Andreas Blanco Sequeiros is Chief Physician of the Childrens hospital of Soite, Central Ostrobothnias Joint Municipal Authority for Social and Health. He has participated in two comprehensive programs at Aalto EE: first the Management in Healthcare program (Johtaminen terveydenhuollossa), followed by the Aalto EMBA program a few years later.
“My work history is quite colorful. When I started the Management in Healthcare program, I already had approximately ten years work experience from various managerial positions,” Blanco Sequeiros says.
At the time, he wanted to get more theoretical foundation for leadership. He opted for Aalto EE’s program due to its versatility and broad scope – and also because it offered him the opportunity to network with people other than doctors.
“I was very pleased with the experience. The teaching combined pragmatic and theoretic content in a good way. During the program many issues I had encountered during the previous ten years as a manager were legitimized,” Blanco Sequeiros praises.
“I also met people from very different areas of healthcare. I found this very refreshing, it gave me new perspective for discussions,” he continues.
Blanco Sequeiros would have liked to continue his studies directly with an EMBA degree, but work obligations and family reasons meant the time was not optimal. A year later the EMBA was still on his mind, but time was still limited. On the third year Blanco Sequeiros knew he simply had to make the time to fit studies into his busy schedule.
“It’s a good thing I started the EMBA then. I am sure I got the most out of the program at that point, because the issues we dealt with were especially topical in my work. It was also definitely the last chance I had to study alongside work, because since then my work responsibilities have continuously grown in both scope and versatility,” Blanco Sequeiros says.
The EMBA gave me new ability to discuss, listen, and value all kinds of opinions. The studies made me more open to new ideas, in a constructive manner."
Blanco Sequeiros was the only doctor in his EMBA group. He points out that the group discussions expanded his thinking beyond his own professional framework.
“The EMBA gave me new ability to discuss, listen, and value all kinds of opinions. The studies made me more open to new ideas, in a constructive manner. I don’t say yes to everything – but I am even more fascinated by different kinds of ideas than before. I am perhaps a somewhat atypical doctor in a sense, for I have always thought outside the box. During the EMBA I understood that it is a strength,” Blanco Sequeiros explains.
He says he was thrilled to find out how different from each other management and leadership are considered to be in management theories.
“For me, this was a significant notion, which validated my own way of leading,” he ponders. “One of the central elements of my leadership was strengthened during both Management in Healthcare and the EMBA: as a leader it is my job to liberate and encourage people to do their own job as well as possible, and get their own potential into as broad a use as possible.”
“As a doctor, I was highly skeptical about for example the Self Development Process at start, but it gave me a great deal. It helped me grow as a leader. Thanks to the process I have also systematically continued to evaluate my own leadership after my studies,” he emphasizes.
Blanco Sequeiros is active in healthcare development on both a national and regional level. After he and his family moved to Central Ostrobothnia in 2012, he has been part of creating a regional children’s' hospital, and during recent years, building a model for regional social and health services reform. He states that he is very grateful to Soite’s top executives for supporting his studies and says he is pleased to recommend both Management in Healthcare and the EMBA programs.
The programs I attended at Aalto EE brought indisputable benefits. Thanks to them, I have been able to save my employer millions of euro annually."
“Aalto EE’s programs challenge participants to do a great deal, and participating in studies is anything but easy. It was an excellent idea to participate in both programs,” he underlines.
“The programs I attended at Aalto EE brought indisputable benefits. Thanks to them, I have been able to save my employer millions of euro annually, without any negative effect on the quality or impact of our service. On the contrary, quality and impact have improved. I have a hard time seeing how I could have accomplished my achievements from the past years without the Management in Healthcare and EMBA programs.”