The Executive MBA (in the past Part Time MBA) is a 21-month program, offered by The Lisbon MBA Católica|Nova, that allows professionals to conciliate their studies with their careers Doing an MBA is much more than a course, it’s undertaking a transformation process which can be hard to manage due to its demanding nature. It’s sometimes difficult for students to balance their professional, personal and family demands. If we add a child into this equation, then the challenge, becomes even harder but not impossible. Sara Figueiredo and Inês Toscano, two of The Lisbon MBA alumni share their experiences and, also, some tips to cope.

The Magazine-Review interviews Sara Figueiredo, Class of 2014.16 and Inês Toscano, Class of 2013.15

Sara Figueiredo says that “the motivation to do an MBA program must always be personal, but the decision has to be made within the family.” Inês Toscano has the same opinion about this subject because “it was my personal motivation that drove me into the MBA program but since I was pregnant when I started the program, the decision had to be made by the family as a whole, and I felt a strong support from my husband”.

However, the objectives that led these two students to The Lisbon MBA were different. Sara wasn’t pursuing any career change but wanted “to be better positioned within the company for international positions, which without an MBA was impossible”. According to Sara “the lack of technical knowledge in a specific area made it challenging to apply to certain job offers, and since I was considering doing an MBA since 2008 I decided that I should go for it.”. Inês, on the other hand, wanted a career change and in the program found the tools she needed to pursue that goal. “When I started the program, I didn’t know what to do to achieve the desired change in my career. I just knew I needed a change. The Lisbon MBA helped me by giving me a wider view, new perspectives and making me test my limits.”.

How did you organize your day during the MBA? Inês Toscano identifies three different moments that demanded a lot from her time management skills:

1. prior being a mum
2. after her daughter was born; and
3. after getting back to work”.

Each of these moments had different routines. The most difficult moment was when her daughter was born. Besides being a mother, she also had to manage her time to meet the MBA workload and requirements and the emotional and physical distress attached. However, as Inês states, being at home gave her the opportunity to manage her time in a flexible way– “which was very positive.”, she says. Once again, she emphasis her family support saying that “the most important factor in this process was my family support, my husband, parents and parents-in-law who helped me a lot by babysitting Ema and allowing me to go to classes and study.”.

Sara Figueiredo started The Lisbon MBA program when she was 15 weeks pregnant and her motto was always “not to suffer in anticipation”. She used this approach until the end of the MBA, when Alice was 16 months old. “I learned to be pragmatic and efficient to an extreme with this experience. I had to make quick decisions andwe didn’t postpone any decision”. During the pregnancy, in all the work groups she was part of, she made it clear to her colleagues that she wouldn’t participate in any meetings at late hours as the baby had to sleep and be calm!

What were your biggest challenges?According to Sara, the difficulties were different, according to pregnancy, maternity leave and then getting back to work…“I never really had the time to adapt from one period to the next as the routines were always changing. The support from my family, especially from my husband, was critical. Maybe the toughest period was the last term of the MBA when I was back to work, with a toddler and with four assignments”. “My routine was unpredictable, as it was always changing, and, in the beginning, I was afraid my colleagues wouldn’t understand. However, in all workgroups, they were very comprehensive and supportive, and I was able to do my ownschedule, which was very good for me at that time. If I was able to finish the program when expected, I also have to thank my colleagues for it”.

For Inês, group work was something that worked out very well, because the team members were all very supportive and agreed to do most of the physical meetings at her home, which is conveniently close to both Católica and Nova. In the end, everything was a challenge. “Even the international trip was a challenge, because I was very tired, and had to leave everything organised in the family for my absence in that period!”

What would be your advice to women who want to pursue an MBA program? According to Sara Figueiredo, any woman who wants to pursue an MBA program should do it:

1. just go for it and not wait for the perfect timing
2. trust in yourself
3. avoid being perfeccionist (superwomen, only in the movies)
4. prepare/reinforce the family support network and use it as much as you can.

Also, I’d like to advise any woman to be fully focused on any task they do (don’t multitask) and have “to do lists” all the time.Inês Toscano vision on this subject can be summarizedin two topics: “Believe in yourself and seek support in your family because in the end the success will be shared by everyone”.

Do you think that today, in Portugal, there’s a balance between work and family time? If not, what can we do to improve it, and what is the impact of that situation onparenthood?

Both interviewees agree that, in Portugal, companies are now adapting their vision and giving the first stepstowards an innovative and more beneficial work and life balance situation. We have been witnessing some changes in the work environment, with the introduction of new concepts like the “home office”, or “flexible schedule”, allowing more mobility to workers. In their opinion, these efforts are remarkable, specially taking into consideration the fact that our economy can still be quite traditional.

According to Sara “In general, companies, are responsible for the break of parenthood due to several issues such as the lack of mobility or ability to work outside the office or even the number of extra hours that both parents have to do to be successful.” On the other hand, in Sara’s opinion, “This is not my case, fortunately, but I do recognise it’s necessary to implement a different system in Portugal, that should focus on giving mothers the ability to work out of the office or manage their schedule”.

According to Inês, the problem is that “we have a management model which is old and outdated” which is “inflexible and demands a lot from the employees”, says. One of the solutions for this problem should be focused on“other kind of perks, rather than financials, such as the possibility to manage her own schedule or the possibility to work from home.”.

The Lisbon MBA program helps students to know how to balance work life and personal life. Sara and Inês are two good examples of how to apply the experience and new personal competencies acquired in the program. The Lisbon MBA provides a very important range of soft skills that are totallyapplicable not only inthe workplace but also inyour personal life. Being able to organiseand stick to your plan is a huge help to your work-life balance.