Hi everyone, would love some feedback for my Chevening leadership essay here. Thank you very much for the feedback x
Describe a time when you demonstrated leadership. In your answer, please address the following: What was the context or challenge you faced? What specific actions did you take as a leader? What was the outcome, and what did you learn? How has this experience shaped your approach to leadership?
My leadership experience showed commitment to achieving the goal, against all odds. When leading a CSR project at PT Kubota Machinery Indonesia in 2024, I was responsible for donating a generator set to a clinic in Nagekeo, East Nusa Tenggara. The project faced an unanticipated challenge because during the process of delivering the generator set to the clinic, a nearby volcano, Mount Lewotobi, erupted. The generator set was delivered safely to the clinic just before conditions worsened due to eruption, however our engineer and mechanical team cannot reach the destination because all flights were cancelled.
The clinic runs by nuns with little technical background and access to the area was limited. Once the generator set has arrived, the nuns could not operate or maintain it, especially without guidance from our engineer team. This could have made the entire donation ineffective.
To ensure the generator set can be operated safely, I coordinated with our technical team in Jakarta and communicate closely with the nuns to identify local workshop in the area. I arranged for them to be trained in troubleshooting and maintenance online, until our engineering team can reach the location and train them in person. By doing this, I made sure that the generator can be used effectively and safely, while also empowering local technicians, creating a long-term support system for the clinic.
Now, the clinic has able to operate 24 hours every day of the week, serving more than 150 patients per month without power cut disruption. From the online training I conducted, the clinic also now equipped with three local technicians, ensuring the clinic a permanent support system that has reduced downtime by 80%.
The project taught me that true leadership is not just about completing task, but also adapting quickly in crisis, identifying and mobilizing the right expertise, committed to deliver success against all odds. Most importantly, I learned that leadership measured by resilience and resourcefulness when circumstances are at their toughest. This experience also reinforced my commitment to supporting rural communities through sustainable solutions, a lesson I continue to carry into my long-term work on agriculture and food security in Indonesia.
Describe a time when you demonstrated leadership. In your answer, please address the following: What was the context or challenge you faced? What specific actions did you take as a leader? What was the outcome, and what did you learn? How has this experience shaped your approach to leadership?
My leadership experience showed commitment to achieving the goal, against all odds. When leading a CSR project at PT Kubota Machinery Indonesia in 2024, I was responsible for donating a generator set to a clinic in Nagekeo, East Nusa Tenggara. The project faced an unanticipated challenge because during the process of delivering the generator set to the clinic, a nearby volcano, Mount Lewotobi, erupted. The generator set was delivered safely to the clinic just before conditions worsened due to eruption, however our engineer and mechanical team cannot reach the destination because all flights were cancelled.
The clinic runs by nuns with little technical background and access to the area was limited. Once the generator set has arrived, the nuns could not operate or maintain it, especially without guidance from our engineer team. This could have made the entire donation ineffective.
To ensure the generator set can be operated safely, I coordinated with our technical team in Jakarta and communicate closely with the nuns to identify local workshop in the area. I arranged for them to be trained in troubleshooting and maintenance online, until our engineering team can reach the location and train them in person. By doing this, I made sure that the generator can be used effectively and safely, while also empowering local technicians, creating a long-term support system for the clinic.
Now, the clinic has able to operate 24 hours every day of the week, serving more than 150 patients per month without power cut disruption. From the online training I conducted, the clinic also now equipped with three local technicians, ensuring the clinic a permanent support system that has reduced downtime by 80%.
The project taught me that true leadership is not just about completing task, but also adapting quickly in crisis, identifying and mobilizing the right expertise, committed to deliver success against all odds. Most importantly, I learned that leadership measured by resilience and resourcefulness when circumstances are at their toughest. This experience also reinforced my commitment to supporting rural communities through sustainable solutions, a lesson I continue to carry into my long-term work on agriculture and food security in Indonesia.
