I can’t believe it has been 18 months now, since the first day we met in Milan for the kick-off week. Doing an MBA is a decision that really changed my life in both a personal and a professional way, and I want to share the top 5 things that this program brought me:

1. It is not just a network, it is a group of friends and colleagues

Being part of a mixed group of people, working in many different fields and with different areas of expertise, left me with some very interesting knowledge ̶ I can honestly say that I learnt something from each of my classmates. But beyond this, I now have a group of friends who  ̶   since the first week in Milan and Druogno, where we enjoyed that first outdoor activity to break the ice  ̶  had a very special connection, something that I was able to confirm later during our face-to-face week in Buenos Aires.

2. A cultural understanding

Every final group assignment made me understand that each of us, maybe because of our culture or our field of work, has a different approach, different ways of resolving a situation and of developing a task, and different academic styles, something that at the end seems great to me. Now I feel more open when facing new challenges with different people, and understand that my approach does not always have to be the correct one.

3. Time management and discipline

As I described in a previous article “A typical day like an i-Flex student“, I had some challenging days managing my time between working, studying, running and exercising, spending time with my family and friends, and making the preparations for a wedding. All this made me more disciplined and strategic with regard to how to spend my time ̶ I began planning more and focusing my energies on really important tasks. It really showed me that it is possible to balance one’s personal and work life.

4. Be open to new fields of work and opportunities around the world

Before the MBA, I never used to think about having a life or getting a job in another country, but now my opinion is totally different. The world is so big and there are so many new opportunities and experiences abroad that I also have feel open to getting into new fields and areas of expertise.

This is due to different experiences: first, I had been part of a class with people with 12 different nationalities, living in more than 20 countries and working in some very attractive companies. Second, after visiting such different countries as Italy, Argentina and the USA, with such remarkable differences, I can conclude that there are many things I can do for my country even working in different parts of the world. Now I feel that I am a citizen of the world.

5. Leadership

From my personal experience, I learnt a lot about how to be a real leader, something that sounds pretty good in theory but can be difficult to implement, taking into account the important influence that, as leaders, we can have on our teams and companies. With the tools and constant information we received about the topic, from the lectures at MIP and Buenos Aires, and from the WOBI clips, I can tell that I have been improving and that I have been more consistent about implementing clear, opportune and honest communications. After these 18 months, I can say that in my job I lead a group of 10 people who are both motivated and inspired. This is really gratifying.