Wharton TBD: tips for success with the team-based discussion

Did you receive an interview invite for the Wharton Team-Based Discussion?

We are now in the peak season for MBA interviews, with the scariest interview, the Wharton Team-Based Discussion, in sharp focus.

For the Wharton TBD, you’ll need to present a 1-minute pitch on the prompt of Wharton’s choice.  Some years it’s been around a conference, this year (2023), the pitch is around the Global Immersion Program, which is essential a cultural business immersion incorporating company visits, government/public administration meetings and cultural events.

You’ll be in the “virtual” room with about 5-6 other Wharton applicants, chaperoned by a Wharton second-year or Admissions professional, who will observe the discussion. You’ll pitch your idea to your fellow applicants, and together, you

Most applicants get very anxious about the Wharton TBD, tending to miss the larger picture of the exercise. 

I’ll let you in on a little secret: Wharton doesn’t really need your help deciding what to offer for their next Global Immersion Program – they already have years of robust experience with course design and strategy. 

Instead, the Wharton Team-Based Discussion is really to help Wharton AdCom to assess the following about you:

1)    Your ability to present an idea confidently and succinctly; and

2)    Your ability to collaborate and share power/air time with others.

You will need to prepare a pitch, and, on interview day, present it (in one minute or less) to your fellow MBA applicants.  After each person presents, as a group, you will have 30 minutes to discuss the ideas presented, commit to one, and then present the pitch to your Admissions representative.  (Please note that you can volunteer to be a time-keeper for your group, reminding them of time constraints, or you can volunteer to present to the Admissions representative.)

So, when prepping applicants for the all-important Wharton TBD, I highly recommend shaping your pitch around something you know – preferably something related to the goals and aspirations you’ve stated in your Wharton MBA application essays.  You need not pick a location that you personally know well.   However, I have found that my clients who have picked a location that holds some relevance to their industry or sub-sector report a higher degree of confidence and ease when discussing their pitch.

Of course, the TBD pitch is not intended to showcase your knowledge of a specific sector. The exercise is meant to showcase your ability to respond and thrive in the moment, to interact with peers and fellow business leaders in a collaborative, receptive, and pro-active way.

As an experiential program, the GIP is not as focused and tactical as Wharton’s now-defunct Global Consulting Practicum (GCP), but you will want to be able to confidently discuss why a particular region or country is of interest for participants.  You may want to (very briefly) note why you’ve picked a particular region; however, remember that you only have 1 minute to speak, and you want that minute to be rich in details that relate to your chosen GIP program.  Also: do not forget to incorporate a cultural element into your pitch.  This is part of your prompt, of course, but the cultural element you select also shows that you realize that culture is important to business.  Because what is business about, but relationships?

You want to show 3 key traits during your Wharton TBD experience: 1) great listening skills; 2) confident presentation skills; and 3) strong ability to pivot/re-calibrate (aka resilience under pressure).  And if you think about it, these are three of the strongest abilities of a business leader, are they not?

Although the current video/Zoom environment inhibits the context for observing body language and gestures, you’ll want to be tuned in to what your fellow applicants are “giving” you.  If you’ve ever been an actor, dancer, or an athlete (or just good at reading people), you’ll know that often, people reveal more from their movements and facial expression than they do from what they say.  So in the days/weeks leading up to your interview, you’ll want to practice reminding yourself to observe (and respond constructively to) body language, tone, and facial expression.

Wharton’s MBA program is built on great communication, particularly within the all-important Learning Team, so be aware that your behavior in the TBD is taken as a proxy for how you’ll be on a Learning Team.

Other tips:

-Remember fellow participants’ names and ideas, and address people by name, with strong eye contact (I know, difficult over video, but do your best!)

-If you volunteer to be a “time-keeper’, do not fall into the trap of neglecting your own ideas; this may indicate a lack of confidence in your own proposals and strategies.   Be sure to have an opinion, and one that you can defend.  You are not going to B-school to become an administrative assistant

-Try to strike a balance between receptivity and contribution: that is to say, you don’t want to just listen to others’ great ideas and nod…nor do you want to hog the air-waves.  Show that you are able to ‘manage yourself’, while also authentically connecting with others and bringing others into the discussion.  These are key skills for a business human.

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Following your Wharton Team-Based exercise, you will have the opportunity to have a one-on-one with your Wharton 2nd-year or AdCom official.    The questions are usually along the lines of

-How do you think that went?

-Was your behavior in the TBD typical of how you behave in real life?

Lately, many of my clients have been reporting the following questions in the one-on-one:

-Why MBA;

-“Why Wharton?”

Of course, a good response to these questions will incorporate elements of your résumé/CV and your life choices to date.  If you haven’t done so already, this is the time to do some introspection around why your journey truly necessitates that the Wharton MBA is the best next step for you!