Hi everyone. Trying my luck with an upcoming deadline for the Chevening application. I am very grateful to have feedback from anyone. Hopefully, my example can be lessons learned and beneficial for others too. Thank you so much in advance for your time and insightful tips. I appreciate it. :) God bless.
This is my piece for the Leadership and Influence essay.
Explain how you meet this requirement, using clear examples of your leadership and influencing skills to support your answer.
(minimum word count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)
A good leader must take initiatives, able to manage conflict and dynamics situations, maintain teamwork to achieve results, and possess a growth mindset.
I am one of the youngest team members in my current job. As a communication officer, I must be able to provide technical assistance and convey constructive criticism to more than 50 civil society organizations (CSOs) partners across Indonesia. They mostly are more experienced and older than me. Unfortunately, in our organization, my colleagues and I often faced difficulties to be recognized during internal meetings. However, I decided to leave my comfort zone and took the chance.
Our project, XXX, is in its final year of implementation. Youth engagement as an effort to sustain the social inclusion movement has been discussed several times by the CSO partners for the past two years. It needed a strategic and comprehensive plan. Last year, I pitched an idea to the senior management to establish a voluntary-based youth-led movement, which then approved. I appointed to lead the initiative with the support of my colleagues who are of a similar age to me.
We conducted several outreach events to gain volunteers as the changemakers. I distributed specific roles for my colleagues and trusted them through minimum supervision. I facilitated equal opportunities. Each of them had the chance to be the person in charge of a specific event. It has improved our teamwork, and everyone was growing. The youngest colleague who has never been comfortable and avoided to speak in public, finally gain self-confidence to share her knowledge on vulnerable children issues to the university students.
As a result of our teamwork, a youth entity was established. Though we are facing the pandemic, currently the XXX is working as the catalyst for the youth movement on social inclusion and manages almost £ 16,000 from our project for a 6-months program. My colleagues and I trusted to mentor XXX. Though we did not have the experience, we learn as we go. We are striving to be a good role-model. We balance our roles and be critical friends to shape their strategic thinking and understanding of social exclusion faced by marginalized communities including persons with disabilities, indigenous people, and victims of religious intolerance among many others.
It does not mean the road is not bumpy. There were times when my colleagues and I burned out due to the extra workload, or when we demanded understanding from each other. Another time, my colleague was disappointed with me. She expressed her feelings, I took it well, apologized, thanked her for being honest, and learned from the experience to resolve my shortcomings. These experiences are very gratifying for me.
Working in a nonprofit organization is all about the struggle for better changes and I strongly believe youth hold critical roles as changemakers. They need role-model figures who inspire them to grow. Lowering ego and focus on empathy are characteristics of a good leader, which also needed to realize a more inclusive Indonesia.
This is my piece for the Leadership and Influence essay.
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 leadership and influencing skills to support your answer.
(minimum word count: 100 words, maximum word count: 500 words)
A good leader must take initiatives, able to manage conflict and dynamics situations, maintain teamwork to achieve results, and possess a growth mindset.
I am one of the youngest team members in my current job. As a communication officer, I must be able to provide technical assistance and convey constructive criticism to more than 50 civil society organizations (CSOs) partners across Indonesia. They mostly are more experienced and older than me. Unfortunately, in our organization, my colleagues and I often faced difficulties to be recognized during internal meetings. However, I decided to leave my comfort zone and took the chance.
Our project, XXX, is in its final year of implementation. Youth engagement as an effort to sustain the social inclusion movement has been discussed several times by the CSO partners for the past two years. It needed a strategic and comprehensive plan. Last year, I pitched an idea to the senior management to establish a voluntary-based youth-led movement, which then approved. I appointed to lead the initiative with the support of my colleagues who are of a similar age to me.
We conducted several outreach events to gain volunteers as the changemakers. I distributed specific roles for my colleagues and trusted them through minimum supervision. I facilitated equal opportunities. Each of them had the chance to be the person in charge of a specific event. It has improved our teamwork, and everyone was growing. The youngest colleague who has never been comfortable and avoided to speak in public, finally gain self-confidence to share her knowledge on vulnerable children issues to the university students.
As a result of our teamwork, a youth entity was established. Though we are facing the pandemic, currently the XXX is working as the catalyst for the youth movement on social inclusion and manages almost £ 16,000 from our project for a 6-months program. My colleagues and I trusted to mentor XXX. Though we did not have the experience, we learn as we go. We are striving to be a good role-model. We balance our roles and be critical friends to shape their strategic thinking and understanding of social exclusion faced by marginalized communities including persons with disabilities, indigenous people, and victims of religious intolerance among many others.
It does not mean the road is not bumpy. There were times when my colleagues and I burned out due to the extra workload, or when we demanded understanding from each other. Another time, my colleague was disappointed with me. She expressed her feelings, I took it well, apologized, thanked her for being honest, and learned from the experience to resolve my shortcomings. These experiences are very gratifying for me.
Working in a nonprofit organization is all about the struggle for better changes and I strongly believe youth hold critical roles as changemakers. They need role-model figures who inspire them to grow. Lowering ego and focus on empathy are characteristics of a good leader, which also needed to realize a more inclusive Indonesia.
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