Author: Nancy Wise

Kim Killingsworth, Owen’s director of international recruiting and relations, doesn’t let much rattle her as she travels globally to recruit the right students for Vanderbilt’s business programs. The start of the July-through-March recruiting season found her dealing with challenges ranging from tension in Tel Aviv to an airline strike in Argentina and a nonfunctioning ATM card in Rio. Here are some of her thoughts and experiences from the road.

July 12, 2014

I am currently on the last leg of a more than 24-hour trip home from Tel Aviv. I was there for a two-day MBA recruiting fair sponsored by EducationUSA, a U.S. Department of State-sponsored network of educational advisors.

I arrived in Tel Aviv and waited at the airport for my Emory MBA colleague to arrive so we could share a taxi to the hotel. I had been to Tel Aviv for this event last year and prior to that in 2006. I was familiar with the scrutinizing questions at immigration upon arrival and felt I knew the city and culture somewhat.

In other words, I felt perfectly comfortable traveling there in spite of the previous week’s violence. We dropped our bags at the hotel, went up to the roof to see the sunset over the Mediterranean and then jumped in a taxi to head out to dinner. No sooner did we get in than we ended up in a standstill. We asked our driver what was happening. He made an arcing motion with his hand and responded in his limited English, “Syria missiles.” The air raid sirens sounded briefly, the first of four or five air raid warnings we would experience during our few days there. Reading The New York Times later on our cellphones, we discovered the missiles were from Gaza.

The MBA fair was immediately canceled after this incident, but then reinstated 12 hours later and reduced from two days to one. Of the 22 MBA programs that had planned to participate, 13 showed and of those, seven schools had admissions reps with the rest covered by local alumni. Those of us who attended were continually thanked by the local attendees for coming to Israel during this crisis.

I remember one conversation in particular with a young woman who lingered near my table. When I engaged her in conversation about her experience and post-MBA goals, she opened up. She told me she was nervous about the situation because she had completed her military service on a base close to the Gaza Strip and was concerned for her colleagues there. She had been an artificial intelligence officer. She was in the reserves and knew there was a good chance she could get called up.

Overall, we did not experience any obviously tighter security. Locals continued business as usual. Perhaps there were fewer people on the beach as they did not want to be in an exposed area without easy access to bomb shelters. One early morning I was walking on the beach when the sirens sounded. I had to run from the shoreline to crowd into a public restroom with others. In general people, including kids, don’t panic. They seem concerned with getting cellphone photos of the smoke trails of the intercepted missiles. It drove home to me how they are accustomed to this activity.

August 6, 2014

Kim set out on the Latin America leg of her recruiting tour. She visited Santiago, Buenos Aires, Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Lima, Medellin and Bogotá in the nearly three weeks she was away.

On this trip, some of the best conversations I had were with taxi drivers. It started with my arrival into the first city of the trip, Santiago. I had lived there 21 years ago as a Peace Corps volunteer so I always feel nostalgic returning. I arrived near midnight after a full day of flying, and despite just wanting to get to the hotel, I had a very engaging conversation with the driver. As we cruised along the highway, my favorite Mercedes Sosa song came on the radio and I was delighted that we both sang along. It was the perfect welcome back to Chile.

With my taxi driver in Buenos Aires, I had a charming conversation about my two favorite Argentine actors and left the taxi with a list of all the films they acted in together. In a taxi in Bogotá, stopped at a traffic light, we were serenaded by a harp player in the middle of the street.

The primary focus of this tour was MBA recruiting fairs, but when the schedule permits, I conduct Vanderbilt-specific information sessions or sometimes dinners or receptions with alumni to which I invite prospective students. I take advantage of any partnerships I’ve entered into as a way to meet prospectives, such as one with the Medellin-based Sindicato Antioqueño, which is comprised of over 120 Colombian companies including Grupo Suramericana and Bancolombia. Vanderbilt, along with six other schools (only three in the U.S.), presented to employees who will apply for company sponsorship to pursue an MBA abroad.

Of course I’m always open to meeting prospectives in other, informal ways as well. I’ve been known to meet prospectives on flights, which makes sense given the amount of time I spend flying. I find myself often giving educational and career advice to strangers and it usually seems to be appreciated.

