Embarking on an MBA journey isn’t solely about amplifying your professional horizons. As Karolis Navickas discovered, the experience can serve as a powerful catalyst for personal growth. From embracing cultural diversity in Hong Kong to navigating the vibrant business landscape of New York, his HKU MBA journey offered valuable lessons in self-understanding and resilience.
From an increased salary to exciting job prospects, an MBA is the ticket to a brighter career for many people. But can an MBA also foster personal growth?
Karolis Navickas used his MBA to boost his career and eventually became a CEO. But looking back, his MBA was also a key catalyst for his personal development. “You need to know what you want from your MBA,” he says. “For me, it was personal growth, but I did not know until I finished my MBA that it was personal growth for me.” (09:57)
To understand how the MBA helped his personal development, let’s turn the clock back to 2016. Karolis has just become an advisor to an important government official—a very important one, actually: the Prime Minister of Lithuania.
Karolis says that landing such a prestigious job gave him a real “push” to keep moving forward in his career. After a few years of alternating between roles in the private and public sectors, he eventually decided that he needed an MBA to take his career to the next level.
Personal growth would come later. For now, Karolis was focused on continuing his education and swapping Lithuania for Hong Kong.
Karolis’ decision to enroll in an MBA program at HKU, Hong Kong University, was born out of a desire to understand different cultures. In many ways, Hong Kong is the perfect place to do that. With ties to both British and Chinese culture, it’s often seen as a middle ground between the East and the West. Getting an MBA in Hong Kong allows students to learn how to approach business from both perspectives.
Karolis first truly experienced Asian business culture during his internship with Deloitte. There were more than 500 people on his floor, but only one other European. The internship turned out to be a valuable cultural experience.
“For me, the [European] girl, and those Asian people, it was a cultural difference and cultural shock to see new people from different backgrounds working on the same content,” he explains. “And I think for me and others it gave an opportunity to learn from other cultures and to learn different practices of management.” (03:06)
Being exposed to new people, a new environment, and a new work style triggered Karolis’ personal growth. It helped him understand how to communicate with people from different parts of the world and learn how they worked compared to him. You could say that his personal growth, which started in the MBA program, accelerated on that floor at Deloitte.
In an HKU MBA class, you’re exposed to people from various cultural backgrounds. But there’s also diversity in terms of work experience. Karolis says there were people from the casino industry, accounting, and private equity investment. It meant different opinions, fresh perspectives, and new ways of tackling problems. (06:36)
It helped Karolis realize that there were different ways of doing things. He started approaching problems from different angles, communicating with colleagues differently, and understanding new ways to manage people.
The diversity in the HKU MBA also taught Karolis that learning during an MBA doesn’t only come from your lecturers. In fact, you’ll learn every bit as much from your peers as you will from the faculty members.
“It’s 50/50,” says Karolis. “You learn a lot from the practical experience in the lectures. But on the other hand, having lunch, breakfast, and working in the coaching sessions, you’ll learn a lot from those people and different practices. Because they have experience in Korea, in Lithuania, in Spain, in Peru… and you can expose yourself and understand different cultures.” (07:15)
But Karolis’ exploration of new cultures didn’t stop there. While HKU students complete their core modules in Hong Kong, they can spend a semester at Columbia Business School in the United States.
Thanks to the HKU MBA’s New York track, Karolis had the chance to expand his global business experience. Despite the geographical distance, Karolis actually saw plenty of similarities between the fast-paced way of life in Hong Kong and New York.
“In New York City, it’s very fast-paced with a hustle,” says Karolis. “I would say that people try to make money at every single corner, and you need to be very rapid and focused in order to make decisions. Otherwise someone else will create unique chances and you will not use those chances.” (04:34)
New York is considered to be one of the most multicultural cities in the world. It meant Karolis was exposed to even more diversity than ever before. His experience in New York gave him invaluable insights into how other people work. He used those learnings to grow as a person.
“There are similarities and differences between Europe and Asia,” he says. “I would say in general people are the same, but the way how they work is different.” (03:30)
Reflecting on the benefits of his personal growth, Karolis points to his current role as the CEO of Trinity Homes Group.
In 2022, he was at a networking event in Philadelphia. Another attendee of the event approached and asked what Karolis could do for him. But instead of selling himself, Karolis instead asked how the man could help him. It had become a natural reaction for Karolis to stand up for himself, and the other attendee appreciated that approach. Their connection grew from there, and the pair would go on to found Trinity Homes together.
Karolis believes that prior to his MBA, he might’ve acted differently in this situation. An MBA gave him the confidence to believe in himself. “I think this kind of feeling in myself was the overall result of my MBA in HKU and CBS,” he says. (09:24)
But perhaps more than anything, an MBA has helped Karolis to simply live in the moment. He enjoys what he does and believes that the MBA contributed to this personal growth. He’s happy and enjoying life. And that might be the greatest benefit of all.
“I’m very happy doing my job, being [there] for my family and enjoying sun or flowers or anything around me. So it’s very calm for me right now, to be present and not thinking about past things or future things – just enjoy them all,” he smiles. (11:00)
If you would like to learn more about the HKU MBA, feel free to reach out to one of our HKU ambassadors. They’ll be happy to answer any questions you have.
