UMKC’s MBA coach finds success in the classroom, not on the court

Kansas City Star: UMKC's MBA coach finds success in the classroom, not on the court

Nice piece on the work my sister is doing.

Coaches Bill Self, Frank Martin and Mike Anderson are household names in the Kansas City area. But there’s another successful college coach who has nothing to do with dribbling, passing or shooting a basketball.

Sandra Kruse-Smith has been coaching students in UMKC’s Henry W. Bloch School of Business and Public Administration’s executive MBA program since 2005.

“I work with students to help them apply what they learn in the classroom to specific problems they may be facing at work,” she said.

Or as Joan Gallos, academic director for the program, put it: “We want to have a program that is relevant to our students’ career success, so what they learn on Saturday they can apply on Monday.”

A coach is so valuable in part because the program’s mission is different from that of a typical MBA, she said.

“What distinguishes an executive MBA is the emphasis on application and integration of knowledge,” Gallos said. “Every degree program teaches students various models and frameworks, best practices and understanding across various business disciplines. But even if you learn something, you may not necessarily be able to integrate it into your workplace. Translating theory into practice can be difficult.”

Leaders at the Bloch school were wrestling with that challenge in 2005 when they ran across “Developing Business Leaders for 2010,” a report published by the Conference Board.

“This report listed … qualities that are necessary to be successful and keep your career from derailing,” Kruse-Smith said. “The majority of those skills are related to interpersonal relationships and communications.” …