Scholarship / FOR ME, LEADERSHIP IS ABOUT TEAMWORK / CHEVENING SCHOLARSHIP [4]

hello!

I am preparing to apply to the Chevening scholarship. I would like some feedback on my essay

Thanks

LEADERSHIP SKILLS CHEVENING SCHOLARS

Essay Questions: 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.

(minimum word count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)

As a person, my credo has always been « Treat people the way you want them to treat you ». That sentence influences everything I do and therefore my definition of leadership. For me, leadership is about motivating and sharing my values with people I work with to achieve the goals we set together.

One particular leadership experience I want to share with you is my year-and-a-half working as a chartered accountant trainee at GOLDEN CONSULTING SARL. I have been given the responsibility to develop the advisory department, both technically and commercially. That was, at first, very challenging for me and unlike anything I had ever done. I had to build something from almost nothing, my boss having a vision of what he wanted the department to be without translating it in reality. I had to appropriate myself that vision, work on offers that could interest customers, work on a way to reach that customers and to accomplish what we promised them. I also had to assemble a team. I took the time to share my ambitions for this department with my team because I thought it was necessary in order for them to do a good job. Ultimately, I worked through it all. As of today, the advisory department have four members and a catalogue of twenty-two missions. The department also teams up with the MPME, an Ivorian association aiming to help develop SME, to create a centre dedicate to advise the association' members on financial and management issues. I think the fact my collaborators and I understand each other well and share the same goals are behind that success.

Another experience that shapes my leadership skills are the company my sisters and I started with nothing more than 20 000 XOF in our pocket, a passion for pastries and a desire to accomplish something of our own. We began this journey selling home-made pastries online and end up employing ten persons with whom we share our love for delicious and healthy foods. Having 27 000 followers on social media and a restaurant allow us to set trends in that domain. We are now looking to increase our company size by opening a shop in centre' city, a project I initiated and currently oversee. In the end, l think leadership is all about team work.

The cursus I am following also influence me. Becoming a chartered accountant in the French system is a very demanding journey, with a known start but an undefined end. As I reach the cursus last step, I am starting to receive more advice requests. I do my best to share my knowledge, like, mentoring two younger students. It made me realize that young Ivorian people, especially girls, need more examples of similar people succeeding in their field. That prompted me to become more active on that level, turning for example to social media to achieve my purpose. In the future, I plan to implicate myself further on that regard, an ambition the Chevening scholarship can help me achieve.