Why Are Senior Women Professionals Choosing ISB Executive MBA?

Kruttika Kulkarni, a 15-year global pricing manager at Garrett (formerly Honeywell) heading to ISB PGPMAX, and Madhusmita, an 11-year technical specialist at Hexaware Technologies heading to ISB PGPPro, discuss the decision to invest in professional education at the senior leadership stage — overcoming imposter syndrome that held them back from promotions they were qualified for, navigating the dual challenge of career ambition and motherhood, and why authentic leadership style is a competitive advantage rather than a weakness to be corrected.

The conversation about women in executive MBA programmes often defaults to two narratives: the barrier-breaking story ("she succeeded despite the obstacles") or the equality story ("gender doesn't matter in admissions"). Both miss the more nuanced reality that Kruttika and Madhusmita articulate: senior women professionals face a specific combination of internal and external challenges — imposter syndrome, the pressure to be "perfect" at both work and home, and organisational cultures that are improving but have not yet arrived — that make the decision to invest in an executive MBA both more difficult and more consequential than it is for many of their male peers.

This is not a victimhood narrative. Both women are clear that their careers have been merit-based and that their organisations have provided opportunities. The insight is subtler: the internal barriers — self-doubt, perfectionism, reluctance to claim space — are often more limiting than external barriers, and the executive MBA serves as much as a confidence intervention as an educational one.

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What Drives a 15-Year Veteran and an 11-Year Veteran to Pursue an Executive MBA?

Kruttika's motivation came from a specific career transition need — from operational excellence to strategic thinking.

"After 15 years, I felt the real need to invest in myself. This experience has been the biggest investment. I've been in a very operational sphere all this while, and I've probably inadvertently gained expertise in operational execution. But what I am now looking for from this educational course is a bit of strategic insight."

"It's very difficult when you're leading a particular function to gain strategic skills on the job. My biggest takeaway from this course in the next two years would be strategic insight — and of course, the peer group."

Madhusmita's motivation was a planned career transition from technical execution to product management.

"Somewhere along the way, I felt like I belong more to the client management or the product management side than the development area. Eleven years down the line, it is not a point to start from scratch — there should be a strong educational backup to up my own skills and move up the ladder."

"I thought that this could be a now-or-never chance. As years go by, maybe I'll be facing different challenges and I wouldn't be able to take up an educational break."

Both motivations share a common structure: the recognition that on-the-job learning has plateaued, and that the next career stage requires structured education that cannot be replicated through work experience alone.

For senior professionals evaluating executive MBA options, see ISB PGPMAX vs PGPPro, ISB PGPPro application guide, and comparing ISB executive MBA programmes.

How Does Imposter Syndrome Affect Career Progression?

Kruttika's candour about self-doubt provides a perspective rarely heard in MBA admit stories.

"In terms of moving up the ladder, it's been a very level playing field for me. I've been fortunate that I've been given those opportunities. I took them wherever I felt I was confident."

"It could have been even much better had those little inhibitions not been there. My own self-confidence or some self-doubt that held me back from taking higher positions."

"Nowadays, it's called this famous imposter syndrome — where you doubt whether you'll be able to do it or not. And when organisations want that confidence from you, and if you lack that confidence, you start to lose out on opportunities."

This admission — that a 15-year veteran at a global company held herself back from higher positions due to self-doubt rather than organisational barriers — reframes the executive MBA's value proposition. For professionals like Kruttika, the MBA is not primarily about technical business knowledge. It is about the credential-backed confidence to claim the leadership positions they are already qualified for.

"That's what I'm also aiming for from this educational course — that little self-confidence or that belief in yourself. I think a brand and an executive course like that just endorses that belief in yourself."

Madhusmita echoed this pattern: "Whenever I have proved myself, I have got the opportunities. But we have this feeling of being perfect in both professional and personal level. When sometimes I felt like if I dedicate a lot of time at my work, then I'll be missing out on giving time to my kid at home. So, these were the times when I had to take a step back. And which is why the growth slows down a little because we like to balance everything."

For women professionals exploring executive MBA options, see executive MBA from ISB and ISB PGPPro essays guide.

How Do You Navigate the MBA Decision as a Mother?

Both Kruttika (mother of a toddler) and Madhusmita (mother of a six-year-old) made this decision while managing active parenting responsibilities.

"It's not going to be an easy decision because I'm also a mother of a toddler. It's really juggling with many things on your hand. But I know it's going to be a worthwhile decision."

"I am a mother to a six-year-old. It was again a tough decision. But I thought that as and when years go by, maybe I'll be facing different challenges and I wouldn't be able to take up an educational break at that point."

