10 values MBAs must learn outside the B-school

By Harpreet Singh

B-Schools brace you to cope up with the corporate world, by providing the required skills and knowledge. However, the soft skills also count and are equally important for making you a successful manager and a leader in the long run. These values guide your opinion, attitude, actions and thought process which would be of great significance for your recruiters.

Innovation – “Out of Box” is a phrase not understood as often as it's used. It does not only mean a breakthrough or a big invention. Innovation can be a part of our everyday actions. Once we challenge our regular way of doing things it is only then that we do the same things differently and generate more value for ourselves, companies and even society at large.

Sharing – It’s important to understand that people working in companies are not independent of each other, rather a connected link which makes sharing immitable. One would be expected to share resources, ideas, knowledge with their colleagues and peers which can be termed as ‘teamwork’.  Therefore, it is important that students learn to work as a team so that they are capable to  adjust easily in  teamwork and sharing skills when they enter the workforce.

Striving for Excellence – Trying to excel in your area of work is an important part in professional life, so assimilate this practice early in life. This involves constant effort of trying to put quality efforts in everything you want to do till the time it becomes a pattern. This could be sports, extracurricular activities, academics, participation in clubs, society, even undertaking a social cause. Although it might feel convenient being average, but once you try and push yourself out of your comfort zone to analyze new possibilities, you automatically tend to put your best talents further always.

Ownership – Managers are  held accountable for the work assigned from start to end . It’s about believing that the work being entrusted to you is your own responsibility and you would be accountable for the results. The ownership can be expected from you while you are given projects or additional responsility to work on. These values would be reflected once you are at your job, as a person who takes onus would never find opportunity of putting blame on others in troubled times.

Honesty – “Building your reputation takes years, but it might take only a second to lose it”. It might not be taught in your management class, but you would have heard it from all those around you. Having high levels of integrity under all circumstances is the most important characteristic which a manager can possess. Integrity means being truthful, honest and reliable, whether or not anyone is watching you. This value should not just be reflected at your workplace, but also with your friends, family and anyone you interact with.

Joy – A person having a positive approach reflects a positive attitude at work place. A joyous person would find happiness in his work and therefore make his surroundings cheerful too. Joy at work would come when you love your job, give 100% to what you do and constantly motivate yourself to achieve your goals. Rather than looking at your job as a mean to earn bread , it should be your passion which will make you love it and generate endless possibilities.

Passion for Learning –The curiousness to learn something new should remain till one dies. For all those who continue to strive and improve by learning continuously would have their learning curve always go up the graph. This passion would come if one takes regular interest in not just learning their academic or functional areas but also keep their eyes and ears open to whats going on around the world. Passion to learn would spearhead your growth by improving your skills and expertise.

Courage – Courage might bring to mind images of heroism and sacrifice, however it is an important virtue of a successful manager. Courage allows for status quo to be challenged and ideas to flourish. Courage at workplace can be to do a thing differently, innovate, take initiative or voice a different opinion. Courage helps companies and people grow. It helps increase communication, honesty and clarity in an organization; therefore companies look at people who are courageous.

Responsiveness – A manager would be expected to be highly responsive and dynamic to their environment and customers by being aware of the situations around them.  For this, one should be frisky and take spontaneous decisions. This is possible by being extrovert, identifying opportunities and areas of improvement and creating quick and effective solutions.

Understanding – Empathy is one of the key management skills and it means ‘to step into others shoes’. It is important for a manager to understand others point of view. To recognize, accept and appreciate that each person is different would help in understanding them and make you more flexible.  Many leadership theories suggest the ability to have and display empathy is an important part of leadership.

About the author:

Harpreet Singh is a post graduate from IIM-Ahmedabad and has done his B.Tech from COAE – Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana. He has received a gold medal in agricultural engineering. He is currently the President, JRE School of Management - Greater Noida.