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MBB Fit Leadership

FIT MBB
New answer on Dec 30, 2023
5 Answers
3.2 k Views
Anonymous A asked on Jun 04, 2019

Can someone elaborate on the leadership skill? What if i didn't have any or limited chances for leading a team in the past? can you explain a bit about expected leadership skills by the interviewer? thanks

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Alberto
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Dec 30, 2023
Ex-McKinsey Associate Partner | +15 years in consulting | +200 McKinsey 1st & 2nd round interviews

Hi there,

Being asked for a leadership story you should focus on your best experience leading a team (of any size), either on a personal or professional situation. Keys here:

  • You leading style is and how you inspire the team to reach a challenging goal
  • Your teamwork skills to coordinate work and make everyone shine
  • Your ability to understand and act on team dynamics, even the personal ones (motivations, frustrations)

I hope this helps.

Alberto

Check out my latest case based on a real MBB interview: Sierra Springs

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Serhat
Expert
replied on Jun 06, 2019
BCG | Kellogg MBA |82% Success rate| 450+ case interview| 5+ year consulting | 30+ projects in ~10 countries

Hi there,

"You don't need a title to be a leader"

You can have great leadership stories even as an intern. I would suggest you determine leadership dimensions and match them with your stories.

For example, if you define leadership as

  • doing an empathy
  • proactively taking a responsibility
  • ability to relate with different people
  • facing with failures
  • winning not only the minds but also the hearts
  • motivating others
  • doing sacrifices when necessary
  • high commitment
  • establishing trust-based relationships
  • helping others to grow
  • etc...

You can extend this list. Then think about your experience and what dimensions you addressed in those stories and how. This approach can help you to craft your leadership story and communicate it effectively.

Cheers
Serhat

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Francesco
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Jun 05, 2019
#1 Coach for Sessions (4.000+) | 1.500+ 5-Star Reviews | Proven Success (➡ InterviewOffers.com) | Ex BCG | 10Y+ Coaching

Hi Anonymous,

leadership is about conducting a whole team, as the appointed leader, in a challenging situation, managing to bring a positive outcome. As mentioned by Vlad, you don’t necessarily need to have direct reports for a good leadership story – it could come from any university or extracurricular activity where you were the official leader.

Ideally, you should be the appointed leader of the team though in these examples. If this is not the case (eg you were simply a teamplayer), the story would be about a teamwork experience and not a leadership one.

In case you are interested in the other McKinsey dimension, impact and drive, you can find an explanation for them at the following link:

https://www.preplounge.com/en/consulting-forum/mckinsey-pei-difference-drive-and-personal-impact-918

Best,

Francesco

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Vlad
Expert
replied on Jun 05, 2019
McKinsey / Accenture Alum / Got all BIG3 offers / Harvard Business School

Hi,

When the consultants ask you to provide an example of leading others or working in teams, most probably they are looking for a leadership story

For those of you applying for junior positions, leadership does not necessarily mean being a supervisor. Organizing various stakeholders, being in charge of a study project, leading your team in a competition - all these examples will make a good story. Leadership is about finding an opportunity and managing stakeholders to achieve it.

Good leadership story should have a number of elements:

  1. Did you take additional responsibility (more than it was expected from you)
  2. Did the situation has a real problem?
  3. Did you have your own team of direct reports / a group of external stakeholders whose work you had to organize?
  4. Have you organized the process to structure and simplify the work of other people?
  5. Did you motivate others?
  6. Have you used the leadership tools that consultants usually use on their projects?
  7. How big was the impact?

Best

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Clara
Expert
Content Creator
replied on May 27, 2020
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

On top of the insights already shared in the post, next week will be pusblished in PrepLounge´s Shop material related.

In concrete, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB". It provides an end-to-end preparation for all three MBB interviews, tackling each firms particularities and combining key concepts review and a hands-on methodology. Following the book, the candidate will prepare his/her stories by practicing with over 50 real questions and leveraging special frameworks and worksheets that guide step-by-step, developed by the author and her experience as a Master in Management professor and coach. Finally, as further guidance, the guide encompasses over 20 examples from real candidates.

Here I leave you the link > https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34

Feel free to PM me for disccount codes!

Hope you find it useful!

Best,

Clara

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