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Mckinsey PEI

PEI
New answer on Sep 30, 2023
6 Answers
968 Views
Anonymous A asked on Mar 24, 2021

Hi.... I'm a bit confused between Mckinsey's leadership and personal impact questions? Is conflict resolution the main theme of personal impact or leadership??

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Florian
Expert
Content Creator
replied on Mar 25, 2021
Highest-rated McKinsey coach (ratings, offers, sessions) | 500+ offers | Author of The 1% & Consulting Career Secrets

Hey there,

I would not see it as the main theme for either, but rather one of the elements that could make for a good story.

In general, leadership is about you demonstrating to be an effective leader, who is able to reach a goal with a team or work through a challenging situation. Solving conflicts might be part of that.

Personal impact is about facilitating something (an opinion, recommendation, plan, etc.) by convincing a person or even making them an ally. Again, conflict might be part of that, but the situation could also be 'softer'.

If you want to read more about what to tell and how to structure the PEI, check out this article I wrote: https://strategycase.com/mckinsey-personal-experience-interview-the-only-post-you-need-to-read

Cheers,

Florian

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Ken
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replied on Mar 25, 2021
Ex-McKinsey final round interviewer | Executive Coach

It can be both but neither need to be specifically about conflict where it could be more persuasion, alignment, influence, etc.. The key difference is that personal impact is more about how you resolved conflict with another individual vs. inclusive leadership which more about how you resolved conflict within a diverse group of people.

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Ian
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updated an answer on Mar 24, 2021
#1 BCG coach | MBB | Tier 2 | Digital, Tech, Platinion | 100% personal success rate (8/8) | 95% candidate success rate
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Alberto
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replied on Sep 30, 2023
Ex-McKinsey Associate Partner | +15 years in consulting | +200 McKinsey 1st & 2nd round interviews

Hi there:

Regarding this 2 dimensions:

  • Leadership: focusing on leading a team towards a challenging goal
  • Personal impact: focusing on persuading an individual or group with an opposing opinion

I hope this helps.

Alberto

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Gaurav
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replied on Mar 26, 2021
Ex-Mckinsey|Certified Career Coach |Placed 500+ candidates at MBB & other consultancies

As Ken stated, it can be both, depending on the situation. The personal impact would test your communicating abilities with other people, colleagues. Leadership will seek to understand how you resolve massive conflicts in a tensed working environment.

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Clara
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Content Creator
replied on Mar 25, 2021
McKinsey | Awarded professor at Master in Management @ IE | MBA at MIT |+180 students coached | Integrated FIT Guide aut

Hello!

That is an excellent question (I precisely always start the FIT coaching sessions with the clear definition of what is what, since the namings are totally misleading).

  • Leadership: overcoming obstables, leading yourself or others towards complex goals
  • Personal impact: difficult stakeholder management situations (e.g., persuasion, conflicts, etc.)

If you want to deep dive on the topic, the "Integrated FIT guide for MBB" has been recently published in PrepLounge´s shop (https://www.preplounge.com/en/shop/tests-2/integrated-fit-guide-for-mbb-34)

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.

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