EMBA Alum Success Story: Holly Firestine

The following interview with Holly Firestine, Vice President and Chief of Staff at Navvis Healthcare and 2016 KSU Executive MBA graduate appeared in our recent Alumni newsletter. I am sharing on LinkedIn as it is relevant to individuals considering an Executive MBA and insightful to those looking to advance their career.

 What motivated you to pursue your Executive MBA at Kennesaw State? I had been considering pursuing my MBA since my late-20's but seemed to always find reasons why it wasn’t a good idea to pursue it at that moment. The next thing I knew I was in my mid-40's, and still hadn’t acted upon this longstanding desire. When I socialized the idea, I had people tell me I was too old and/or too far in my career to get any kind of return on the investment. Somewhat discouraged, I reflected on a family picture with my uncle holding me as a baby at my grandma’s graduation. She pursued her graduate degree in education, and graduated at the age of 62. I knew it wasn’t too late. I worked an incredibly demanding job, had a husband and two small children but still knew that classroom learning and the interactions it would provide with professors and other classmates would be critical for me. KSU’s EMBA program was a clear choice for me with its unique curriculum, schedule, and emphasis on teaming and global leadership. The professors I met were highly credentialed yet approachable and dedicated to my success. In addition, the team culture and networking opportunities were unbeatable when I compared KSU’s EMBA program to others in Georgia.

What are your driving leadership principles? Seek first to understand, then to be understood, and be open to new ideas that you haven’t authored. I used to think that I was listening openly until I received feedback on a 360 assessment during the EMBA program. I learned that colleagues thought I heard them and my door was always open but while I ‘heard’ their ideas, I didn’t listen openly and would immediately start to verbally evaluate them and identify potential challenges that would come from implementing those ideas. Now I listen intently and openly, and never say no when an idea is initially presented.

To what would you attribute your career success? I attribute my success to having an idea and a plan of what I ultimately wanted to achieve professionally, but also staying open to divergent paths that presented themselves along the way. Working as the Sr. Director of Global Operations at a healthcare startup in Southeast Asia which resulted in my living for a month every quarter in Malaysia and Singapore was not part of my ‘career plan’. When the opportunity came out of nowhere, I listened and evaluated the position and experience I would gain from a long-term perspective, and am so glad that I did. Because I’ve been flexible with my career path and the types of opportunities and challenges I’ve accepted, I’ve been able to work in a variety of countries, industries, departments and positions. 

What is your lasting impression of the KSU EMBA Program? Though I’m no longer in Georgia, my relationships with my professors and former teammates and classmates have transcended beyond the program, classes, and my graduation. I’m still surprised at how applicable my classroom learning is to my actual work. Even as an adult, I had sat through a class or two thinking that there was only an outside chance that I would use what I was learning in the future in my work. In my current role, within months, I was in a meeting with our CEO and Board of Directors when a discussion came up that directly correlated to a business concept I had learned in one of those ‘I’ll never need to know that information’ classes.

Do you have any advice for a recent graduate of the program looking to elevate their career position? Have a high 'curiosity quotient'. Curiosity encourages learning and shows genuine interest and openness to business and leadership perspectives that may be different than yours. Your ability to collaborate effectively with other leaders, advance a shared vision that enables the company to succeed, and also illustrate how you create value by what you do and how you do it each day will help set the stage for your professional advancement to higher levels within an organization.

Have a sense of direction about where you want to go professionally but stay open to possibilities that may not have been on your radar or part of your 'career plan'. Network inside and outside of your company, and find a great mentor that is at the level you ultimately want to reach professionally. Don't be afraid to try and connect with people that you may not know that are at a level you aspire to reach someday. Your network of current and past classmates and current and past work colleagues can be great resources for this. Finally, work hard, stay humble, and help others along the way.