My first morning in Santiago, I ended up in a long conversation with my waiter at breakfast. His graduate studies focus on scallop production and I learned more than I ever knew about the industry. We discussed how an MBA might make sense for him after he gets a few years’ work experience. An advising session over a perfectly prepared cortado and Chilean raspberry juice.

At the events, what really makes a difference is having help from alumni. It gives the prospects a perspective they can relate to—somebody who was recently in their shoes and who can speak about the student experience firsthand. I was fortunate to have alumni assistance in Santiago, Rio, Lima and Medellin. Prospects love meeting alumni.

What was particularly rewarding this trip was that I reconnected with candidates who I met a year and a half ago. Enough time had passed since the first Latin America recruiting tour I did for Owen that now students are ready to apply. At the São Paulo fair, I was able to greet the first person who walked up by name. “Eduardo, it’s great to see you. How is the GMAT prep going? Are you going to apply to Owen this year?” Greeting him by name and remembering that he works in agribusiness demonstrated to him that we really do provide a personalized approach at Owen.

The theme of this trip seemed to be the interesting conversations with taxi drivers and dealing with the challenges of international travel—more than what seemed normal on this trip.

For example, I arrived at the city airport in Buenos Aires to chaos—Aerolineas Argentinas (the nation’s largest airline) had gone on strike that morning. There were TV crews filming and lines were a kilometer long. I was told the first available flight to my next destination was 36 hours from then, meaning I would miss my event in the next city. The solution was to buy a ticket on another airline and leave later in the day from a different airport. Leaving the next city, I experienced a five-hour delay for a one-hour flight due to rain.

Then I tripped on the sidewalk in São Paulo and sprained the thumb of my dominant hand—my primary texting digit. I made a splint and taped it up, but then was challenged by the basics of typing, buttoning and opening water bottles. On this trip, my ATM card failed to work in two countries and I found out my banking identity was stolen and used fraudulently.

I’m good at—and enjoy—finding solutions and don’t let these inconveniences get in the way. While I may have to deal on my own with some of the challenges, there are always colleagues with whom to share the stories at the end of the day. A highlight is reconnecting with alumni, educational advisors, colleagues from other schools and friends in the region. Each trip is so different and memorable due to those I meet along the way.

Prior to starting this trip I was still thinking about the young woman I met at the Tel Aviv fair, the former artificial intelligence officer. I sent out a message to all the females I had met at the Tel Aviv event, hoping to send good wishes to that woman and find out if she had indeed been sent to Gaza.

I heard back from almost all but the one woman, saying they weren’t her but they were sure she would appreciate my concern. The responses came in at the beginning of my Latin America trip, then nothing. I assumed she had been sent to Gaza and imagined what that might be like. Then the very last day of my Latin America trip—three weeks later—I received a message from her. She apologized for her late reply but had not yet been sent to Gaza. I felt incredible relief and realized the impact just one candidate’s story can have.

September 2014

After Latin America, Kim Killingsworth returned to Nashville for a few weeks, then took off for three countries in Asia on corporate visits and a few recruiting events—all in 10 days. Part of her work is meeting with decision makers in Asian companies to discuss how the Vanderbilt MBA may fit the companies’ and employees’ professional development needs. She then returned to campus for a couple of weeks before heading out again. She says, “I have my schedule memorized of all my planned trips through the end of the year. You can give me a date between now and then and I know what city I will be in.”

The approximately 50 feet between the Owen Graduate School of Management and Vanderbilt Law School just shrunk a bit as the two schools launched a trans-institutional program that offers students the opportunity to earn a master of finance degree and a law degree at the same time.

Students in Vanderbilt’s new dual J.D./M.S.F. program spend their first two years at Vanderbilt Law School, then take a full semester at the Owen Graduate School of Business and finish with a final semester of both law and finance courses.

The program’s inaugural four students began their Owen portion at the start of the fall 2014 semester. All four were already working on their Vanderbilt law degrees when they were accepted into the one-year master of finance program.

For third-year law student Kevin Saunders, the program combines his two career passions, business and law. He comes from a third-generation family business and earned an undergraduate degree in accounting before deciding on Vanderbilt Law School. He had taken four credit hours at Owen as law electives when he heard that the J.D. and M.S.F. program was in the works.

