McKinsey & Company and the Australian Scholarships Foundation are offering emerging leaders from the not-for-profit sector the opportunity to apply for a scholarship to attend McKinsey Academy’s Young Leaders Forum.
Program overview
A foundational leadership program designed to accelerate the development of emerging leaders.
Emerging leaders are operating within an increasingly complex and ambiguous context. Leadership teams know that great leadership talent is scarce. It is great leaders at all levels of an organisation – more than rewards, job opportunities, and the company itself – that drive distinctive outcomes and engagement at scale. With a focus on strengths and stretch, the Young Leaders Forum (YLF) develops unique, inspirational, and supportive leaders through the layers of your organisation.
The YLF curriculum develops emerging leaders to lead themselves and their teams more effectively. It equips participants with foundational leadership skills and ways of thinking to thrive as a rising leader in the age of disruption.
Designed for high potential future leaders who are ready to further their leadership skills, the program focuses on experiential learning with group discussions, and empowers participants to coach each other so they can reproduce the exercises in their teams.
The experience
Participants will join a large cross-industry cohort of ~250 rising leaders for a 6-week blended program. Participants will:
- Attend a 4-day (in-person or virtual) event to explore their personal leadership through building on personal strengths and influencing others
- Explore concepts in small groups of participants and create an external support network for ongoing peercoaching and support
- Complete a digital course on the principles of leading teams; including building alignment and engagement, feedback models, and coaching techniques
The Young Leaders Forum spans several weeks and is predominantly completed remotely via e-Learning components and peer-coaching over the phone apart from the (in-person or virtual) workshop in June or August 2021. Successful applicants should allow approx. 1-2 hours per week to complete the required work.
COVID-19
The health and wellbeing of our scholars remains our utmost priority, as do our efforts in protecting our broader community. McKinsey Academy are monitoring this situation very closely and will ensure all course activities adhere to current government guidelines. Should COVID-19 affect the program dates, delivery mode or scholarship availability, all attendees will be notified immediately and every effort will be made to limit the impact on our scholarship recipients. If you have any questions or concerns prior to submitting your application, please contact the Australian Scholarships Foundation.
Course dates for 2021
OPTION 1:
From mid-April* - Complete the 360-degree leadership assessment and course pre-work, including an Online ‘Team Management’ course consisting of 6-8 hours of learning (scheduled so that it can be completed with a 1-2 hour per week commitment).
Tuesday 8 June - Attend an informal not-for-profit networking lunch to meet other NFP participants before joining the wider cross-industry cohort.
Tuesday 8 – Friday 11 June - Attend the (in-person or virtual) workshop in Sydney CBD**. Participants will need to be available for this entire period and allow for the possibility of evening activities. More details will be provided to scholarship recipients.
June/July* - Two peer ‘mini board’ sessions lasting approximately 90 minutes each via VC or phone, and scheduled within these recommended timeframes.
OPTION 2:
From early July* - Complete the 360-degree leadership assessment and course pre-work, including an Online ‘Team Management’ course consisting of 6-8 hours of learning (scheduled so that it can be completed with a 1-2 hour per week commitment).
Tuesday 17 August - Attend an informal not-for-profit networking lunch to meet other NFP participants before joining the wider cross-industry cohort.
Tuesday 17 – Friday 20 August - Attend the (in-person or virtual) workshop in Sydney CBD**. Participants will need to be available for this entire period and allow for the possibility of evening activities. More details will be provided to scholarship recipients.
September/October* - Two peer ‘mini board’ sessions lasting approximately 90 minutes each via VC or phone, and scheduled within these recommended timeframes.
*Course dates either side of the workshop event will be advised as soon they are available.
**The workshop event will either be delivered in person or virtually, depending on the current COVID-19 guidelines. Successful applicants will be advised closer to the program.
Who should apply
The Young Leaders Forum (YLF) is designed to benefit high potential future leaders with typically 7-12 years of work experience (please note, this is a general guide and does not exclude those with a little more or less experience). Participants are typically making the transition into people leader roles and ‘stepping up’ to take on greater degrees of responsibility for driving business unit strategy and execution.
Scholarship inclusions
There are 70 scholarships available to staff of charitable not-for-profit organisations Australia-wide thanks to McKinsey Academy’s generous contribution and commitment to not-for-profit development. Each scholarship is valued at $4,000 and will grant recipients full access to the Young Leaders Forum workshop and program.
Employer contribution
This scholarship requires an Employer Contribution of $800 from each recipient’s supporting not-for-profit organisation. This amount is payable to ASF by Tuesday 6 April 2021 (following written acceptance from the scholarship recipient and upon receipt of an invoice).
What is the Employer Contribution? The Employer Contribution is paid directly to ASF and allows us to expand the number of high-quality programs we can provide, assists with service delivery costs and enables us to invest in research and development that strengthens the NFP sector. The Employer Contribution is a way for not-for-profits to facilitate learning and development for their organisation via a small contribution to any scholarships ASF awards to their employees. McKinsey Academy does not receive any portion of this contribution.
Travel / Accommodation
Travel and/or accommodation (if necessary) are to be covered by the successful candidates or their supporting NFP organisation to attend the 4-day workshop in Sydney should the event be held in-person. We estimate this cost at $0-$2,000 depending on your location and travel needs.
Key scholarship dates
| Date | Timeline |
| 14 October 2020 | Applications open |
| 8 December 2020 | Applications close |
| 16 February 2021 | Scholarships awarded |
| 23 February 2021 | Written acceptance from scholarship recipients |
| 6 April 2021 | Employer Contribution due |
| From mid April 2021 onwards | Course begins – Option 1 |
| From early July 2021 onwards | Course begins – Option 2 |
*Students are required to attend both forums in May and August.
Please reserve these important dates in your calendar. For more program dates, see the “Course Dates” section above.
Eligibility criteria
Applicants must:
- currently work for an Australian charitable not-for-profit organisation or *social enterprise
- have approximately 7 – 12 years** of work experience
- be an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident
- fulfil ASF’s general eligibility requirements available on our FAQs page
*Check our FAQs page for guidance on eligible social enterprises.
**Please note, this is a general guide and does not exclude those with a little more or less experience.
More information
For more information about the program, please click here or download the program brochure here.
Have questions? Check our FAQs page for answers to the most common questions. If you need assistance with the scholarship application process, please contact ASF via [email protected].
Applications for the 2021 McKinsey Academy Young Leaders Forum scholarships closed Tuesday 8 December 2020 at 5pm AEDT.
