People who have made a difference in my McKinsey experience

Hi everyone,

They say it’s the people that make McKinsey great! In this blog post, I want to focus on three particular individuals who have touched me.

The first person is Jim from our printing department in the New York office. I met Jim when I accompanied a group of Chinese clients to visit the US and had to print out a large number of agendas, photos, and presentation materials. We started chatting each time I went to pick up the finished products, and I got to learn a bit about his story. Jim’s been at McKinsey for over 22 years, and he proudly tells me that he has graduated summa cum laude from Hunter College with a BA in Italian literature this year! His dedication to his work (he gave me a call before I even arrived in NYC to give me a rundown of the printing department), care for others (he always greets me with my name and a hearty ‘how are you’), and humor (he told me to file for workers comp when I got a paper cut from handling all those booklets) never fails to warm my heart.

Jim's graduation photo

Second, the associate partner from my current engagement, Arthur, has been instrumental in helping me find my place at McKinsey. One of my goals in joining McKinsey was to explore my passion for fintech. I heard from other colleagues that Arthur would be a good point person, so I sent him an email to express my interest. Ever since then, he’s looped me into a number of learning opportunities beyond our current project. For example, I helped him prepare a CEO presentation for a regional bank’s digital transformation launch event and was able to attend the meeting with him and two other partners. Through working with Arthur, I’ve gained deep exposure to fintech, made important contacts both within and outside of the firm, and found a great mentor and friend.

Third, my Development Group Leader (“DGL”) Elaine has been an incredible voice of wisdom. A DGL is someone who manages your evaluation process, but Elaine goes beyond those duties to give me the advice that I need to hear. With our semi-annual review process just completed, Elaine called to check in. I told her that I wanted to keep doing more work in fintech, and hopefully achieve a fast-tracked promotion. Of course, there was nothing wrong with this plan, but I really appreciated Elaine’s response, which was to offer (with no judgment or pressure) an alternative way of planning my career. She encouraged me to take advantage of opportunities to explore different industries at McKinsey, and to consider the trade-offs a fast-tracked promotion would entail (e.g., lifestyle, the ability to take risks in trying new things). I appreciated that she sincerely cared about me and my development and wanted to help me clarify what exactly I wanted from McKinsey.

There are of course many more people who have positively impacted by time at McKinsey, but these three are very special to me!

Until next time,

Felicia