As the proud holder of an MBA, are you happy with the return you are making on it?

You probably spent a huge amount of time and energy on your studies. Not to mention, blood, sweat and tears. If, like me, you also had a full-time job, and a family, you will have worked late into the night, and over the weekends, reading all those papers and completing the assignments.

The early joy and pride of attaining the award soon fades and the reality begins to bite – was it worth it?

From my experience, and I have worked with hundreds of MBAers, those who can answer with a resounding yes, have also learned to observe seven important rules after they qualified.

These rules rarely make it into the MBA curriculum. Usually, they are learned by intelligent analysis and long years of experience. Or, with the help of a qualified mentor.

Once implemented, in a consistent way, these rules will help you:

• Make faster career progression.
• Get more opportunities knocking at your door.
• Become a recognised “talent” in your organisation.
• Land your results quicker, and bigger.
• Relish the cut and thrust of organisational life.
• Have more control over what you are doing.
• Earn more money, with less stress.

Imagine, what would this do for you?

• Would you enjoy work more if you had this?
• What frustrations would disappear?
• How would you be spending your workday?
• What impact would it have on your health?
• What about your sanity, your relationships?
• How much more would you earn at the next grade?

So, if you want to get a decent return on your MBA investment, it pays to invest in learning how to consistently apply these seven rules. Here’s just one example of many I could give:

“I finished my MBA 10 years ago. My dissertation was a contemporary analysis of digital marketing, so I was confident that I was well primed for a fast career path, given the disturbance being created by everything ‘e’. I expected to be in high demand within my company as it tried to respond to the rapidly changing environment.”

“Things worked, but slowly. Because I was already in a good position, I seemed unable to get noticed. They liked my ideas but, I felt constrained, like I was being kept in a job I was already doing well. Often my ideas were picked up by more senior people, and they got all the glory while I stayed at a relatively junior level.”

“And then things started to speed up. I learned that you must do more than simply apply your MBA models and frameworks. Luckily, I was offered an executive coach who helped me to work the networks, explore my environment and learn to get noticed. Later, I discovered that what I learned chimes well with Colin’s Seven Rules. I wish I’d learned them before I even qualified, then I would have been able to move my career forward quite a few years earlier.” MW, London.

When I first met MW, he was already doing a good job putting these rules into practice. I simply helped him to fine tune what he was doing, and pick up the pace a little more. Now, he is on the verge of entering the C-Suite.

These rules are not complicated. There are no elaborate theories. However, the finesse with which you apply them makes a great deal of difference.

Here they are, the Seven Rules to Leverage Your MBA:

 

Rule #1: Humble Yourself to the Culture

Culture represents the oft unwritten rules of engagement in any given environment. You must be strong to push against the tide of beliefs and values. Far better to get in with the flow, be accepted, and then start to swim ahead of the crowd.

This is particularly relevant for those who are very different from the people they are working with. If nobody else has an MBA, expect to be regarded with a little suspicion. The more you stand apart, the more difficult it will be to land the results.

1. What are the key beliefs and values held by your peers in the organisation in which you work?
2. How do these differ from your own?
3. In what other ways are you different from the crowd?
4. How can you adjust your fitting-in/standing out strategy?

“During one of Colin’s workshops it hit me hard. He was talking about group dynamics and fitting-in. I suddenly realised that I was quite a bit different from my colleagues in the room. Many were more senior than me, but I was talking a different language. Because of my education, it was normal for me to use a wide vocabulary. They didn’t. Quite literally, many of these important career stakeholders couldn’t understand what I was saying!” JE, Leeds.

 

Rule #2: Network Like Crazy

“It’s not what you know, but who you know…” As you work within an organisation, you will gradually begin to connect with more senior people through your work, building trust and friends. This can take years, and to take years off your career development, you must build the network as fast as possible.

The more people you know and have a good relationship with, the more opportunities, resources and favours you will accumulate. Also, the wide (and powerful) network you build, will be invaluable as a source of political intelligence too.

1. Make a list of the 15 most powerful people in your organisation.
2. For each, rate the quality of your relationship, from 0-5 (0 = you don’t have a relationship, 10 = they’d tell you their most sensitive secrets).
3. Brainstorm ways to build your relationship with 3 of these in the next few months.
4. What are you going to do now?

“I recall missing out on a great opportunity a few years ago because one of the key stakeholders didn’t know me. Nothing to do with my ability or experience, I just had zero visibility with him. Instead, he offered the job to someone he already knew. Since then I’ve always made it my mission to know as many of the powerful people as I can, and have a positive impact with them.” BE, New York.

