When getting your MBA in Marketing, you know that learning to lead is a major factor in getting a leg up in the industry. After all, the sooner you learn to bring others to your side of the table, the better you’ll be able to get quality projects done — and that means you’re helping both coworkers and clients. Here are just a few ways to get practice of leadership skills in while getting your MBA.
Volunteer
Finding volunteer activities near where you live is a great way to get in extra leadership experience. See if there are teams of volunteers you can manage, or organize your own group to do good work for your community. Volunteering provides several opportunities for leadership: One, it shows that you’re dedicated to bettering society, and that through work and leadership you can bring about strong results and beneficial change. Two, you’ll learn what the effects of leadership are first hand, an invaluable lesson in management. When you see a family walk home with food for the week, or a child learn a skill because your team has provided a service or lesson, it will be easy to see how leadership can affect peoples’ lives for the better. Knowing how to improve the lives of coworkers, employees and clients is a skill many people say makes their job satisfactory, and is one of the keys to both career success and happiness.
Join Local Groups for Activities — or Start Your Own!
If people around you meet up for softball matches in a local park or have discussion about books they’ve read as a way to bond with new people in their lives, consider joining up with them. Meeting new people can sometimes be stressful, but in a situation where everyone benefits from new social contacts you can see just how useful and enjoyable such a process can be. Better yet, start your own group — and show potential employers how successful you can be at managing it. Who knows, you may change peoples’ lives in the process.
Read Books by Great Minds
Remember that education doesn’t stop when the homework does. If you have spare time, crack a book by industry greats, or people who’ve succeeded in other areas. Recent books such as Walter Isaacson’s biography of Steve Jobs will show you how leaders before you have used their skills for success — and you may learn a few secrets that help you in your own career. By getting books from your local library you’ll also supplement your education — for free.
So if you’re getting your MBA and really want to develop some strong leadership skills along the way, know that the options are out there — and though they can be challenging, at the end of the day many of them can be fun also. Which for many people makes work a vital and important part of their lives. For many in marketing, the adage “Do what you love and you’ll never work another day in your life” is now truer than ever.