The Women’s Leadership Excellence program is a great example of how we do this. Specifically tailored to women stepping into senior leadership positions, the program addresses the unique challenges women may face in industries traditionally dominated by men and provides the tools required to overcome them.

It does this by providing a unique blend of networking opportunities, leadership development, coaching, and confidence-building activities. Participants are encouraged to explore and embrace their unique leadership strengths, learn to overcome behaviors and beliefs that limit their growth, and leverage professional networks to help them reach their full leadership potential.

In order to shine a light on the learning experiences at the core of our executive education programs, we caught up with Melissa Mayr to learn about the program’s impact on her professional development.

Melissa’s story 

What initially attracted you to our Women’s Leadership Excellence program?

Melissa: “I wanted to educate myself and participate in a Leadership Training as far back as a year ago, as it was my next goal in my professional career to be an executive with a team leading position. As I strongly believe in female empowerment, equal pay, and other related topics for women in business, I wanted to work on this with people who might have experienced the same – women – and also work on myself to improve my skills and grow not only as a (future) leader, but also personally.”

Can you describe your expectations before starting the program and how they evolved throughout the course?

Melissa: “I was hoping to ‘get inspired’ by other female leaders who might share their struggles or experience, as I strongly believe in learning from each other and each other’s ‘mistakes’. In the end, it was much more than I expected.

The coaches were so well-prepared and had studied our input in the bio tool and tests; the diversity in the group was truly showing – anything is possible, be it as a mum of four or from any kind of (personal) background. Every session, I was getting more and more positively surprised about the fellow participants as well as myself.”

How did the program impact your leadership skills and career trajectory?

Melissa: “The program significantly impacted my personal growth and particularly affected how I handle situations and learning to ask for help. As Nan said on the final day of the program, she was sure we would all become great female leaders. This proved to be true sooner than I expected with my promotion at the beginning of this year.”

What specific aspects of the Women’s Leadership Excellence program did you find most valuable or impactful?

Melissa: “I loved the improv and acting coaches – it was also one of the agenda points I had least expected to be part of. But it was not only very much fun and active, but also enabled the group to ‘play’ through some of the professional challenges. Which was very great, I think.”

From leadership to finance

Following her time on the Women’s Leadership Excellence program, Melissa then went on to enroll in a very different executive education program – Finance for Executives. This program has a very different but no less specific goal as it attempts to demystify this topic for leaders from non-finance backgrounds. We caught up with Melissa again to find out more about her first-hand experiences on the program.

Following your participation in the Women’s Leadership Excellence program, what motivated you to enroll in our Finance for Executives program?

Melissa: “The very high quality of the program – both content and coaches – made me want to ‘learn more’. I believe that education is so powerful, and I am very lucky and thankful to have this opportunity and support from my company (Allianz Partners) and my bosses.”

How do you believe the Finance for Executives program has complemented your skills and knowledge acquired from the Women’s Leadership Excellence program?

Melissa: “The programs could probably not be more different – from coaching and acting classes to calculating formulas – however, the group was so great that it was really fun to play with the numbers and to get a better understanding of finance. What I really liked was the welcoming coaches and their patience. Even the smartest professor had understanding for the most trivial finance questions. This made me feel free to ask – and learn.”

Were there any particular moments or lessons from the Finance for Executives program that stood out to you?

Melissa: “The group sessions where we discussed the methods of calculating what was asked and the moment of happiness and feeling of success when we had the same understanding. It was also great to see that we all had the same level, so no one felt ‘stupid’.”

In what ways do you think participating in both programs has enhanced your overall professional capabilities?

Melissa: “Professional and personal growth is always possible and in any kind of field – be it in soft skills or in numbers.”

How would you describe the environment and learning experience within our executive education programs?

Melissa: “The environment is not only highly professional but also warm and welcoming – human, so to say. I felt very well supported – thank you to all the coaches again.”

What advice would you offer to professionals considering enrolling in our executive education programs?

Melissa: “Do it! Educate yourself, in particular in fields that you are maybe not most comfortable with – to be able to speak the same language with colleagues in other departments, your peers, or team members.”

Interested in joining an executive education program at ESMT Berlin? Find out more here.