Scholarship / Essay about Leading your superior and supervisor [3]

dear all, i hope you can give me feedback about this leadership essay i'd like to apply for CHEVENING

@Holt

CHEVENING leadership essay

I believe that leadership could not be formed one night and without tremendous effort. I started to notice that I had polished my leadership skills when the Supply Chain Director appointed me to lead Regional initiatives. I was a Management Trainee, who was placed to direct senior managers and report the results to the Board of Directors. The project valued at 7 billion IDR, a quarter of our operational cost, and it aims to change current ways of working by adding a new warehouse facility in the hope to trigger the sales.

The wide age gap, the difference in length of work experience, and diverse KPIs came as a challenge to manage the team. In most cases, They were referring to their past experiences, where unfortunately did not apply to the current business case. Regional Headquarters insisted that adding a new facility was the only way to improve sales. The local team believed the hypothesis, yet nobody has dug deep into the data, and its impact on our business fundamentals. My task was to make the team reach its consensus and validate the assumptions on expanding the distribution path.

I found out the team was coming with data from different sources, creating puzzling information. With no transparency in cross-department performance had got them bringing their assumptions and blaming each other in the meeting. I came to a different conclusion not to open a new warehouse contradicting the current hypothesis, then got confronted by a senior manager in a meeting with stakeholders. I was open, sharing that we lack reliable data, and let them rethink the solution. I flipped the tense into a constructive conflict, which stimulated new ideas and critical thinking.

The team was hesitant to cooperate knowing that the project will add more to their job. I built teamwork within the team through active listening and redefining our mutual goals. I shifted my branding from an authoritarian leader to a servant leader. Communicating my opinion humbly and letting them correct me had boosted their spirit to contribute more. I shared credits with the managers whenever their division helped me with the project task, which changed the culture of judgment and blaming to support and appreciation.

The meetings became full of ideas, backed with supporting data coming from the responsible department. I summarized the data making a comparison of the pros and cons of different business scenarios, correlating its impact on each department and our business. Which the team member confirmed that my proposal was the most beneficial for the company, using it as a conclusion.

The Board of Directors decided to go with my analysis, which saves us from a potential loss of 20% in operational cost. This project shifted my perspective that good leadership comes in a bundle of clear instructions and the culture of a supportive team with mutual goals. This experience opens more opportunities for me as now I got trusted to lead two projects; Global Green Logistics Initiative and Technology Transformation in the company.

Scholarship / Chevening - Network elevates yourself [2]

Hello All, I am going to apply for chevening and this is the essay I write for the networking part
Chevening is looking for individuals with strong professional relationship-building skills, who will engage with the Chevening community and influence and lead others in their chosen profession. Please explain how you build and maintain relationships in a professional capacity, using clear examples of how you currently do this, and outline how you hope to use these skills in the future. (minimum word count: 100 words; maximum word count: 500 words)

to connect and learn

To only introduce myself to new people is easier than to make the connection beneficial for my goals. I learned that my decision to work in the consumer goods industry is different from most mechanical engineering graduates. Mechanical Engineering graduates from my university are mostly known to build a career in the oil, gas, automotive, and airline industries.

I understood that I should connect with those who will enlighten me about the world of consumer goods. So when I was awarded a scholarship from Indonesia's biggest automotive manufacturer, I took the opportunity to connect with fellow awardees from different backgrounds across universities. The scholarship comes with terms and conditions to finish a business case. I was given a supply chain project; to enhance logistic supplies of their subsidiary. I worked with fellow awardees from Industrial Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Business. This project opened our gate to the supply chain world with all of us working in the transportation, logistics, and consumer goods industries upon graduation.

I maintained the connection through informal calls and discussions related to the supply chain models of the company we worked for, it was like a share of knowledge to discuss how to tackle challenges related to the supply chain. The discussions were fruitful which helped me find reliable business partners for my company logistics initiatives. Having a different perspective from people working in the same field outside the company, gave a solid fundamental to my argument, and supported conclusions in my projects. It gave fresh ideas on what to do when the same business case happens in the company and helped me to excel in my career.

The relationships benefited for assessing third-party logistics performance and credibility, which is needed when faced with a situation to choose several logistics service providers. When I was about to expand the distribution path of my company and had to travel across the island to visit a potential business partner. I got informed about the integrity and performance of that business partner, which helps me mitigate the future possibility of loss that is not seen in business proposals. The information was very precious especially when I found out later on that the potential business partner was having a dispute with our affiliates in International Arbitrage.

I noticed that maintaining a network gave me the privilege of a head start, where I am able to learn about one's experience. Since then, throughout years of working, I always try to maintain my connection, not only with those working in the supply chain but also other fields.

I believe that life is not always linear so that we should be open to connect and learn. I felt that success can not be gained alone, it is an accumulation of teamwork and network. The way Chevening connects and maintains its alumni is aligned with my definition of the importance of networking. I had reaped the sweetness of maintaining a connection locally, and I am sure it will be way sweeter when done globally with Chevening.

Scholarship / Chevening - My choice of courses and why [3]

Studying in The UK

Outline why you have selected your chosen three university courses, and explain how this relates to your previous academic or professional experience and your plans for the future. Please enter new information and examples here and not duplicate the information you have entered on the work experience and education section of this form

I decided to take Masters in Analytics at three different universities in the UK. The background of my decision are based on three underlying reasons, in which:

First, I chose Masters in Analytics and Management at London Business School because the institution has LondonLAB. LondonLAB is an innovation centre where the students solve corporate client's business cases from different functional areas. To support student's performance, core courses like "Performing in Organizations" and "Business Strategy Analytics" are given to ensure a solid foundation on translating data into meaningful strategies. This is the curriculum that will support my growth later on in adapting Analytics to society.

Second, Masters in Business Analytics at Imperial College captures my interest in its program. The institution lets students take part in "Data Spark Project" an analytics consulting project with real world data. Not only that, Imperial College requires its students to undertake either "a Capstone Business Analytics Consulting Project" or "Work Placement" which then the key learnings are used as a requirement to complete the studies. Most importantly, the curriculum supports me to apply Analytics in real life use.

Third, Masters in Business Analytics at The University of Manchester because the institution is partnered with "SAS", a software company specialized for Analytics and Statistical Modelling. As the software is used broadly in lots of countries and companies, it helped me to apply what I know later on in the professional world. The university also has ongoing projects with reputable companies such as Unilever, and Barclays. This shows the university's capability to support the application of Analytics in business cases.

Statistics Indonesia data showed that in Indonesia retail domestic consumption contributed more than 50 percent to GDP over the last five years. To fill domestic demand, the global company I work in still uses manual data processing over tenth-thousand transactions each month. It is prone to human-error, resulting in inability to fulfill orders. I look for ways of automation for data processing, which then I found Business Intelligence only able to visualize historical occurrences.

Historical occurrences visualized in Business Intelligence became the basis of Business Analytics to give future predictions. My current knowledge in Business Intelligence, is yet unable to tally with current market growth that requires future predictions to manage supply and demand. a Master's Degree in Analytics combined with my supply chain experience would fill the skill gaps to tap the right solution for trades and consumables distribution.

After finishing my degree in the UK, I plan to establish an Analytics firm specialized in solving business cases in supply chain and operations. I will implement the skill acquired through consulting and applying Analytics for omnichannel goods distributions. I will use the Chevening network to further validate ideas of the venture establishment and also the sustainability of the firm, by looking out for mentors and partners. I am sure that the Chevening network will further expand my point of view to look for perspectives and considerations related to my future goals.