6 non-business lessons that an MBA teaches you

India Education

Most of us set out to acquire an MBA degree with the hopes of getting a bigger pay package and a better job profile. While graduating from a reputed business school will guarantee these and more, most MBAs look back fondly at their college days and remember aspects other than studying business & management. Every B-school alumni will vouch for the fact that these non-business lessons later prove to be invaluable and stand them in good stead while navigating real world problems!

Also read: List of MBA entrance exams in India

Here are 6 invaluable lessons that will remain with you for a lifetime after you complete your MBA.

1. Humility - the magic ingredient of success

You burn the proverbial midnight oil and slog to clear the MBA entrance exam, sail through the GD-PI after weeks of practice and earn your well-deserved seat in your dream B-school. Feeling proud and on top of the world? Hold on and take a look around your class. Chances are that your classmates are equally smart, if not smarter than you! Pursuing an MBA from a reputed MBA college along with accomplished peers will teach you humility which is essential to achieve success at the work place. In fact, a study by the University of Washington Foster School of Business revealed that “humble people tend to be the most effective leaders and are more likely to be high performers in both individual and team settings.”

2. Teamwork makes the dream work

The MBA coursework of reputable B-schools would include multiple projects, case studies, group discussions and presentations – all of which require you to work as a team to achieve a common goal – i.e. to be the best team that scores the most. Anyone with an MBA degree will get nostalgic when they recall the days (and nights) spent with their teammates working on perfecting that presentation or business plan. Those were exactly the days that would have taught you the invaluable power of working as a team as you realized that “none of us is as smart as all of us.”

Also read: 5 biggest mistakes made by MBA students

3. Time flies, but you're the pilot

What’s common between every good MBA institute out there? Deadlines! Everything at a B-school – be it meals, time to enter a classroom, assignments, projects, applying for jobs – has a deadline attached to it. MBA students would claim that they spent the 2 years at B-school scrambling from one classroom/ project submission to another. And this fast-paced life teaches one the art of time management. By the time you receive your MBA degree, you would have a newfound respect for showing up for meetings on time and will find yourself managing time like a pro!

4. Pearls of wisdom from industry experts

While there’s no doubt that the faculty in most business schools are the best of the lot, there’s an entirely different thrill to listen to hardcore advice from industry experts and entrepreneurs who’ve been there, done that. MBA colleges that regularly invite corporate leaders to interact with their students are giving the best education to future business executives. Most of the top b-schools in India have made it a regular practice to conduct guest lectures & seminars to ensure industry interface for its management students. You must never take these seminars for granted – if you want to be great, you better find out what made these “experts” great.

5. Learning the difference between a boss & a leader

MBAs are trained to take up leadership roles, if not immediately then eventually in their career. The 2 years spent pursuing an MBA teaches them to distinguish between being a good leader and a bad boss. The grueling coursework, effective seminars and real-world case studies mould them into professionals who don’t stop at blaming the tools they’re given, and instead focus on sharpening them. You will learn not just to manage time, but also people in way that will inspire them to give their best.

6. Effective communication is immensely powerful

The countless group projects ensure that every MBA student masters the art of communicating well with each other and group presentations would definitely squash any stage-fear that they might have! These soft skills will go on to help you successfully pitch a new product idea to your future company’s management. Communication, therefore is key and the best B-schools realize it well and so offer value added courses on communication & personality development program as part of their MBA curriculum.