Describe a situation where you had to influence someone, perhaps a senior stakeholder or a peer, to adopt a new idea or change their approach. How did you persuade them?
RoleManagement Consultant
DifficultyDifficult
TopicBehavioral
Asked at
Why This Is Asked
The PEI dimension 'personal impact' evaluates your ability to lead through influence, negotiate effectively, and build rapport with tough audiences. At McKinsey, you'll frequently need to gain buy-in from skeptical client executives for transformational recommendations.
General Approach
Choose an example where you didn't have formal authority, so you had to use data, relationships, or a tailored communication strategy. Be specific about how you understood the other person's perspective and tailored your pitch. Highlight the measurable impact.
General Answer
Begin by anchoring your story in the other person's world, not your own. Say plainly that you first mapped out what the stakeholder cared about, whether that was cost, speed, risk, or their own reputation with their superiors, and that you let that map dictate every piece of evidence you brought. Explain that you deliberately chose a private, one-on-one conversation rather than a public showdown, because in a Philippine workplace context, saving face is often as important as the argument itself, especially with senior executives or tenured managers who may read direct challenge as disrespect. Then describe how you framed your proposal as a solution to their existing problem, not as a correction of their thinking, and how you used a small pilot or a concrete data point to lower the perceived risk of change. Be honest about the moment you adjusted your pitch mid-conversation, because that shows listening, not just persistence. Close with the outcome in measurable terms, but also mention how you preserved the relationship afterward, since at McKinsey the ability to influence again tomorrow matters as much as winning today. Keep your tone respectful and composed, using po and opo naturally if it fits, but never as a mask for weakness.
PH Interview Gotcha
"Actually sir, with all due respect po, I think my idea is better. You see, many people are already doing it this way, so we should too." , disrespectful phrasing and relying on peer pressure rather than evidence fails to demonstrate persuasive maturity.
Sample STAR Answer▾
S
Situation
As a senior analyst in a local bank, I noticed that our credit evaluation process for SME loans was heavily manual, resulting in a 10-day turnaround that caused us to lose potential clients to more agile fintech lenders.
T
Task
I needed to convince the chief risk officer to adopt a semi-automated scoring model using alternative data, despite his deep attachment to traditional judgment-based underwriting.
A
Action
Instead of presenting a theoretical proposal, I ran a pilot on a backlog of 200 past applications using a simple regression model I built in Excel, pulling in mobile wallet transaction data as an additional input. The pilot showed a 25% reduction in default prediction error without increasing portfolio risk. I then scheduled a one-on-one meeting with the CRO, framed the conversation around his known priority, maintaining asset quality, and demonstrated how the model could augment his team's expertise rather than replace it. I also invited a respected fintech partner to share how similar models had worked in comparable markets.
R
Result
The CRO approved a six-month trial for a new blended scorecard. Within the trial period, turnaround time dropped to 3 days, application volume increased by 40%, and the non-performing loan rate actually improved by 2 basis points. The project was later scaled to the entire SME segment.
Key Takeaway
Influence is about aligning your idea with the stakeholder's core values and presenting data in a way that addresses their concerns. Patience and a proof-of-concept can overcome institutional inertia.
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