The "now or never" framing is not dramatic — it is pragmatic. For women professionals in their thirties and forties with young children, the window for a career-transforming educational investment is genuinely constrained. Children get older, career responsibilities increase, and the opportunity cost of stepping away (even partially, as executive programmes allow) grows over time.

The decision to proceed despite these constraints is itself a form of leadership — one that models for their children and peers that professional investment is not incompatible with family commitment.

Watch the full conversation on the GOALisB YouTube channel: Women Trailblazers — ISB Executive MBA

Why Is Authentic Leadership Style a Competitive Advantage?

Kruttika's most powerful insight challenges a deeply embedded assumption about leadership.

"I've always been told that be more assertive — you don't need to be very nice always, you don't need to be liked by everybody. We understand that, but sometimes that's just your unique leadership style, that's just your unique way of getting things done."

"That's where I'm using the word authentic — because that is me, that is how I am. If that is your unique style, stick to it. It'll work for you."

"It's taken me a long time to be okay with this thought — that if I'm not as assertive as my male colleague, if I can't say no so easily, then I'm not good enough. It's not the case. I can even politely say no, or I can say no in different ways, but that's just my style."

This reframing — from "I need to be more assertive" to "my collaborative approach is a valid and effective leadership style" — is significant. The corporate advice ecosystem often conflates leadership with a specific communication style (direct, assertive, confrontational) that happens to correlate with male-dominant leadership norms. Kruttika's insight is that effectiveness is the measure of leadership, not stylistic conformity.

Madhusmita added a complementary perspective: "Everybody needs to understand their own potentials. One has to first understand their own potential and then build confidence around that. We cannot keep listening to everybody and building opinions on others' opinions. There has to be a point where I have to have my own opinion."

"When you get a promotion, there would be peers who would have a certain opinion — that you got the promotion because you're a woman. We should not take too much pressure about that. It's better to invest time in the work I'm doing. Eventually, somebody agrees or not, it depends on them."

What Is the Role of Organisational Sensitivity in Women's Career Growth?

Kruttika raised a point that is rarely discussed in MBA admissions contexts but is central to the career realities of senior women professionals.

"I think it's the sensitivity in the organisation around women employees. It's on a growing path — it's improving, but we are not there yet."

"When we're taking up a higher role, a bigger role, it often conflicts with your personal life. It's very normal and very natural. But in that case, sometimes the organisation also needs to step up to say that it's okay if you're not making the numbers or if you're not up to the expectation. That kind of an environment is yet to be established in all organisations."

"At workplace, it is absolutely merit-based, and it should not change — totally of that opinion. But outside, at home, it's not yet a level playing field."

This distinction — merit-based at work, unequal at home — captures a structural reality that affects career decisions. The executive MBA, in this context, serves not just as a credential but as a structured forcing function: it creates a defined period during which professional development is the explicit priority, providing both the framework and the social permission to invest deeply in career growth.

What Advice Do Senior Women Professionals Have for Aspiring Leaders?

Both women converge on a principle: trust your instincts.

Madhusmita: "At some point, you have to understand what you feel is right and then take a stand on that. The confidence in our own thoughts is something that will take us ahead."

Kruttika: "Be authentic. Go by your gut feeling. I think we often ignore that. Let's not be so bogged down by failures, but trust your instinct. I think that's the biggest power we have as women."

For MBA aspirants exploring ISB executive programmes, see ISB PGPMAX vs PGPPro comparison, ISB PGPPro vs IIMB weekend MBA, and which IIM is best for executive MBA.

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Key Takeaways for Senior Women Professionals Considering Executive MBA

• Imposter syndrome is more limiting than organisational barriers for many senior women professionals. Recognise it as a pattern, not a personality trait.

• The executive MBA serves as a confidence intervention as much as an educational one — the brand endorses the belief in yourself that self-doubt has been undermining.

• The "now or never" calculus is real. The window for career-transforming education narrows as children grow older and career responsibilities compound.

• Authentic leadership style is a competitive advantage. Collaborative, empathetic approaches are as effective as assertive ones — do not conform to stylistic expectations that do not match who you are.

• Merit at work and inequality at home coexist. The executive MBA provides a structured framework for professional investment that creates social permission to prioritise career growth.

• Strategic insight cannot be gained purely on the job after 10-15 years of operational excellence. Structured education fills a specific gap that experience alone cannot.

• Trust your instincts and build confidence in your own opinions. The pressure to validate decisions through others' approval is a trap that slows career progression.

This conversation is part of the GOALisB Women Trailblazers series, featuring senior women professionals navigating leadership transitions through ISB PGPMAX, ISB PGPPro, and other top executive MBA programmes. Connect with GOALisB to discuss your profile and executive MBA strategy.