and family, including my older daughter, for a little support. It was a chance for her to take on more responsibility.”

Riley says that in order to perform at both Lyreco – including mentoring her team – and Edhec, she had to set her priorities clearly at work. “And I had to accept that I would cross some items off my to-do list,” she admits.

EMBAs are often studied by people in senior positions who juggle demanding jobs with coursework. The majority of participants are between 30 and 40 years old, so cohorts are on average older than full-time MBA students; Many students also have family commitments. The combination of these requirements makes effective time management critical to success.

When the schools had to close, I had to ask friends and family for a little support

When he began his EMBA at the WU Executive Academy in Vienna, Harald Trautsch, co-founder of vehicle insurance telematics company Dolphin Technologies, worked 80-hour weeks, sat on planes at least twice a week and rarely slept more than five hours a night.

“It was unrealistic to do an EMBA,” he recalls. “Where do I find the time to prepare for classes, take classes, and study for exams?” So he made some tough choices and decisions, including learning how to manage his time better.

He regained some time by turning off TV and reducing his Netflix and social media consumption. “I’d always thought of it as relaxation and a way to unwind, when actually two hours of my daily time was lost and [that] stuffed my brain with unnecessary content.”

Basically, Trautsch made a conscious decision to use the content of the EMBA modules to process and solve current problems in his everyday work, from employee management to profitability calculations in different customer segments. He had previously focused on where he needed to be, but increasingly worried about where he shouldn’t be. “It meant that I had to trust my colleagues more and was able to delegate a lot of things that I would otherwise have had to do. It turned out that the quality of the work actually increased as a result.”

While earning an EMBA from Oxford University’s Saïd Business School, Blaine Scully, a former US rugby captain, served on two boards, was a consultant to sports technology companies and became a father for the second time.

“It was a challenge to keep my balance,” he admits. “To be honest, you don’t always get it 100 percent right, and that’s where family, friends and classmates come in.

“My advice is to communicate transparently and set expectations for those around you. Planning and blocking out study-specific times is important, but you also have to meet where you are. It’s easy to kick yourself for things you haven’t done or for all the things you still need to do. But part of the true value of the program is exposing yourself to things outside of your comfort zone. Do your best to immerse yourself, but the learning really never stops. So enjoy the experience.”