Malcolm Werchota

Malcolm Werchota, Austria
Full-Time MBA Class of 2021
LinkedIn

Academic Roles, Achievements and Activities

President, ESADE MBA Organization & Human Capital Club
-Building teams for success
-Harmonising Leadership Style
-Customer focused decision making
-Ambitious, Polite and Flexible
-Managerial competency
-Developing others
-Conflict Management
-Inspirational Leadership

What is invisible but essential about YOU? or ESADE? or Barcelona?

To move to Barcelona for the ESASE MBA, with, or without the family – that is the question.

While applying for the ESADE university, I had not yet thought about the way forward with my family. We have a little family with two small children, Sophia and Camila, who both love Vienna. My little daughter Camila loves her Kindergarten situated next to the Danube. My other one, Sophia, is quite small, yet already connects with the children at the playground next to the flat. Both enjoy our afternoons spent cycling along the Danube, running around in the wine yards on the outskirts of Vienna and obviously their small Wiener Schnitzels.

Once I was accepted, it hit me. What should I do? Shall I move my entire family from Vienna to Barcelona? Shall we relocate all the furniture and belongings out of the flat, in which we just moved into one year ago? Shall we disroot the family from their known environment?

Pondering about this, I remembered the impact that my little family already has had on me. While both Camila and Sophia are only one and three, they have already, indeed, significantly transformed me.

Becoming a father has, indeed, significantly impacted me. It seems that as a father, one inherently develops skills and traits that make one a very different person. Raising a family with two toddlers has taught me to be more patient and understanding, yet also to be able to manage simultaneous challenges and crises more calmly. Life is now less about “me”, it’s about “we”. These traits have naturally flown into my professional setting, and my team has benefited from them. Lately, I have realized that I find it easier to comfort colleagues when they have difficulties.

Having two babies who cannot speak, one’s attention to non-verbal communication is also heightened. The awareness has also helped me identify signs of struggle and distress of a team member, which I was able to address in a private setting to help him with. Becoming a father has finally helped me become a better role model, not only for the sake of my children but also for my colleagues and the environment around me.

Thinking about the points mentioned above made me realize that I should take them with to Barcelona. Not only for them to enjoy a new culture, new type of food – especially seafood, which is not readily available in Austria – but also, generally, the fantastic cultural setting that Barcelona has to offer.

Looking back on the last three months, have proved us right. Our daughters are thrilled here. Camila started learning Catalan in her new Kindergarten. Sophia has found a few playgrounds within a few minutes’ walks from our new flat. And both are continuing to educate their Papa, by teaching him new values and skills – lately, negotiation techniques.😊