Scholarship / Delegating the right task to the right person. Chevening Leadership Essay [3]

technology in design - my Leadership experience

Chevening is looking for individuals who will be future leaders or influencers in their home countries. Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your own leadership and influencing skills to support your answer.

As a design and build architect, it is my responsibility to supervise projects, organize the teams and lead most interactions in every project. And in order to achieve that I have learned to lead myself first.

Throughout the last couple of years, I have worked with hundreds of stakeholders in 7 different countries, and that helped me develop a global mindset that made me achieve success in every project. I had to know what my strengths and my weaknesses are to be able to deal with diverse groups in every single project, I had to also know how to deal with my emotions, and what to expect from each individual.

In 2015, I founded RAW designs, a cutting edge design and build firm, that aims to learn and teach about the prospects of technology in design. Back then, I didn't have any significant financial assets. I knew that I had to invest my time and efforts in pulling together a powerful team of pioneers in varied aspects of design and fabrication. It took me great efforts and multiple trial and error attempts to eventually develop a team of a wide network of inspiring people. These have ranged from high-profile architects and academics in the UAE, USA, Germany and Jordan to illiterate craftsmen in refugee camps from whom I have learned skills passed down through generations.

This relationship have soon matured and my co-workers became my subcontracting partners, and together against all odds we have produced more than a thousand furniture pieces, fifty different local and overseas retail furnishings and designing projects and conducted independent projects and joint ventures with well-known local and international, academic and professional organizations. Crowning our success was sponsorship of constructing "Amman Design Week" one of the region's most famed design events. Despite the little pay at the end, I had to convince my team about the importance of such project for the growth and prosper of RAW, and our mutual future prospects and collaborations. Eventually five of seven teams granted me their full support in heart, motivation and work; realizing the vision we were all seeking together upon completing a project of that scale. This resulted in us being featured in a number of national and international publications.

These publications have afterwards granted us the opportunity of expanding our projects to a wider international scale and provided us with a platform for recent interactions with technologically advanced projects which is the first step towards our greater vision.

From this I learned that I had to know the extent of my abilities, and how to optimize my opportunities by delegating the right task to the right person.

Scholarship / Powerful networking skill builds deep relationships and connections. Networking Question [2]

Chevening Scholarship Networking Question

I am an introvert, and I have learned that about myself from a young age. It is something that I embrace and cherish since it has taught me to be sincere and honest with myself and those around me. Despite common misconceptions about introversion, it can be a powerful networking skill that builds deep relationships and connections. I always begin my conversations with a smile, as I consider this gesture a genuine call to open a dialogue. My curiosity and ability to observe and respond to those around me enable me build a bridge and see it bloom on the other side.

Given that I have went to five different schools, and three universities, two of which were in Germany during a language exchange program, I managed to build a wide range of network that played a major role in my career. During my higher education years, I have professionally worked at numerous positions in diverse fields as for nine months I was a customer relationship manager in "Zain JO" telecommunications company refining my skill sets in soft skills and getting familiarized in large corporate management environments, involvement with inter-departmental focus sessions and communicating with clients and co-workers from different managerial and administrative hierarchies. At the same time I was working with "Ammaning.net", an events and country based activities social and cultural online platform; coordinating with local event hosts for media coverage and leading the photojournalism team to different events and venues across the city. And last but not least, throughout my study years I occupied a position of a Teaching Assistant and a co-lecturer at my University in the School of Architecture and Built Environment. Bridging gaps between students and professors, transferring knowledge and discovering the values of academia for myself and those around me. All of these positions have broadened the spectrum of my connections, where upon these gained skills I was able to let many of these connections grow and prosper on both social and professional manners, as until this very time being I have still maintained of most of these relationships, in addition to collectively connecting many of these individuals from different circles or with similar interests with one another or with myself building great lasting friendships as well as professional relationships, gaining me the reputation of being "The Fixer".

After earning my bachelor degree in Architecture Engineering and working in numerous positions in my field, these relationships, in addition to newly gained ones have crystallized to build themselves up as a valuable asset in building a career path for myself, and those around me. I soon have realized that all these prospering and growing networks would become the very foundation and infrastructure of my very own Design and Production startup company "RAW." designs.