EDIT 2022: McKinsey recently added a new PEI dimension called Courageous Change. They are piloting this as a substitute for Entrepreneurial Drive.
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EDIT 2020: McKinsey recently changed the Leadership dimension with Inclusive Leadership. The dimension is the same as before, but now refers to a diverse team instead of a team only.
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Hi Sandra,
Great question, that’s actually something many candidates find confusing. I provided a description of the different dimensions below:
1) Personal Impact is about persuading someone about doing/not doing something. Example:
- Explain a challenging situation you encountered when working with someone with an opposing opinion to yours.
Here you want to emphasize your ability to convince someone else who disagrees with you.
2) Entrepreneurial Drive is about starting and implementing something overcoming major difficulties. Example:
- Talk about a time when you had to work to achieve something that was outside your comfort zone in a limited period of time.
Here you want to emphasize how you started something and how you faced resistance during the process.
3) Inclusive Leadership is about leading a diverse team in a challenging situation. Example:
- Share an example of an instance where you effectively worked with people with different backgrounds.
Here you want to emphasize how you overcome a difficult situation by leading and empowering a diverse team.
4) Courageous Change is about adapting to a major change or ambiguous situation. Example:
- Tell me about a time when you experienced a significant change and share the actions you took to adapt to the new circumstances.
Here you want to emphasize how you faced something new, managing to achieve the desired results despite the change.
Some candidates confuse leadership and personal impact. In both you deal with people, but while in the first you are leading and empowering a team, in the second you are convincing another person in disagreement with you.
Hope this helps,
Francesco
(edited)