Jivi Kehra, MBA Executive Management, 2008
The push for me to go back to school came out of frustration. I had observed leadership in the health care sector and felt that it needed more compassion, more collaboration. I observed leaders who had moved up in management but their background was in clinical work, not leadership.
My intention going into the MBA program at Royal Roads was to get a better understanding of who I was and how I was going to be in the world. When I started the first residency, I questioned everything about myself. It felt like being deconstructed. Throughout the program, I set out to rebuild myself with my own values – not the values of my parents, my workplace or society. That process gave me confidence as a leader to run my own business in line with my own values. I could bring my authentic self to my work.
The online and on-campus format of the MBA at Royal Roads fit perfectly into my lifestyle. The ability to do distance education was a big factor. I have a 12 yr old and a 16 yr old so I needed to balance my education with my work and my family. I didn’t have to take time away from work which meant I still had the income I needed to support my family.
This program gives you ample opportunity to learn within a safe environment and at the same time allows you to be yourself. The learning experience validates you as a person. It allowed us to have a certain autonomy; and at the same time to be creative. We weren’t overpowered by books. There was balance between academic education and individual participation. Faculty said, “let me hear what you’re thinking.” Honestly, I found the first residency difficult. After 15 years away from school, I walked into a room full of strangers and it suddenly felt like the first day of kindergarten. But, soon we had a highly engaged online community - people we felt we knew.
The best part of the program for me was making those connections to students and faculty. Everyone knew who I was. The Dean of the program would see me on campus and call out to me, “Hi Jivi”. I remember thinking, this just doesn’t happen. This is magnificent…how does he know me? I felt like I was a part of something; a family, a community. I still feel that automatic connection with my alumni – we’re all part of the same family. That builds confidence.
I always knew I wanted to have a consulting business in organizational development and I knew if I ever had a company of my own, it would be called Winds of Change. I grew up in India and remember my grandmother clearly for her ability to predict the monsoons. She’d sit on the veranda and just watch. She knew the winds were coming and that life would soon change. Then she’d quietly get up and take the clothes off the clothesline. I learned that in life when the winds came, life changed.
