2017 IBD Draft; Team Leads Select Their Four Team Members
A sea of resumes covered the IBD classroom tables on February 16th as Full-Time MBA Team Leads and their Faculty Mentors from four categories of IBD projects (Wild Card, Technology, Social Impact, and Retail and Consumer) met to identify and draft four additional Team Members for each IBD team. The Team Leads were looking for the perfect balance of talent and experience to round out their individual IBD teams.
As the IBD Team Member draft proceeded, there was no drama or contention, and everyone came out of the process not only as friends but team allies. While Team Leads looked out for their own team’s interest, they also kept in mind what worked best for their fellow Team Lead’s teams.
“It’s all about balance,” said one Team Lead when asked about her strategy. “The goal is making the best team for all of us.”
It was a very collaborative process across all four project categories. In addition to keeping an eye on their own team’s needs, individual IBD Team Leads looked out for the interests of the incoming Team Members. There was a considerable amount of internal group discussion to make sure that each Team Member was assigned to his or her best project based on previously expressed project preferences. Personal insights and class awareness also played a role in team selection: in many cases the Team Leads said to each other that a certain potential Team Member “would be perfect” for another Team Lead – sharing their knowledge of that individual’s strengths as a project candidate and how that person could positively affect the project team.
In the end, all of the Team Leads appeared pleased with the selection of their respective Team Members. Overheard was this comment about the overall draft process: “I love my team. That was way better than I thought it would be. Our group was extremely supportive and made sure we all got the skills we needed to be successful.”
Next on the agenda for the Team Leads is making a short video that will introduce the newest Team Members to their respective projects. These individual video presentations will be shared on March 2nd at the “Big Reveal” IBD class, during which incoming Team Members will learn about their IBD project, as well as their Team Lead, Faculty Mentor, client, and project destination. Here in the IBD program, we can’t wait for March 2nd. Stay tuned for more!
