Two years ago, Sumeera Iqbal felt rather unfulfilled. While she truly enjoyed working as head of research for international economics consultancy Maxwell Stamp KSA in Saudi Arabia, she sensed that there was something missing. She not only recognized that she wasn’t learning enough in her role, but she also wasn’t experiencing enough professional growth. She wanted more challenges and the chance to explore new opportunities. However, as with so many people, her life simply kept her too busy to make any changes on her path forward. But when the pandemic hit in early 2020, she decided that it was time to stop and take stock.
“There comes a time in your career when you have to stop and reflect so you can think about what it is you really want to achieve. Then you can take different steps or move in a different direction,” say Iqbal, who has a background in economic research, strategy consulting, data analytics, and project management. “I wanted to learn about new trends and emerging technologies, and I wanted to start on a real journey as a lifelong learner.”
What Iqbal did not expect was to begin a journey with MIT Sloan Executive Education in July of 2020 that would completely transform her professional life. But that’s ultimately what happened as she started working towards achieving her Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership, which she officially earned 2021.
A Broadened Perspective
“Throughout my career, I’ve sought to gain different skills and build more expertise,” Iqbal notes. It didn’t take her long to realize that she had found exactly what she was looking for through MIT Sloan Executive Education. In fact, the three days that comprised her first live online course, Leading People at Work: Strategies for Talent Analytics, made a major impact. Led by Professor Emilio J. Castilla, the course focuses on how the use of data can be applied to such critical issues as recruiting and hiring, performance evaluation, and organizational change. The material was a perfect fit for Iqbal’s position as head of research, in which she does everything from manage economic research for all of Maxwell Stamp’s ongoing projects to build high-performing cross-functional teams to support those projects.
"I wanted to learn about new trends and emerging technologies, and I wanted to start on a real journey as a lifelong learner."
“I am involved in a lot of workforce planning on my team, and I wanted to understand how data could influence the decisions we make,” she states. “There was so much to learn. With the knowledge that was shared, I was able to create performance measurement tools for our organization. It was incredible.”
Iqbal also delved into uncharted territory with Artificial Intelligence: Implications for Business Strategy, which unexpectedly benefited her when she assumed an additional role as a project manager with Maxwell Stamp; in her most recent role, she manages projects for public sector across the GCC region clients that need to improve their organizational effectiveness and strategies.
“This was a completely new concept for me. I have a background in economic research, but AI was out of my comfort zone,” she observes. “It was very insightful, and the course enabled me to transform the strategy for one client that wanted to establish a method for automating their processes. I utilized the roadmap we were given in the course to do this for them. And I felt confident talking to the client, analyzing their problem, and discussing how it could be solved by AI. We have technical global experts for specific projects, but when you are in a leadership position, you need to know what kinds of business applications certain technologies have. That’s exactly what I got from the course.”
As Iqbal moved forward, she continued to select courses that provided her with knowledge she could apply in real time, including Leadership in an Exponentially Changing World, Organizational Design for Digital Transformation, and Blockchain Technologies: Business Innovation and Application. And she not only earned her Executive Certificate in Management and Leadership, but she also began working towards her Executive Certificate in Strategy and Innovation. Within the next year or so, she hopes to achieve the Advanced Certificate for Executives in Management, Innovation, and Technology (ACE).
A Bona Fide Evolution
“I have fully transformed my professional life,” Iqbal explains. “Executive Education has broadened my perspective, and I’ve achieved so much growth professionally. I realized that, before Executive Education, there were project and tasks that I wouldn’t have done. Today, I feel so much more rewarded and more fulfilled in terms of my personal development.”
In addition to looking forward to her forthcoming Executive Education courses, Iqbal is studying for her Doctor’s Degree in Business Administration and Management from the SBS Swiss Business School. Both of these educational experiences are geared toward the application of real life business practices, and Iqbal knows that the combination of will take her even farther in her professional pursuits—hopefully all the way to the senior leadership roles. What’s more, even after she achieves her ACE at MIT Sloan, she intends to continue her relationship with the esteemed institution.
“I will not stop with the ACE program. There is still so much to learn. There is more news, more technologies and new ways of approaching management,” she concludes. “This is the best investment you can make in yourself. It has broadened my horizon. This was a chance for me to look at things differently, and I want to continue on this journey as a lifelong learner.”
Learn more about MIT Sloan Executive Certificates.