Hi there,

I was in the same situation - I joined McKinsey as an Associate (Experienced Hire + MBA) at the age of 34. Not only did I have to develop the consulting toolkit from 0 but also learn the local language (based in Chile with poor Spanish skills at the time of starting). Needless to say that every BA 10 years younger was way ahead of me.

However, not once did that become an issue. I brought a certain maturity to the table, which everyone respected. Conversely, I respected the younger/less senior folks for what they knew and could teach me. MBB are technically VERY hierarchical but it's easy to get past this for skill transfer (requires some humility on your part). After a steep initial learning curve of 6-12 months, I caught up.

That being said, if you're actually going to lead people as EM, you should have the full skillset developed. That's why even very experienced candidates are typically hired as Associates and not EMs, because they need to learn the ropes first. It would be very strange to me if they put you in a position to formally lead people + projects without being ready!

Please feel free to elaborate more so I can give a more refined response.

(edited)

You need to recognize where they are better than you and acknowledge/allow it!

Recognize what you bring to the table (stakeholder management, maturity in decision-making, clear communication, etc.) and what they bring to the table (powerpoint, analysis, client knowledge, etc.)

You are a team. A leader is not superior or better than their team members. They just know how to empower and energize them.

This is going to hold true even after you've been there for many years.

I would actually advise you get management/leadership training/mentorship! The main reason I say this is because throughout life, every single leader has people under him/her that are better in x and y. That is exactly the point. The fact that you're missing this (and making excuses for having just joined) tells me you need a bit of training here :)