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Leadership & Influence essay for Chevening - decision making in tough circumstances


sgassani 7 / 22 5  
Oct 27, 2017   #1
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.

meeting the leadership qualification



In 2016, I was appointed as a member of procurement selection team of XXX Airport. The team contains 6 officers from different departments including finance, law, and engineering, and lead by an officer from the procurement department. Being in this team means carry loads of additional works and a huge responsibility. We were responsible for around a hundred procurement selection process annually and since we are a governmental institution, making accidental mistakes through the process may bring us to criminal law. Given the consequences, not many people are willing to do it, but I realized experiencing such challenges will allow me to sharpen certain skills and exposed me to the information I would not have known otherwise.

Little did I know it will then put me in the toughest situation I have ever been in. We were handling the biggest project ever which worth more than £5 million yet the team leader position was vacant due to some management problem. Being most familiar with the subject of the project, I took the charge in managing the team. I analyze the problems that occurred in the process and the void in which the law might get in. I gathered the team into several meetings to make sure everyone was on the same page and involved thoroughly in the decision making. With different backgrounds and broad range differences, I realize it would be best if everyone contributes their thoughts so I encouraged them to do so. It was not common for the team to discuss such technical detail, but I believed it was necessary given the risks I had calculated.

When we reached to an agreement and I report it to the Head of Procurement Department, he rejected the result altogether and accused me of being careless with the selection result, even after I have explained him the logical consequences of his proposed result. With obscure political reason behind it, he gave me hard pressure to alter the result. I try to understand his position and convinced him that I will bring the team to evaluate it one more time. I gathered everyone to inform the circumstances and persuade them that instead of blindly accepting his dictation about the result, we should still stand by the law and regulation but make more detail analysis and risk calculation to support the result so that he can no longer deny it. Everyone was worried of the consequences it might bring, but I assured them that being true to the cause is far more important than following a false order.

It was difficult for him to admit that we have made the right decision, but I reassure him that this time we also have given his option into consideration and found it inadmissible. In my opinion, leadership is not about who has the higher authority, it is about having humility to hear other's opinion and trust them to contribute in the process, willingness to receive the responsibility of having people's back, having a strong principle and the integrity to stand by it, and inspiring others to reach for something that is bigger than themselves.
kareem ragab 4 / 8 2  
Oct 27, 2017   #2
@sgassani
You gave one example and you clarified it well, but I think you need to give more than one example. You need to talk about more situations which you used your leadership skills in. Give example about how can you influence the others.
khaledition - / 5 2  
Oct 27, 2017   #3
@sgassani
You highlighted a good example, but I personally felt that it lacks how you influenced your team to achieve the good results, I got that from the gap between your appointment as project leader and the results. How did you persuade your team? Gathering the team in meetings to be on the same page and get the job done does not necessarily translate into influencing so you I think need to come up with a better reference.

Appreciate your feedback on my essays. Good luck.
Holt  Educational Consultant - / 14,767 4770  
Oct 27, 2017   #4
I have as different opinion of the essay that you wrote. I find that it is perfect for the presentation of leadership and influencing skills because it shows your leadership on 2 levels. The first level, is that of a team member who rose to a leadership challenge. The second, is that you led the team to victory with seemingly insurmountable odds as represented by the higher authority that you reported to. As for the influencing, the fact that you managed to convince the team to stand by the law and review the case so that you could strengthen the presentation was excellent influencing work. You don't have to go into the nitty gritty details of both leadership and influencing due to the 500 word limit. You have shown a strong team leadership style in this essay. It is exactly the kind of leadership and influencing essay that just might catch the reviewer's attention. This is one instance when the collective reference to "we" in terms of presentation was more than appropriate since you established early on that you were the de-facto leader of the team. You basically represented the collective voice of the team as its 'accidental" leader. Good work. This essay is ready to represent your leadership and influencing skills on a notable level.
OP sgassani 7 / 22 5  
Oct 28, 2017   #5
@Holt
Thank you very much. I literally jumping in excitement to finally get the right presentation, considering my first thread was nowhere close to the criteria. I still haven't finished my networking essay though. But you've been a great help! I could not say thank you enough.

Reviewing and giving feedback to other's posts also help me understand more of what is expected by the Chevening committee. Hence bow down to those who invented this forum. I absolutely will share it with everyone :)

@khaledition
@kareem ragab

Thank you.. I appreciate your feedback. Good luck to both of you too!


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