The last week—since I handed in my McKinsey laptop and Blackberry—has been a blur...many things have changed overnight: I carry only one phone, the airport is not part of my weekly routine, I wake up when the spirit moves me, I sleep in my own bed in NAIROBI each night...

Other things will take a bit longer to beat entirely to the melody of my own drum. Everywhere I look, I see an opportunity for something cool the McKinsey Nairobi office could support (which just opened). My best friend is rolling out new tech program across schools in Zimbabwe and asked for help to think through implementation and I was ready to bust out some PowerPoint slides. I have to restrain myself from calling up former clients to check-in, and I twitch when I read but do not respond to e-mails on some of the work I did to confirm senior Kenyan government officials. And it's only been seven days!


It's exciting and terrifying to take a break from the all-encompassing rollercoaster for a while. McKinsey has been my home for the past three years, but it's time to reflect and redefine myself with McKinsey as only one—albeit pivotal—part of my professional experience to date.

These are a few things for which I’m most thankful

I am not good at saying “goodbye,” so I’m saying "see you soon." Let me leave you with a short list of the McKinsey experiences for which I am most grateful. This is by no means a MECE (mutually exclusive, collectively exhaustive) list, but bear with me.

1. Spending 12hrs+ a day with my friends, who challenge me to be a better person
How lucky am I? I went to bed most nights the past three years absolutely knackered, but thankful for a productive day, wondering how I could be better the next day. That’s what happens when your colleagues quickly become your friends because:


a. they are just interesting people—yes, I'm talking to you, the female business analyst (BA) trucking across China on a Fulbright, and the other female BA on secondment to help Malala set up her foundation (at Malala’s request), and the Olympic athlete on a leave of absence to compete, the Rhodes Scholar who is my global managing director, the Oscar winner who is buddies with the current serial entrepreneur on my study...the list goes on.

b. McKinsey facilitates interesting interactions: business analysts at Davos / WEF Africa, OECD and OPEC Presidential meetings, roundtables at the G8, Minneapolis consultants on mining projects in Australia, a “team house” in Ethiopia...and that’s just for client work. I have been part of or organized events ranging from a Beyonce concert in Chicago to exploring the Accra beaches in Ghana to Humvee Jeep tours in the Arizona dessert.

A special shout-out to the global BA community that has been the lifeline of my time here—despite working as an engagement manager (EM) during my last study, I am a #BAforlife. The cadre of fierce female EM’s who showed me the way on 70% of my studies, mentors at McKinsey who always kept me honest, the BCSS (black consulting) community that demonstrates what it means to be distinctive, and the support staff that held my life together at all hours of the morning. ASANTE!

2. Supporting clients to achieve beyond their expectations
I am so proud to say that each and every one of my projects has supported our clients to achieve beyond what they thought was possible. After 11 projects in 20 global cities, with ~50% of my time spent on public and social sector work, I am a believer: McKinsey is in a unique position to engage only were we can add considerable value, and it is our life’s work to ensure our clients are better equipped to handle future challenges of their organization or country. All this while the firm has a dual mission to support and coach a 24 year old college graduate (me!) to lead teams delivering on enormous projects like the gas master plan for an entire country, with potential to deliver sustainable power to over 100 million people. Whoa.

If I get started on the client relationships I’ve been fortunate enough to build in the process, we’d be here a while. Many of my senior clients are mentors and friends, have been welcomed to my family home in Nairobi, etc. So thankful and blessed!

3. Opportunities to develop as a leader
My third year in Lagos is the perfect example of this: you find a way, or you make one. I had no idea what McKinsey did when I walked into an info session my junior year of college enticed by the free food. I left completely in sync with the concept of working at a place that developed leaders. My raison d’etre outside of classes at Yale was founding the Leadership Institute on the basis that leadership skills can and must be taught—charisma alone will not produce the moral, courageous, and competent leaders the world needs today. The wealth of leadership skills training and opportunities to step-up into leadership roles at McKinsey is abundant. 

What’s next

Before graduate school in August, I’ll spend a week in the Seychelles, and five weeks in Nairobi. My only firm plans are to visit my grandma in her village, and get started on the timeline for a book on my hero, my dad. Otherwise, I look forward to waking up each day without an alarm, working out for two hours (plantain belly be GONE!), and voraciously exploring what the day has to offer.

Until next time (I may be back to McKinsey in 2016, so watch this space!), I leave you in the very capable hands of Kemi, who will take over blogging from Lagos. She is one of the most amazing women I know - strong, steadfast, relentless, hilarious, the best dancing buddy ever, and she’s stunning. I may also need to restart my old blog, Hamunitishi on Live Journal, to deal with blogging withdrawal...we'll see!


Hugs,
Amandla