Being a veteran at McKinsey is a special thing. We have a robust and close-knit community of former military, called Veterans@McKinsey. Members include others you’ve met on our feeds: Wes and Paige (a husband-wife team), Kelem, Jon, Jack, Kirk and many more. Many of our members are based in the US, but our numbers in other countries are growing quickly. We’ve learned a few things along the way we hope will encourage other former service women and men to join us:
Your military training is an asset
Leading in the military taught me to stay calm and positive under pressure. When I was an Army officer, my troops looked to me for hope and confidence. I had to be brave, resilient and authentic.
This is true as a consultant too. I remember one of my early management experiences at McKinsey. Our clients weren’t happy, the leadership wasn’t engaging enough, and things seemed to be going awry. I used my Platoon Leader toolkit to get the team back on track.
You can continue to serve
For nine years (from 2005-2014), I wasn’t very involved with the military or Veterans@McKinsey. I was just focused on being a great consultant. But, that left me feeling unfulfilled, and I had an itch to serve again. In 2014, I dramatically overcorrected and left McKinsey to join the Department of Veterans Affairs where I was Chief Transformation Officer, then later Interim Deputy Secretary and CIO. After an amazing 3.5 year run at Veterans Affairs, I rejoined McKinsey this past summer where I’m now serving more public-sector clients. For me, it is the best of both worlds – I get to serve my country through my clients, while delivering McKinsey only impact.
I am also an advocate for veterans through non-profits and service organizations in my spare time. One of my favorites is Flags and Flowers. It was started by a 12-year old boy named Preston Sharp in Redding, CA. He believes we should honor veterans every day, not just on November 11th. Preston’s goal is to honor veterans in all 50 states; I am one of his mentors, and I am very proud of all he does.
Mentorship is key
One of the reasons I originally joined McKinsey in the Cleveland office in 2005 was because there was a critical mass of inspiring veterans who inspired me. I spent nine years there with them. They understood me, picked me up when I fell down, and created opportunities for me to flourish.
One of them, Maia Hansen, really took me under her wing. She encouraged me to follow my passion for work in operations and organization. She also taught me a lot about how to find balance in my life (coincidentally, the advice she shared when she was our Working Mother of the Year three years ago was about the same topic). I vividly remember a conversation about priorities; as a result, I always try to “fill my bucket with the golf balls, before adding pebbles and sand.”