Life of an MBA Student at WGU: Drew Allison
As a member of the first cohort in the Wright Graduate University MBA program offered at the Lyons School of Transformational Business, Drew Allison found a curriculum that tailors his education to fit his business leadership challenges. Indeed, the integration of business skills and emotional intelligence attracted Drew to the cutting-edge program. “How the MBA curriculum translates Wright’s personal growth and transformation curriculum into the language of business was right for me. It’s helping my career while transforming me,” he says.
Launched last fall, the Lyons School of Transformational Business at Wright Graduate University offers a robust, cutting-edge MBA program. The curriculum is designed to empower leaders with the business management skills that today’s market demands and the human skills that define you as an authentic leader.
Drew’s Professional Background
Drew served as a successful salesperson and sales manager at a leading Chicago financial technology firm. His manager suggested he attend one of the seminars at the Wright Foundation to gain greater relationship skills, especially because of the different types of personalities he managed.
Drew moved to a traditional insurance firm where he manages a service team while building a sales culture. The types of people, personalities, and agendas are even more diverse, and he felt he needed more of a business focus than his traditional sales management position required.
“What’s great about the WGU MBA is that everything I do at work goes directly into my schoolwork, and everything at school is tailored directly into my professional situation.”
Benefits of a WGU MBA
For instance, Drew is building a sales team at an organization that traditionally focused on services and account management. It’s a significant change that requires working with the existing culture and expanding it to include new ideas.
The WGU MBA’s integration of social and emotional intelligence skills with an understanding of neuropsychology has helped the transition, says Drew. “It’s been instrumental for me to understand my staff and their motivation but also my own emotional motivations.”
The interplay between social and emotional intelligence has been incredibly impactful. “I’ve been learning the social intelligence to listen to what I say and how the team hears it. Plus the emotional intelligence to understand how my emotions and communication affect my own emotional state and how I react.”
One of the traditional benefits of an MBA is networking with other students. “What I like about the Lyons MBA is that we’re part of the broader Wright Graduate University community. There are close ties between the students in the MBA program and the students in the coaching program. We get to know them well, and it provides me with a lot more breadth than if I were in a traditional MBA setting.”
