Read This And Erase Any Doubts About Getting an Executive Education While Working Full-Time

Time is the most precious commodity—and in business, as the saying goes, time is money.

As a mid-career executive planning to embark upon an Executive MBA program, it’s natural to feel squeamish about negotiating time away from your day job. Whether or not your employer is willing to contribute to your executive education in the form of financial sponsorship, he or she will have to give you both time and flexibility—and be willing to commit to that sponsorship in a written statement to your university. Here are a few tips from Ivy Exec expert Gayle Rigione on how to ensure that you and your employer have a smooth transition into your EMBA program.

Start early

When it comes to communication with your employer, start early.

“When you’re contemplating an EMBA it’s not a snap decision,” says Rigione, Director of Strategic Development for Ivy Exec. “It’s something that you approach mindfully over a long period of time. Since you have that lead time, it’s important to make your boss an ally in the venture because you’re going to need his or her support over the course of your EMBA program.”

Rigione emphasizes that having an ally in your manager—or another key mentor within your organization—should be your top priority when pursuing an Executive MBA.

Approach your manager in the early stages of your EMBA application or before you even begin. This is also a great opportunity to discuss your long terms goals both for yourself and for your eventual contribution to your company after you complete your degree.

“Every action you take in a corporation signals something: your reliability, your ambition, your commitment,” explains Rigione. “You want the management to know you’re committed and ambitious and will do whatever it takes to groom yourself to move forward.”

As such, Rigione says that signaling your intention to pursue an Executive MBA can be “a bit of positive, personal PR” within your organization.

Notify HR

It may be in your best interest to loop in your company’s HR department as you embark on your journey to an EMBA. If you find that your manager is resisting your request for flexibility, you may wish to learn more about your company’s policies on the matter so you can be aware of what is reasonable for you to ask,

“Make it clear in that situation that you tried to have this discussion with your manager,” Rigione advises, noting that the meeting with HR should be amicable and not be done in a way that could potentially antagonize your supervisor. Even if your manager has been supportive of your decision, Rigione says that keeping your HR department updated on your plans could be an important part of making the company aware of your intentions to grow your skillset and your future scheduling needs.

Schedule routine touch-bases

When first negotiating your EMBA time commitments with your boss, offer to meet monthly or bi-monthly for a lunch in which you share some of the lessons you’ve learned or contacts you’ve made that are most applicable for your company. Then, stick to the plan. It’s easy to let this obligation slip into a bulleted email update but that will not breed the same kind of emotional investment in your growth that your employer might otherwise feel.

By bringing your employer to the table—literally—on your EMBA path, you will generate discussions and meaningful interactions you might never otherwise have had with your boss. In this way, you might find that what had seemed to be an inconvenience—your need for flexibility—has become a positive, by giving you a powerful way to connect with your employer and offer new insights and ideas from your education.

In this way, your time off the clock does not become a mysterious black hole where your previous obligations disappear. Instead, you show your employer examples of how you will be able to contribute with even greater gusto and knowledge in the future.