Studying robotics at the University of Southern Denmark made sense because I had a passion to discover and build things that could potentially change the future of humanity for the better.
I believed pragmatism and the practicality of the classes offered in Denmark would help me connect with the industry quicker, and I was not mistaken. Every semester, I got the chance to lead a team and build a device that could be implemented in the real world.
Shortly after graduation, I joined an MIT Entrepreneurship Bootcamp in Taiwan and an AI start-up accelerator in Netherlands. However, I lacked the business knowledge for growing the projects to the scale I wanted. That was the moment I decided to explore consulting and join McKinsey, which offered a rapid learning curve in business.
I chose McKinsey in my home country because I felt Poland had outstanding scientific talents that needed business guidance to reach their full potential. I believe my international experiences coupled with understanding the local culture will enable me to empower Poles.
When I joined, the Polish office immediately felt like home – everyone knows everyone and close-knit relationships are a norm.
McKinsey gave me a chance to be at my best. I work on big projects and lead the client towards significant goals. For example, during project in Dubai for which I handled the execution, I could take the initiative to fix it anything that was going off track. My team trusted me and it made me more proactive. The responsibility taught me to acquire an adult mindset, face reality, and focus more on driving results.
Before McKinsey, I was nervous when faced with complex tasks. In the team room, guided by my manager and supported by teammates, I have learned to approach such tasks without stress – by breaking them up and re–structuring. Working that way, I finish everything within the fixed timeframe. That gives me the confidence and ability to not only to initiate things, but finalize them well.
About Nicole:
Outside of work, I run long-distance (the office’s running ranking keeps the motivation high!), study high-tech and work on mentoring projects. This year, together with the team in Denmark, I launched a project collecting Danish university textbooks and sending them to Nigeria to empower their students.