January 2013
Adventures of junior engagement managing
I am staffed in Nairobi—FINALLY! I've been working towards this for over two years and it feels so great. I'm working with a partially state-owned bank to completely reform the way they do business as they endeavor to become a leading East Africa bank. This is very different from the oil client I just left in Nigeria. That project continued to be full of ups and downs until the very end, but my leadership team in Nigeria provided an incredible opportunity for me to "junior manage" the project for the last two months. It was just me and four senior partners running around Abuja—missing flights, waiting over six hours to see executives, and tackling some hardcore problems. It was terrifying, but I loved it. Managing projects puts you at the epicenter—you think about leading the project around the clock, which is exhausting. But it's absolutely worth it when the work ends (and you almost want to cry from separation anxiety upon leaving!) and your senior clients are performing better than when you got there.
Graduate school
As you know, I've been applying to graduate schools. Words cannot express the Herculean effort from my friends around the world who helped me with the final editing process after I frantically emailed them three days before application deadlines. I clicked "send" on my Harvard Kennedy School application on the deadline, like the second before it was a second too late. My hand shakes now just thinking about it. It's going to be so hard to leave Africa—I love working and living here, and going home at least once a month, something I hadn't done in over six years.
Friends—and a grad essay editing team
I'm at a bit of an impasse now. I launched the application process over eight months ago, and all of my recommendations are in. There are many reasons I'm heading down this path, and I'm finally feeling ready to go back to school. But I had a game-changing conversation with one of my favorite colleagues and mentor (now an associate principal in the Atlanta Office) that basically ended in this: I'd be silly to ignore the amazing opportunity I have to stay in East Africa for another year when I'm young and eager, there is a presidential election, and I do not have the "burden" of demanding an MBA/MPA salary. Now I find myself asking " what else could I be doing next year?" I can help out a new member of parliament I admire and adore when he starts his new term to define his agenda ((hopefully—elections are March 4). I can try to work for Vision 2030, the organization tasked with making Kenya a middle income country in the next 20 years (McKinsey supported this work). Or, I can aggressively try to stay on projects in East Africa with McKinsey.
Best friends (and siblings) ever
All this thinking has me beat, so I was super excited to go back to Minnesota and Wisconsin to spend Christmas with my sister and brother on a farm in the middle of nowhere—minimal internet and cell phone reception only if you stand near the window. This is my favorite place to veg out in the world—in front of the fireplace, watching the snow fall, reading a good book, and no soul in sight for miles. And great food!
Typical scene with my siblings
The break also gave me a chance to pilot something new. I hadn't figured out how to keep in touch with all of my amazing friends all over the world, and nothing replaces seeing them. So, I've started having "Google+ Hangout Parties" where I camp online for a couple of hours every other week and just see who stops by. More about this next time...it's a fabulous idea! I got to talk to several of my friends currently in graduate school about how they handled the period between handing in applications and waiting to hear decisions.
Anyway, I have a lot of reflecting to do the next couple of months as I want to enjoy being home before I embark on the next stage of life. Wish me luck! Happy 2013!
—Amandla