 

Rule #3: Understand All Powerful Agendas

Like it or not, it is the powerful people that are running the place where you work. And, what they are driving for will be the most influential agendas in your world. Therefore, you must become as familiar with them as possible, so you can then observe the impact that each has on your career development. Once you have that clarity, it is highly likely you will be able to hitch a ride on one or more of these agendas.

Reflect on your organisation’s strategy.

1. What are the main elements of it?
2. Who are the most powerful people?
3. What are their strategies and objectives?
4. What action can you take to discover the personal agendas on the powerful?

“I wanted to get noticed by doing a fantastic job. But the execs were not interested. Yes, they appreciated my work but, rarely beyond an email or two. Colin asked me two great questions. Why are they ignoring you? What are they paying attention to?” AC, Turin.

 

Rule #4: Monitor Conflicting and Aligning Agendas

This rule is all about putting the pieces of the agenda puzzle together. You must do this so that you can see what challenges each powerful person is facing (from their peers) and, who they are collaborating and sharing with. You should do this so well that you can begin to predict where the clashes will occur, and, who will prevail.

1. Compare the agendas of the most powerful people in your arena.
2. Which agendas support each other?
3. Which agendas clash?
4. How to these agendas interact with your agenda?

“This is hard work. When challenged during a coaching session I must admit I didn’t have a clue – it hadn’t really occurred to me as I was so focused on what I was trying to achieve. Then the penny dropped. Unless I knew the web of agendas I was trying to fit in with, how could I possibly understand what challenges I would face? Two months on my pitch has changed dramatically to align with several of these powerful people.” KL, Edinburgh.

 

Rule #5: Keep Close to Decision-Making Processes

Whenever agendas clash, a decision needs to be made, either formally or informally. All decisions seem to be presented as rational however, almost all are largely made informally with a high emotional content. If you wish to have more decisions go in your direction, mastering the process is vital. While it may take some time to puzzle out, the better you know the individuals involved, the clearer these processes will become.

1. Think of three major decisions that have been made by your organisation in the previous year.
2. For each, investigate exactly how they were made.
3. Make sure you interview stakeholders who were involved, so you can get the inside story.
4. Attempt to map out the decision processes.

“Political activity has always been quite a shady area of organisational life. However, I had to accept the reality that it was in the politics where most of the action was played out. If you want my advice, learn the politics well. You shouldn’t play politics, but know how to work it safely.” LDS, Munich.

 

Rule #6: Connect Contribution to the Powerful

To maximise progress, advance the agendas of the most powerful people in your arena. That means, you must match what you have to offer, with what they need. Unless you can articulate that clearly, and fast, you will miss opportunities to race ahead. Once powerful people see you have value to add, they will come asking for it, and then you will have the opportunity to make a good impression. In fact, if you do this well, you won’t even need to make much of an impression.

1. Detail all the things you can offer of value to each of the powerful agendas you have already itemised.
2. Focus in on the most powerful people and articulate exactly what value they will recognise.
3. Consider your plan to get that value noticed.

“A key part of the work with contribution is to frame it, and word it, in a way that will be recognised by the people you want to target. I had to redraft it many times before I was ready. Materially, nothing changed in what I was doing, but it then became very easy for two of the execs to engage me directly.” KW, Zurich.

 

Rule #7: Build Credibility at Every Turn

To fully leverage your MBA, you must become highly influential within your arena. Trust is one of the most essential ingredients of influence, and credibility is the cornerstone of trust. Which means, you must pay careful attention to the way you build your credibility, and make it a frequent part of your thinking. The beginning of relationships, opening meetings, rekindling old relationships, writing announcements, all offer opportunities to build or boost your credentials.

1. What makes people highly credible in the culture you are working in?
2. How do you score against these criteria?
3. What can you do today to boost your credibility?

“Colin talks a lot about the power of credibility and to me, qualifications and technical knowhow is paramount. As an IT Director it goes with the territory. What I’d missed is that my business stakeholders didn’t care about that. What they saw as credible was tangible results. So, I had to change the way I was introducing myself to them. Immediately, it was far easier to get my ideas accepted and implemented.” SV, London.

 

In combination, when you perfect your performance against each of these rules, you will become a highly influential individual within your organisation or arena. Ironically, the fact that you have an MBA will slip into the background, at least in the minds of those you are influencing.

Of course, the MBA provides the toolkit to help you to do your job, and I know from personal experience, just how valuable the toolkit is. However, it is these seven rules that will give you more and more opportunities to apply the toolkit, and benefit as a result.

One final question for you. Which rule do you need to focus most on right now?

 

 

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Colin Gautrey

Provocative Coach/Mentor | Specialism: Impact and Influence

 

Ready to take the next step? Discover how personalised coaching can ignite your full potential and accelerate your success. When you’re ready, let’s talk about how we can work together to turn your vision into a reality.

 

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