The first term of the Executive MBA was as expected, busy and full on. Back studying while balancing work and life was a big change, so the Achieving Your Potential (AYP) weekend came at the right point to be able to reflect on the last six months, and take time to understand the direction that the MBA was helping to lead me in.

Organised by Cass Careers and iOpener, AYP is a weekend off site and outside London, giving the whole cohort real space to rediscover goals, to connect them with the learnings from the MBA so far and align them with future ambitions to maximise, as the title suggests, your potential. This is everything and more from what I gained from the weekend.

Coming from a background in luxury fashion product development and production in small-medium size companies, I chose to undertake the MBA to further my career with the goal of being a COO. However, having experienced a lot of change and challenges over the last few years within my roles, I had lost some clarity, especially with the new knowledge and skills I had learnt from the course.

The different elements of the weekend allowed me to process in a way to help strengthen my on-going development and learning, with a better ability to assess the future, where my drive was and what motivated me. Talking through “Strengths”, “The Happiness Model” and “Values and Purpose”, really gave me clarity to help me move forward with my career goals for the future, and while looking at situations through “The Sphere of Control and Influence” it really put things into perspective and gave me an opportunity to look at things from a different angle.

Not all elements were focused on personal insights. Workshops on “Coaching”, allowed me to develop new skills that I will be able to apply right away within my day-to-day, which is invaluable in being able to become a better leader.

The benefit of working with different cohort members was a lovely experience, bonding with people in a new way, and overall bringing the whole class closer together. The support and judgement free set up of AYP, allowed for an openness which helped maximise the most from the weekend.

For me the AYP weekend, was, as simple as it sounds, just what I needed, time to reflect and take solace in where I had been, understand how these plus the MBA are supporting learning experiences to guide you toward the future to achieving your full and true potential.

Victoria Hind, Executive MBA (2021)