“I was a huge proponent of the program when I found out about it,” he says. “I was already considering an externship with the SEC in Atlanta but decided to wait, just on the idea that this program might come to fruition.”

Natural partners

The program grew out of discussions between Dean Eric Johnson and Vanderbilt Law School Dean Chris Guthrie shortly after Johnson’s arrival last year. Both deans say that in addition to expanding education in business and law, the program expands a natural partnership between the two schools.

“Owen has long offered courses that introduced business students to legal issues and discussed specific areas of finance that relate heavily to law and legislation,” says Johnson, the Ralph Owen Dean and Bruce D. Henderson Professor of Strategy. “For lawyers heading to Wall Street, understanding markets is critical to building a successful career in financial service.”

Guthrie, who is also the John Wade-Kent Syverud Professor of Law, says that in addition to appealing to students interested in corporate law, the program’s specific finance focus will give them an added edge and opportunities. The J.D./M.S.F. builds on the law school’s existing Law and Business program, he noted, which includes basic principles of finance and accounting, business operations and today’s regulatory environment. That program offers law students a specialization certificate in business; the school also offers a joint J.D./MBA.

“I am excited to have the opportunity to partner with Owen and its terrific faculty, and I am very bullish on the opportunities this joint degree program will create for a select group of Vanderbilt Law students,” Guthrie says.

The J.D./M.S.F. dual degree was one of the fastest programs developed and launched at Vanderbilt. The deans conceptualized it in fall 2013, the curriculum was proposed by late winter 2014, and the degree was approved by both schools’ faculty and the provost in time to start accepting applications in April.

Going forward, interested students will apply to both programs separately and Owen and law school officials will meet to decide who they want to admit to the joint program. All prospective students have to take the GMAT as well as the LSAT and go through the same admissions process as other business and law school students.

Not for slackers

The new dual degree is rigorous, says Kate Barraclough, director of Vanderbilt’s M.S. Finance program. She leads the program and was charged with helping set it up and determining the business school curriculum.

“They’ll take some of our most challenging finance classes, the ones that are the more quantitative classes,” Barraclough says. “When we were putting together this degree—because it’s 24 credit hours opposed to 36 for a standard M.S.F.—we wanted to make sure all those credit hours really counted toward finance.”

The program kicked off in August with the J.D./M.S.F. students joining incoming M.S.F. students for an intensive two-week orientation. “We onboard them with a Finance Economics I class,” Barraclough says. “That’s kind of a level set for people who don’t have a finance background versus people that do—we do it very quickly in two weeks.” In mod I and II, they take the same classes as the M.S.F. students but also add an additional elective. “This is going to be a big mod for them because the typical load is four,” Barraclough says. “Taking five is a lot. It’s very intense.”

Worth the work

Barraclough says she’s interested in discovering how the class dynamic is different with the addition of the law students. “I think they bring a little more maturity,” she says, noting that most M.S.F. students are younger than the typical law student. “My sense from the law school early on in this process is that they feel that these are really some of their best students. It is an interesting mix—I have 41 M.S.F.s and four J.D./M.S.F.s.”

The four inaugural students see the value in having a master of finance degree as well as a law degree. Over the summer, Saunders completed a 10-week law internship with BakerHostetler in Cleveland. He worked on a variety of projects, including work involving project finance, mergers and acquisition, buyouts and IPOs. He feels that the J.D./M.S.F. will increase his knowledge and allow him to further relate to clients.

“Clients with law firms like lawyers that understand their business,” he says. “That was apparent to me even as a summer intern. The hard finance knowledge will really be valuable.”

We invited five alumni across four decades to participate in a roundtable discussion about leadership. We asked one question: What did you learn about leadership at Owen? The conversation went like this:

On collaboration

Jim Rodrigues: Effective leadership is almost an intangible of being able to get people—whether it’s your peer group or people who report to you—to follow you, follow instructions and understand. In my opinion, it’s got to be collaborative, not a directive.

Erika Bogar King: Right, you want leadership to be effortless. You want it to be collaborative, for it to be a team effort versus a power effort.

Derek Young: From my standpoint, the best leaders are those who really are able to take their entire teams and feel like they’ve got them all behind them with everything they’re doing in every way.

