McKinsey.org

Effective communication is about moving people to action through connection and purpose, not just delivering a message. The EPIC framework helps bring more intention to how we communicate by structuring interactions in a clear and practical way. These four steps are a valuable tool in any communicator’s toolkit, supporting a wide range of moments, from team discussions to one-on-one conversations. Learn more about how McKinsey.org’s approach to communication through our Forward program 👉 https://lnkd.in/enUuytSJ #Leadership #TakeAStepForward #McKinseydotorg

Scaling a mission is a significant undertaking, but Project Scientist is demonstrating how prioritizing organizational health can accelerate impact. By joining the OHI for Nonprofits program, they gained data-driven insight to take their internal alignment to the next level. The result? A team that is even more synchronized, resilient, and ready to reach their goals of serving 5,000 girls annually, as of 2026. We are proud to support Project Scientist’s bold mission with the OHI for Nonprofits program. Read the full case study here: https://lnkd.in/dAC3xKdU #McKinseyOrg #NonprofitLeadership #WomenInSTEM #OrganizationalHealth

Nonprofits are tackling some of the world’s biggest challenges, often while building capabilities on the go. Since 2022, McKinsey.org’s Ability to Execute (A2E) for Nonprofits program has reached nearly 12,000 participants across organizations serving 46 million beneficiaries worldwide. The program helps turn practical skills into lasting ways of working. What makes the difference is not just the training, but how those skills show up day-to-day. Teams build a shared language, strengthen how they prioritize and make decisions, and apply what they learn in real time on organization-specific challenges. The impact is measurable and lasts well beyond the program. Read more in our latest blog post about how A2E is helping nonprofits deliver greater impact that sticks over time: https://lnkd.in/dpuYGNR8 #A2EForNonProfits #McKinseydotorg

McKinsey.org and One Acre Fund are partnering to develop skills across the nonprofit’s team so they better deliver their mission of serving farmers. The benefits of the training are not limited to the additional capabilities each collaborator gains, but also the collective capacity to work together, to achieve a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts. Leonce NGABOYAKEMA, Managing Director of One Acre Fund’s Tubura program, notes: “At One Acre Fund, execution is central to everything we do. We’re a team of doers, and we strive to do things well. The program has helped us bridge gaps in how we execute, allowing us to move toward our strategic vision more quickly.” Milindi Sibomana, PhD, Chief Agriculture Officer at One Acre Fund, has also noted. “McKinsey’s program allows us to keep that spirit of learning alive but in a way that's informal and accessible to everybody, which is exactly what we want. It's not about technical jargon. It's about how we use the concepts in our day-to-day work." Read more in: https://lnkd.in/dTBUQAAp #McKinseyOrg #A2EforNonprofits #OneAcreFund #PuttingFarmersFirst

When you’re faced with a long list of issues or tasks, it’s hard not to treat them with equal importance. But if you try to solve everything at once, you won’t get anywhere. In our Forward program, we teach the 80/20 Rule. Usually, 80% of your results come from just 20% of the work. The challenge isn't doing all the work, but identifying which 20% matters most. Check out the graphic below for a simple way to plot your priorities using the Prioritization Matrix. You can learn more frameworks like this in the McKinsey.org Forward program: https://lnkd.in/enUuytSJ #ProblemSolving #ForwardProgram #TakeAStepForward

The way we work is evolving, but certain skills are timeless. As AI reshapes our roles, human-centric skills like judgment and adaptability are becoming more important than ever for early career professionals. Check out our latest blog post, where we break down the 5 essential skills you need to stand out: https://lnkd.in/etNm9BnR #EarlyCareer #WorkplaceSkills #TakeAStepForward

Ever feel like your first reaction to a challenge isn't your best one? When a project hits a snag or a deadline shifts, our initial response might be defensive before we’ve even had a chance to think. The good news: Mindsets are malleable. We share a simple, three-step technique in our Forward program called the APR Framework. It’s designed to help you intentionally shift your mindset in that moment of distress, allowing you to choose a perspective that serves you better. Swipe through to see how this simple practice can change the dynamic of your next challenging conversation. #TakeAStepForward #ForwardProgram #APR

Enhancing skills across teams leads to better outcomes for the people nonprofits serve. To deliver the impact their communities need, nonprofits should invest as much as possible in developing their current teams. Professional training also plays a vital role in strengthening how nonprofits translate mission into action by embedding common ways of working. When people learn together, organizations can develop a shared language, stronger connections across roles, and greater confidence in overcoming challenges. These benefits can reinforce culture while advancing the mission, supporting nonprofits to do more. McKinsey.org’s recent work with One Acre Fund which serves farmers across 10 countries in Africa, illustrates these benefits. Marie Chantal Umuhoza works as a hospitality specialist at One Acre Fund. For Marie, one significant improvement since the training is that her team is now able to provide what she calls “full-service excellence” to frontline workers. “The training helped us strengthen how we serve those teams and deliver a higher standard of support,” she reports. Read more on our latest blog: https://lnkd.in/dTBUQAAp

Nonprofits often operate in contexts where uncertainty is part of business as usual. Even the strongest plans can be disrupted by shifts in donor priorities, unexpected staff turnover, or changing community needs. When the stakes involve people’s livelihoods, health, or access to opportunity, these setbacks can have real consequences. The discipline of anticipating what could go wrong before it happens is an especially valuable skill. At McKinsey.org, we help nonprofits strengthen capabilities, including conducting pre-mortems. One organization we’ve worked with, One Acre Fund, is dedicated to helping farmers grow more food and increase their incomes. Pre-mortems give teams a structured way to anticipate risks at the outset of a project, when there is still time to strengthen plans. Unlike post-mortems, which look back, pre-mortems help teams act early. As CEO Eric Pohlman shares, “Our R&D team used to do post-mortems after a pilot, which meant we sometimes lost time. By switching to pre-mortems, we analyze risks earlier, helping us invest resources more efficiently and increasing the likelihood of real impact.” A simple shift in approach, with meaningful results. Read more: https://lnkd.in/dxzn-WPX #McKinseydotorg #OneAcreFund

Last week, more than 400,000 people—all around the world, in every industry and vocation—started a new chapter with Forward, our free, ten-week learning program. It was our largest class ever, and I can’t wait to see where they go next. Over the past five years, McKinsey.org’s marquee learning program has changed countless lives across more than 130 countries by offering training in skills (adaptability, problem-solving, communication, AI fluency, and more) that are essential to success in any career. Their stories speak for themselves: -Maha moved from Pakistan to Sweden and needed help restarting her career in a new country—she’s now a comms professional. -Adriana was navigating a pandemic, a maternity leave, and a professional crisis all at once, and used the program to pivot into data science. -Niklas came in struggling with high-pressure situations and left with a fundamentally different understanding of his own mindset. We’ve now seen hundreds of thousands of similar stories—of overcoming adversity, of finding opportunity, of building lives and careers across borders—and each one fills me with a tremendous optimism. People want to learn, grow, adapt, and work together… all they need is a decent shot. To our new class of Forward learners: congratulations, and good luck. To all our colleagues who made this program possible: thank you.