Melanie McLagan found flexibility in the online MBA program at Athabasca University. It allowed her to care for her kids and handle family crises. (GEOFF ROBINS FOR THE GLOBE AND MAIL)
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After 17 years as a commercial lawyer, Robbie Wasserman wanted to make a career switch in his company.
On paper, the 45-year-old Toronto resident and a married father of three stood at the peak of his legal career as a vice-president and general counsel for Wal-Mart Canada. But he yearned for the operations side of the big retailer.
Could he shift gears at his age, and if so, how? That's when his wife, Jacqueline Shinfield, also a lawyer, urged him to go back to school.
By his own admission "never a school guy," Mr. Wasserman opted for an executive master of business administration (EMBA), the preferred route for a growing number of middle-to-senior Canadian managers eager to change careers or speed their climb to the top.
It's a high-wire act not for the faint of heart.
Beyond the gruelling academic demands packed into weekend classes, team study sessions and online projects, students juggle weekday work obligations and the daily pressures of family life.
The balancing act required for this life- and career-altering experience only works, say students and EMBA alumni, with strong support from an understanding employer and spouse or partner. In turn, among Canada's 17 business schools with EMBA degrees, many are adding specialty programs, family-friendly social occasions, career coaching and other assistance in recognition that professionals who return to school lead busy, complicated lives.
"From the beginning, it is a matter of managing expectations so students know what they are in for," says André deCarufel, program director for York University's Kellogg-Schulich executive MBA, rated No. 1 in Canada and 17th globally by the Financial Times last month.
"It is a once-in-a-life investment," he says of an experience that, in his school's case, costs $90,000 for an 18-month-long program capped at 50 students a year.
A point of pride for Mr. DeCarufel is that among his school's most recent graduating class of 47 students, half made a job change, seven had babies, none suffered a marriage breakup and all but one earned an EMBA degree.
In Mr. Wasserman's case, he signed up in the fall of 2006 for a shorter program offered by the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, which charges $75,000 for Fridays and Saturdays classes over 13 months with four separate one-week residence requirements.
"The personal and professional growth has been unbelievable, and more as a person than a professional," he said shortly after wrapping up his last class in October, 2007. "It is among the most wonderful experiences I have ever had."
But he says he could not have made the most of such an intense program, for which he paid his own tuition, without breathing room from his employer and his family.
As classes got under way in September, 2006, Mr. Wasserman was named a store vice-president and district manager for Wal-Mart. His boss gave him a reduced work schedule during the fall, so he could scrape the rust off his academic skills before launching full-bore into his new job in January, 2007.
On the home front, Mr. Wasserman's wife, a lawyer at Blake, Cassels & Graydon LLP, picked up the slack, driving their three daughters (now 14, 11 and nine) to dance classes and music practice with the Toronto Children's Chorus. But he never missed any of their recitals.
"She encouraged me at every turn," he says, describing his wife as "awesome." He adds: "I never heard one peep about 'you haven't been around.'"
Ms. Shinfield set out her side of the pact: "I fully support you, but we are going to go on living our lives." At one point, while in Florida, she drove the children to Disney World as Mr. Wasserman, a passenger in the van, completed a class assignment. She, not he, proudly reports he later received an A.
Danny Cushing is director of Rotman's Omnium Global Executive MBA, in which students travel to seven cities on four continents for their courses. He says that when talking to potential students, "The first question I ask is, 'Tell me about the conversation you had with your spouse and kids and do they have a sense of the sacrifice?'" He also asks, "Do you have a supervisor who thinks this is a cool thing to do?"
Even with strong backing at work and at home, however, unexpected events jolt the high-wire act.
In July, 2001, when her first child turned one, Xerox middle-manager Melanie McLagan of London, Ont., wanted a degree to advance in her company. A residential EMBA, with fixed weekend classes, would not have suited her work and family life so she choose Alberta's Athabasca University, pioneer of the world's first online MBA in 1994.
On the eve of starting her online studies in September, 2001, Ms. McLagan's mother-in-law died suddenly.
"We held our breath and said, 'We have no idea what this will mean,'" recalls Ms. McLagan, now 36. Partway through her studies, her father was diagnosed with cancer, she became pregnant with a second child, and continued to travel on business.
She credits the flexibility of Athabasca's program — she deferred four times with virtually no penalty — for helping her stay on track and complete her degree in five years instead of the usual two to three. Meanwhile, Xerox sponsored her for the $40,000 program and, midway through, also selected her for an intensive internal leadership training course.
At home, her police officer husband, David, provided crucial backup — at one point driving her to Toronto and baby-sitting while she, still nursing the baby, could complete a one-week residential elective. "When I think about it, it sounds crazy," laughs Ms. McLagan, who says her toughest challenge was climbing the 15 stairs to her home office after reading a bedtime story to her children.
"Once I got in front of a computer screen and had the dynamic exchange with people and the reading online, I was okay," she says. "You are ready to work because your coach is in front of you, you have very strict deadlines and you know what you need to do."
Ms. McLagan also used the flexibility of the online program to satisfy her responsibilities as a mother. At one point, she told her EMBA online teammates that she would unplug for a couple of hours to go apple-picking with her husband and children.
So why add an intense education program to the pressure pot of life? "My husband and I saw this as a commitment to investing in our family," she says. "There is no question it [the EMBA] makes you better at what you are doing today and gives you more door-opening possibilities tomorrow."
Employers, too, see a return.
"If you want to support the business strategy of your company, you need to invest in the people who will support the strategy," says Martine Normand, vice-president of human resources for Xerox. Her company, which has sponsored 18 employees at Athabasca, spends up to $250,000 to assist employees on a variety of online and residential executive MBAs.
Meanwhile, Mr. Wasserman, the class valedictorian, looks forward to receiving his new degree at UofT convocation ceremonies next summer. So does his family. "We will be there with bells on," says Ms. Shinfield.
Reality check
Considering an executive MBA program? Those who offer such programs, and those who take them, offer these tips to make the most of the experience:
- Prepare your family. Speak frankly with your spouse and family about what's at stake, including time away from home. It will likely involve a little sacrifice and patience on everyone's part.
- Be clear with your employer. Make sure you have a good relationship with your boss and employer. Spell out, in writing if necessary, reduced work weeks or other adjustments. Even when MBA candidates pay their own tuition, a growing trend, companies can ease the workload and time commitments during the program.
- Be realistic in expectations. Do not expect an EMBA to guarantee instant changes in your professional life; look at it as a building block.
- Look ahead. If sponsoring yourself, find out what schools offer in terms of career coaching.
- Be organized - and committed. No matter the program, the reading load is heavy and most students have to put in at least 25 hours a week of study time.
- Get set for team work. By design, the EMBA curriculum is built around study groups and teams to foster collaborative leadership and other soft skills essential for successful managers. Make the most of interactions with classmates and teacher-coaches, whether in person or online.
Correction: Martine Normand is vice-president of human resources for Xerox Canada Ltd. Incorrect information was published in yesterday's Report on MBA Schools.
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