HBR Special Issuesends a useful signal. New
students feel more comfort-
able knowing that I’ve been
in their shoes (albeit 15 years
ago), and prospective clients
trust that I understand the
complexities of their world
and the challenges they face.
But it’s not a given that an
MBA will have this effect. In
my first job after business
school I interacted with a di-
verse range of communities,
and while I never misled any-
one about the fact that I had
an MBA, I didn’t advertise it
either. I knew that some peo-
ple in my field had negative
impressions of MBAs, and I
wanted to prove myself as an
individual before being ste-
reotyped. My particular ver-
sion of this experience may
have been unusual, but by no
means is it unique—MBAs are
viewed with skepticism and
even disdain in many fields
and organizations.
In addition, the nature of
the signal being sent depends
on the specific MBA pro-
gram’s reputation, and this is
not simply a matter of pres-
tige. Harvard, Stanford, and
Wharton routinely top lists
of U.S. business schools, but
they also have a reputation
for entitlement and arro-
gance. Whereas some firms
seek out graduates from elite
schools, others avoid them
out of a concern that they will
be difficult to work with and
disruptive to the established
culture. So ask yourself:
- What market am I in now?
What markets might I seek to
enter in the future? - Who’s interested in my ser-
vices? How might this change
if I had an MBA? - How are MBAs perceived
and what signals does an MBA
send in these markets? What
stereotypes (both positive
and negative) might I face as
an MBA? - What is the specific reputa-
tion of the MBA programs I’m
considering? How are these
schools and their alumni
viewed within my desired
markets? - What alternative means
are available to me to
send the signals I desire to
communicate?
Membership in a learning
community and access to
an alumni network. Business
school emphasizes working
in groups, and MBA students
often learn as much from their
peers as they do from faculty,
so it’s important to consider
whom you’ll be working
alongside for two years. Those
same people will become your
fellow alumni, and access
to that network is one of the
most valuable benefits an
MBA program can offer.
Of course, alumni net-
works aren’t created equal.
Larger MBA programs yield
larger networks. Certain
networks are concentrated
in specific geographic areas
or industries. And some
B-school experiences create
networks that are particularly
active sources of mutual
support.
I’ve benefited tremen-
dously from the support of
my fellow GSB alumni during
two major professional tran-
sitions. In my job search after
graduation and later, when
I began exploring executive
coaching as a career path,other Stanford alumni were
extraordinarily generous with
their time and insights, and
there’s no way I could have
succeeded without their help.
All this said, there’s a
misperception about the
importance of socializing in
business school as a means
of cultivating these ties. To
be sure, my students devote
a substantial amount of time
and energy to elaborate social
activities, and I often find
myself amused at the lengths
to which they go to entertain
themselves. However, while
it’s true that I’m middle-aged
and boring, and a quiet night
at home is my idea of a good
time, I was pretty dull even
as a student and didn’t spend
much time at parties or other
social events.
But I didn’t need to in
order to benefit from the GSB
network—the school’s rela-
tively small size and commu-
nal culture help ensure that
graduates feel a sense of obli-
gation to help fellow alumni.
And the fact that I can’t pay
back the many people who
helped me is motivation to
pay it forward by doing as
much as I can to support
recent alumni seeking help
from me. So ask yourself:- What do I know about the
students at the MBA programs
I’m considering? Are they like-
minded peers? Do I see myself
learning alongside them? - What do I know about the
alumni networks of these pro-
grams? How active are they?
Are they concentrated in geo-
graphic areas and professional
fields of interest to me? - What support does a school
provide to its alumni network
and to individual alumni? Do
alumni return frequently to
participate in events and activ-
ities at the school?
One final point on diver-
sity: I have no doubt that my
experience in business school
was made substantially easier
by the fact that I’m a straight,
white, American man with
an Ivy League undergrad-
uate degree. Even as MBA
programs have sought to
attract more-diverse student
populations in recent years,
B-schools are still dispropor-
tionately filled with people
like me. And even at Stanford,
which prides itself on its
inclusiveness, women, gays
and lesbians, people of color,
students from outside the
U.S., and nonnative English
speakers can feel isolated
in business school and find
the MBA experience more
difficult and stressful. I hope
to encourage people from a
wide range of backgrounds
to consider business school
as an option, and it feels
important to acknowledge
this current state of affairs if
anything is to change.
Originally published on HBR.org
September 4, 2014
HBR Reprint H00Z0HEd Batista is an executive
coach and a lecturer at the
Stanford Graduate School of
Business. He writes regularly
on issues related to coaching
and professional development,
contributed to the HBR Guide to
Coaching Your Employees (Har-
vard University Review Press,
2014), and is the author of The
Art of Self-Coaching (Harvard
Business Review Press, forth-
coming). Follow him on Twitter:
@edbatista.