Different experiences that had sharpened my leadership skills - Chevening application

LEADERSHIP AND INFLUENCE (CHEVENING SCHOLARSHIP)

Leadership is a process whereby a person influences others to achieve a goal, inspire people to attain a given purpose. Being a leader for me is also a call to serve, it takes a passionate leader to influence team members in achieving success. During my third year in University, I was elected as the Executive Secretary of the department, at that time there were no tutorials across all the levels and this was affecting the general performance of students in the department. I took it upon myself to form a team of 12 people that volunteered to teach during the tutorial. Prior to this time, tutorials in the department had reduced drastically and most students were not interested.

To ensure the essence of the tutorial was achieved, I organized a session involving students and lecturers to sensitize them on the impact of tutorials on our academic performance. Within my team, I had people in charge of several duties such as gathering and distribution of past questions, circulation of materials that would help during the tutorial classes and planning the timetable. I was able to speak to lecturers and they got very interested and they participated fully in the sessions. This was a huge success as the academic performance of the department increased greatly and most importantly tutorial sessions still run in the department even after I graduated.

Another experience that has sharpened my leadership skill occurred in my most recent place of work. I had just joined the company as a graduate trainee, there were several things to be learnt within a short period in a fast paced environment. I became very interactive in the office, engaging colleagues and team leads, asking questions and making enquiries. After some time I observed that there were no social events, community services and retreat programs. I made a suggestion to one of my managers on a social event that would foster relationship and interaction amongst team members and how community services would help the brand of our business.

With this task ahead of me, I had to work with senior colleagues, managers of various teams and my fellow contemporaries. The idea was well received by everyone and they were all interested in seeing the success of the event as it was the first of its kind. I led a team of about 25 people, the team was divided into planning and logistics and welfare. Because of my engagements with managers in the firm, I was able to influence them to be a part of the event by making financial contributions and attending the event which was eventually a huge success.

I believe Chevening scholarship would help my leadership path and empower me to be a future leader in my country Nigeria.

Hi Adenike
at the first a correction:
i am confused while reading this sentence( To ensure the essence of the tutorial was achieved) maybe this is grammatically incorrect or not written in a good manner. its not interesting

overall i did not know anything about your field because of this while reading your essay i was confused and missed a thing
but your examples of leadership and influence is good and enough if you revise and focus more on creation of a coherent and smooth essay.

i as a reviewer cant feel comfortable while reading your essay in this draft but if you specify somethings in it, it will be really effective.

because one or two unclear points in a essay all its content can be affected. so clear something in your essay like your profession
another point that is not clear for me is (tutorials ) that i think its because of your profession that is not clear.

Hello,
Here are some corrections,

my managers at a social
During my third year at University

Try to avoid defining "leadership" in the beginning of your essay. It's better to "show-not-tell."

... the department. at that time (...) the levels which was affecting the general ...

Instead of using "affecting", try to describe how exactly it affected the students. Also, mention what Department you're talking about.

I was able to speak to the lecturers -> I spoke to the lecturers.

They got very interested ... -> They became interested and participated fully

Adenike, this is not the kind of essay that you can submit to the Chevening scholarship because it does not reflect any of the required elements of the prompt. Your focus on your college leadership position does not qualify as the professional qualification that this essay prompt indicates. While I understand the importance of your leadership skills at that age, it does not tell the scholarship committee that you are well on your way to being an influential type of leader in your country. It just tells them that you finished college. I am even sadder to inform you that the professional leadership and experience narration you created does not fall under the correct considerations either. It is not related to the function which you were hired to do at the office. If you can use an actual work related, instead of social related incident in the office scenario, then that would be best. You need to show how you can effect an actual change for the better within a broken system in your office. That is what leadership and influencing in a professional setting is all about.