There was a time in my life when I needed help, so I’ve always felt called to pay it forward. Throughout my journey at McKinsey, I’ve tackled some of the world’s toughest healthcare problems, and in 2021, was elected McKinsey Implementation’s first woman partner.
Charting my course
My passion for healthcare grew from my earliest childhood experiences in China. I had a serious illness, and my parents went to great lengths struggling against the healthcare system to get me treatment. I recovered, thankfully, but the ordeal was traumatic for my family. Ever since then, I’ve wanted to help people in need.
It might not surprise you, then, that I pursued studies in medicine at the University of Toronto—but the idea of being a doctor and seeing one patient at a time didn’t excite me. I wanted to save thousands with a breakthrough solution. After graduating, I started medical research and thought about my next steps. Consulting seemed like a way to make a real difference in the healthcare sector, so I applied to McKinsey and was hired as an implementation specialist.
A dose of new skills
At first, I felt inadequate. I was in orientation with a colleague who had been a hospital CEO, and thought, “Wow, this guy really knows what he’s talking about.” I had finished undergrad and volunteered a bit, but I didn’t fundamentally know how healthcare systems or hospitals worked.
I got staffed on my first client service team, and on the first day, the engagement manager sent me a PowerPoint presentation. I was completely overwhelmed. I spent all night reading the slides, but I didn’t really understand them and I wasn’t sure how I was going to contribute and do the work I was supposed to.
However, through apprenticeship, I acquired new skills, learned about related fields, like finance, and learned more about the healthcare industry from the broader team of clients, partners, and associate partners.
Timely advice taken to heart
I loved the healthcare sector and progressed smoothly for a couple of years. Then, as a junior engagement manager, I received feedback that I needed to be more mature and work on my presence with my clients and team.
I incorrectly interpreted this as meaning I needed to change my personality, so I reinvented myself, becoming proper and robotic, keeping my distance from my team, wanting everyone to think I always had everything under control. Finally, an amazing partner pulled me aside and gave me advice I’ll never forget. He told me I had over-corrected. It was a pivotal moment, and I was deeply touched—I felt like he was giving me permission to be myself again.
In response, I became a leader who is approachable, laughs with my team, and builds friendships and rapport in a way that enhances the team experience. My career was back on track.
Testing, testing, 1-2-3
I developed a passion for hospital operations, particularly workplace and labor, and after completing my first healthcare workforce study, became an associate partner. Things were moving in the right direction—until COVID-19 struck. All my clients were healthcare clients; two of my three projects paused. Then new needs started to emerge. A client needed help to test its workforce for COVID-19 to prevent its spread through their facility. At the time, there weren’t any testing protocols per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
We talked about options for testing in the client’s lab; I started doing research and working with the client to think more broadly about how to do it on-site. I developed a wide knowledge base about COVID-19 testing, and in March and April 2020, as global concern about the virus increased, I led COVID-19 testing knowledge development for the firm globally. It was a scary time, but it was amazing to see how the world and the firm responded.
Vital and rewarding work
I never imagined shifting focus from hospital workforce operations to COVID-19 testing, but it was what my client—and the world—needed. During this period, my colleagues and I were offering our expertise to influential industry and government leaders, and I felt the power of McKinsey’s reach and the impact we can have when we all work together. What we accomplished as one firm was humbling, and it’s one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done.
As the pandemic gradually became more manageable, my focus shifted back to healthcare workforce operations. With nurses already in short supply and healthcare workers being overwhelmed by the toll of COVID-19 care, labor issues were exacerbated, and I was eager to tackle that challenge with my clients. My contributions led to my election as the first woman partner in McKinsey Implementation. Looking forward, I’m interested in finding ways to reduce waste in the healthcare industry and spending more time apprenticing and mentoring my more junior-tenured colleagues.