Hi everyone I need help with my Chevening leadership essay. I need help with grammar and vocabulary. Thank you a lot!
Chevening is looking for individuals that 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.
To me, leadership is all about other people: motivate, encourage, and develop their abilities respecting differences. I believe the most authentic way to do this is lead by example. My meaningful leadership experience was at the XXX, when I was part of the products development team. I was invited to assume a strategic project. The project had been initiated but without expressive successful. Being a young woman in a man's Steel Company, I accepted the challenges. It was a multidisciplinary team, not only, I had poor knowledge about the product. Working with determination, discipline, persistence and patience I gained team's confidence and respect. As a result, we had going on activities, meted the deadlines, and delivered company's expected results receiving leadership recognition.
The project goal was test a new product at the market, trying to identify if clients perceiving value and spending more for the differentiated product. In order to increase my knowledge I asked help for others. First, I got in contact with production collaborators and visited the factory to understand more about the production process. Second, with support of company's sales team, I identified the potential costumers who could use the product. So, I networked with them and asked incessant questions about their needs and wants. Knowing about production and market, I became self-confidence to argue with the team, proposing challenges and showing trust.
The project team was composed of people from areas: Production, Marketing, Sales and Information Technology (IT). During integration with each area I noted that everyone was working individually focusing only in their process. Moreover, they didn't feel responsible or, even worse, didn't kwon the final project goal. In summary, the members had different skills and ways to operate. From these observations, I decided treat priority the whole team contextualization about the project goals, besides show how each involved area added on the process. Together, we have developed a work plan outlining the main activities and its responsible according to each one abilities. Additionally, I have created a weekly status meeting to, not only, learn about how the project is progressing, allowing each team member provide a brief status, but also, reinforce teamwork and coach team members on key issues that can affect deliverables. I always motivated the team presenting clear goals and maintaining open communication. Throughout the time, results were appearing and the team became more encouraged, integrated and focused on the final goals. At the defined deadline of six months, we managed to produce, to bill and realize an opinion poll with costumers who received the product. The project first phase was successfully delivered. Actually, we have a team strongly engaged, motivated and confident about the developing project success.
Brazil is an emerging country that needs innovative leaders who are open to discuss new ideas, been audacious without afraid to try. I believe to get different results its necessary to do something different. The Chevening scholarship will put me in contact with future leaders from a number of countries. So, this culture experience will help me to further develop my leadership abilities, preparing me to act in different environments. Back in Brazil in 2019, I will be prepared to lead on relevant projects, motivating people by example, and, on a innovative and sustainable way, find better practices contributing to country and people development.
Hi Mattew,
Please find some of my comments below:
- I believe the most authentic way to do this is lead by example
The essay is all about you. If you have applied "Lead by example" in your leading experience, then i think you could confidently say it :)
- I was invited to assume a strategic project
I think using "assume responsibility for something" will make it more clear. I did not see people using "assume a project" unless for "suppose" meaning.
- As a result, we had going on activities, meted the deadlines, and delivered company's expected results receiving leadership recognition
Do you mean "met the deadline"?
Do you mean all of the project team received leadership recognition?
- The project goal was test a new product at the market
tested
- In the first paragraph, you have mentioned that you assume responsibility for a strategic project and mention its result before moving to paragraph 2 which is to explain the details in that project. Later on, you also repeated project's success result in paragraph 3. I suggest to rearrange the content following a time frame so it's more logical. Also, the part of explaining the project you lead in detail should be separated into a new paragraph, it should not be merged with paragraph 1.
I hope this helps
