How SOIL Prepared Me To Lead In The Business World

Filter Results

Topics

Audience

Industry

Year

How SOIL Prepared Me To Lead In The Business World

27 Jul 2022
- admin
- Student Careers
Students and professionals pursue MBA courses for a range of purposes that include personal development, career progression, or then for a career shift. For me, the purpose that drove my decision was led by a desire to transition from a contributor to a leader. I looked to build on my functional skills and develop skills to lead. As I reflect on my journey post-the one-year MBA – PGPM at SOIL, I realize that this decision to prioritize leadership development has had a profound impact on my career. I recognize the positives of my decision as a quantum gap-up in my development.

The choice of SOIL as a B-School stemmed from the fact that the PGPM – one-year MBA at SOIL was unique in that the teaching methodology blended hands-on experience into the curriculum. The fact that SOIL valued and nurtured leadership was apparent from the ethos that looked to “build character, competence, and enthusiasm; developing inspired leaders” as an integral part of the MBA.

A background as a Computer Engineer, with some distinction (as I would like to perceive myself), got me a job with CSC as an Application Development Engineer. However, it was not enough to take me forward on my journey and vision to become a leader. While I realized that while there was no formula to becoming a leader, an MBA course with a leadership focus could help me realize my vision, and in this respect, SOIL stood out. The MBA course at SOIL moves away from the traditional path and emphasizes creating inspired business leaders that could make a meaningful contribution to society.

In my professional journey post the MBA from SOIL, I have realized the importance of leadership skills in achieving functional excellence. The major takeaways from my MBA at SOIL that have stood by me as a leader are –
1. The importance of communication in persuasion and inclusiveness
2. An approach built on developing and nurturing your team, sometimes ahead of your development.
3. Values and ethics – Embracing the core values of honesty, trust, freedom, and solidarity in business practices with all stakeholders.
4. Integration of business tenets with Logos (a logical approach), Ethos ( built on character), and Pathos (with emotion)
What was the learning experience at SOIL? What was unique about the SOIL MBA that helped me to lead in the business world?
1. Learning The Nuances Of Long-Term Leadership Strategy At SOIL – While most MBA courses primarily focus on classroom learning methodologies, SOIL integrates the case discussion method into its learning. There is a method behind the madness, as they used to say. While many doubted the power of the case discussion method in the short run, I noticed the benefits of the value of the SOIL pedagogy as I developed in my career. The case discussion method has helped me to grow from an individual contributor to a leader over time. The case discussion method, pioneered by the Harvard Business School, inculcated thinking that helped me in decision making in ambiguous situations, helped in considering the impact of my decisions on others, and appreciate others’ viewpoints to conclude.
2. SOIL Teaches You To Network And Build A Community – Interaction with a diverse audience during the MBA course helped me to develop a strong network. Networking and regular interaction with diverse audiences have helped me to gather information, get access to skill sets and nurture a network of relevant people who supported me and helped me to grow professionally. For the uninitiated, SOIL has continuous industry interaction opportunities throughout the MBA course. These include:
  - 1 – 1 Mentoring – By senior corporate professionals who personally guide the student on his career path. Many of the SOIL alumni remain in touch with their mentors long after passing out of SOIL.
  - Leadership Series – SOIL, has a partner network of Consortium companies, NGOs, academicians, and government officials, who interact with students on regular basis. These interactions are informal and allow students to gain exposure and build connections.
  - Inspired Leadership Conference – This annual event at SOIL, organized by the students, is vital to showcase their organizational skills and talent to industry leaders.
3. SOIL Develops Socially Responsible Managers – The MBA course is built on the 5 pillars of inspired leadership – Awareness, Balance, Compassion, Diversity, and Ethics. Learning at SOIL teaches the student about the social responsibility of business and emphasizes the balance between social benefit and commercial profit. The MBA course offered by SOIL has the Social Innovation Programme as an integral part of its curriculum.
SOIL has crafted a module for social causes and has embedded it in its syllabus for its MBA courses. As part of the ‘Social Innovation Programme” (SIP), SOIL is associated with several social and developmental organizations.

We were supposed to work with an NGO once a week and collaborate with them on meaningful projects. I spent my time with Udayan Care alongside orphans without parental care helping them with counseling for their mental well-being. This helped me to create an appreciation of deep-rooted social, cultural, economic, and environmental problems. Besides the trip to Sidhbari near Dharamshala and interaction with the local communities to understand their political, economic & cultural aspects was an eye opener. This helped me to develop a deeper understanding of the development issues faced by communities and helped foster Empathy and Compassion. All these profound experiences have led me to adopt a human-centric approach to business where the interest of all stakeholders has to be balanced.

To Conclude

While my focus here has been on the soft-skills, the curricula followed at SOIL are worth a mention. Being in the industry for almost 8 years after the MBA, I can safely say that the curriculum is industry-relevant and designed for the changing needs of the business world. SOIL’s MBA stands out because of its unique experiences and diversity of people and helped me to amass enriching experiences besides stoking my curiosity. The classroom and beyond experiences helped me to become an agile thinker, a more compassionate leader, and a humble person.

Working at Adobe alongside experts across Martech and Adtech solutions, I lead teams that include SEO experts, Creative designers, social media evangelists, content curators, Analytics experts, and paid search and display advertising experts. The one thing that drives me is my passion for Marketing Leadership. To carry forward the SOIL legacy, I mentor some very bright students from across top MBA colleges in India and help them make the right career decisions and choices.

The SOIL way has taught me to learn from those closest to the action through active listening with different perspectives, creating meaningful relationships, and building consensus. These are the timeless skills that matter in leading any organization.

If you look forward to leaning into the experience inside and outside the classroom, look at the MBA courses offered by SOIL. I am sure you will be privy to the two most enjoyable and enriching years of your life.

This is based on experiences of

Manu Malhotra – Adobe – Manager Advertising Cloud (America)

MBA, PGPM,
Class of 2011 – 2012

Our Top Stories to Read
PGDM vs MBA – Full form, Specializations, Reasons to Consider, Salary Differences. Founder & Chairman Mr. Anil Sachdev Learnings and Importance of Theatre
SOIL Live Digital Events

Beyond my MBA | SOIL Alumni Series | 07.00 PM – 08.00 PM
Learn More
Beyond my MBA | SOIL Alumni Series | 07.00 PM – 08.00 PM
Learn More

Media

Campus

Annual Events

Accreditations &
Associations

Research & Publications

Conferences

Awards & Achievements

Posts By

Topics

Audience

Industry

Year

Never miss a beat. Get Blog updates regularly in your inbox