Corbette Doyle: It doesn’t matter what your role is. I think that leaders are at all levels of the organization and they influence people to achieve something.

Erika Bogar King: All of us come to MBA school wanting to learn how to conquer the world and how to be CEO one day. You show up and one of your first classes is Leading Teams and Organizations. What that course really teaches you is that there’s such a thing as leadership at all levels. A lot of that, frankly, played out in our two years as we worked with the different people on different teams in each of our different courses.

On trust

Mario Avila: What came to mind were, obviously, influence and being authentic. I think that as leaders we’re constantly challenged—especially when we’re talking to our teams—to make sure that what we ask them to do is authentic. I think the critical point is trust. It’s building trust, having those directives come from an honest place. It’s coaching, and working with people to make sure they’re understanding.

Derek Young: The thing I love about Owen is that we’re a school that, at the end of the day, really puts leaders out there who are trusted. From my standpoint, it’s part of the personality of the school.

Mario Avila: I think it’s also the way this whole program has been structured. You can’t hide here. Talk about trust and building trust! When you’re in a school that only has 170, 180 students within that MBA class, you can’t hide. You have to be yourself so people can trust you so you can all get through.

Corbette Doyle: I think one of the reasons Owen has been able to build that kind of culture is that it “discovered” the importance of groups long before it became the buzzword in most B-schools. Owen’s always had a strong focus on group work and succeeding as a team. Well, it takes a lot of work to learn how to be an effective group member, and learning how to influence without authority is a real skill.

Jim Rodrigues: The theme that I’m hearing is that (the trust and the relational nature of the Owen experience) has given us all confidence. It’s contagious. It allows us to be better at what we do and bring our teams up and foster that kind of similar environment as we had here.

On listening

Jim Rodrigues: Communications is a big part of that—listening to what people want and reaching out. I was given some advice years ago and now I follow it almost to a T: Take your employees out to lunch once a quarter. You learn so much more about your team and what they really need in just listening through 45 minutes, an hour. … You really get your pulse on what’s going on in the organization. To me, it’s not a leadership thing, it’s just listening.

Corbette Doyle: I think listening is a big part of leadership. We talked earlier about the importance of building trust: Well, how do you build trust? As a leader, that’s not an easy thing to do. So taking people out to lunch and having casual conversations is one way to try to bring those barriers down.

On reflection

Corbette Doyle: One of the things that I’ve learned since I left here—and I think current Owen students are learning—is the power of reflection. It’s not just managing down and up if you actually want to be successful. It’s taking a step back and saying, “What did I learn from this, good or bad, and what am I going to do about it going forward?”

Jim Rodrigues: When you are able to reflect, you are able to better communicate and coach your team—whether it’s peers, those working for you or those managing you. I really take it to heart that a leader is one who really looks at the big picture. I think Owen does a really great job of making sure that we do take that step back, look at the big picture and what’s best for you and your progression.

On doing it all

Jim Rodrigues: The higher you go up, the more diverse your skill set has to be because you’re ultimately a sales person for your vision, for the product, for people to believe in themselves at work. You’ve got to be able to do all of it to manage those people. That’s where the diversity of coursework has really made us a stronger alumni group when we go into the workforce.

Erika Bogar King: Recognizing as a leader what your strengths are and then surrounding yourself with people who have the things you don’t is so huge.

Corbette Doyle: As a leader, it’s becoming increasingly critical that we not only have all the things we’ve talked about, but that we also value differences. And I think that learning agility, that ability to be resilient, to be reflective, to learn from your experiences, to be open to other experiences, is critical.

Jim Rodrigues: To be a real leader, you can’t have an ego because you have to communicate with so many people and transition your message to make the same point but make sure it’s heard by every level.

Mario Avila: Until you mentioned this, I didn’t really think about it, but you talk about these circles that are created within Owen. We build these bonds as almost family and we take it to the workplace. We know that’s an effective way to lead an organization.

Derek Young: I do feel like there’s a diversity in what we do here at Owen that makes us unique … it’s a different approach. There’s not an entitlement that comes from graduating from Owen. It’s every day you get out there and you earn it. You earn the respect of those that work for you.

Watch video at vu.edu/owen-leaderrt

Editor’s note: The roundtable discussion was edited for space.