Leadership examples PEI question MCK

Question

I was doing a mock interview with McK's HR department and they told me that my example for the leadership section (i.e. when I worked effectively with people from different backgrounds) was too cliché. In fact, they said to avoid talking about jobs/projects with “a German, a Portuguese, etc.”. What other backgrounds can I consider for my example?

Thank you!

Answer 1

Hi, backgrounds can refer to cultures, functional expertiese (IT vs. sales vs. customer service), age groups (gen z vs. baby boomers), etc. For the PEI, make sure you can offer deep insights into the examples that you select as the interviewer might want a tangible feel for what you say. Have your example be impactful, high-stakes (from a personal or professional standpoint), and detailed. Good luck!

Answer 2

A few options:

Different type of roles/functions (e.g. operations, purchasing, marketing, finance, ....)
Different personality styles (introvert vs. extrovert is the most obvious, but consider the other MBTI types, e.g. judging vs. perceiving)
Hierarchical levels (directors/managers vs. base level workers)
Culture: these are largely related to nationalities, and how acceptable / normal behaviors vary in each culture (the issue with nationalities is that it is too easy to resort to stereotypes... you should be instead pointing out to how people had different communication styles - direct vs. indirect; time management styles; how they would participate in meetings; how they would perceive and respect hierarchies or show distance to power).
Academic backgrounds (engineers vs business vs arts vs. etc.)

But you may also include other things that make a team diverse (these shouldn't be the main part of your answer, but can add to the whole diversity theme):

Personal Backgrounds
Priorities / different objectives
Personal limitations

Answer 3

Hi there,

They're looking for examples that feel more specific and personal beyond diversity. You can focus on other dimensions of background or context, like:

Functional/disciplinary differences (e.g., working with engineers vs. marketers vs. designers)
Seniority or experience levels (junior team vs. senior stakeholders)
Cultural differences beyond nationality (e.g., different office locations, organizational cultures, or ways of working)
Personal challenges or perspectives (e.g., collaborating with someone with a very different approach, mindset, or learning style)

The key is to highlight how you adapted and led effectively, rather than the labels themselves.

Answer 4

Hi there,

First of all, congratulations on the invitation from McKinsey!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

First of all, contrary to what other coaches have said, it sounds like you should focus on actual leadership skills as opposed to merely being able to deal with people from different nationalities.
Moreover, please keep in mind that talking about working with people from other nationalities may also portray you as someone who is either not used to or - even worse - not comfortable with working with people from different nationalities.
Lastly, you should instead focus your PEI leadership situations on actual leadership - for example, when you helped someone in need or led a team through a difficult situation. Most other examples will not fit the McKinsey-specific understanding of the leadership dimension.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming McKinsey interviews, please don’t hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen