Sara

Careers

When I joined McKinsey I wondered how long I would stay. Though I was excited about the work and “making my own McKinsey,” I thought eventually the travel would wear me down. The thing that’s surprised me most -- and the reason I’m still here– is that I really can make my own McKinsey. I have the power and the permission to set the conditions for my excitement and happiness, to set those boundaries and live them.

Lifestyle balance

The first step to achieving work-life balance is knowing what matters to you and what you are trying to optimize, and working from there to try to set boundaries. The second step is actually talking about it. I find our team learning session a fantastic opportunity to do that from both the professional side as well as the personal side. It’s an important place to say, ‘team, this is how I like to work, this is how I try to balance between McKinsey and my personal life.’ The combination of figuring out lifestyle boundaries and what I am trying to accomplish at work helps me achieve balance.

Helping clients succeed

One of my most satisfying moments was working one-on-one with a client team member on a transformation project. It was controversial, and the organization was really resisting change. The client I was working alongside was not a senior level manager in the organization; it was his responsibility to present all the work we had been doing to the CEO. He was very nervous. We worked really hard over several weeks to make sure he would succeed. He did such a fantastic job. It was one of those moments where I felt like I got what I came to McKinsey to get: a win-win situation. I did a good job and my client got something wonderful out of it too.

The value of BCSS

McKinsey is about the network and the mentorship you build for yourself and the network and mentorship that you give to others. The black consultant community (BCSS) provides a fantastic opportunity to broaden my community in terms of network and mentorship. Another major value of the BCSS is professional development. BCSS does a fantastic job of blending professional development opportunities with connectivity opportunities so I get network building momentum as well as skill building momentum at the same time. We do this through structured programs including conferences and new hire training and through informal gatherings. In the Southern office we often get the BCSS community together in the context of, Hey, let’s talk a little bit about giving and receiving feedback and then let’s have a great dinner together.

What I do in my free time / my hobbies

I try really hard to read on planes, whether it’s articles I want to catch up on or crazy, fun novels. But most of my free time goes to my family – my husband and son and my extended family. My mom has six brothers and sisters, and they and their children all live in Atlanta, so we spend tons of time at family gatherings over the weekends. My husband, my son and I like to travel for fun a couple times of year.