Helen Ioannidis ’17

I walked into Yale SOM for an admissions session the first time, and it felt like home. The integrated core curriculum matched my employer’s needs and initiatives, and I’ve been able to expand my network, as well as advance my understanding of my sector. One of the courses that was most helpful was Power and Politics. It’s a leadership class that really helped me understand the ways in which my own leadership style in the workplace was impacting my performance. We studied cases about current C-suite level executives, their styles, and their careers. Then we looked at techniques that can help us better shape our own behaviors to become more effective leaders. 

At Yale SOM, we learn how to think critically and ask the right questions. One of our professors in the Future of Global Finance course, Professor Garten, talks about how big your box has to be when it comes to the information you need to grasp to be able to solve a business situation. Where do you draw the line and what are the relevant questions? This approach has helped me become more discerning. I can now look at a report and identify issues that before I couldn’t. And that, in itself, has helped me to be more efficient and, as a leader, to spend more time motivating and coaching instead of trying to interpret data.

The return on investment from this program is significant, whether you stay in your current role or move onto a different one. The value add is the ability to be more efficient in the implementation of strategy—being able to find the right information, understand the outside world, and effectively communicate. We focus a lot on how to motivate and coach people. I’m able to apply a lot of these learnings to help my employees develop new skills and move forward in their careers, which is something that I take pride in. It’s why I love what I do.