The representative of my colleagues - Chevening Leadership and Influence Essay

I hope you can give me feedback on my essay.
Thanks in advance.

to become an outstanding leader

What defines the outstanding leader for me is the ability to communicate with his team, to build trust, and to approach unsolvable problems. I believe excellent leaders share knowledge with others, inspire their subordinates, and help them improve their skills.

At college, I was the representative of my colleagues. Negotiating with professors, solving my fellow's problems, and providing them with the lectures' materials were some of my responsibilities. One day, a professor asked us to choose whether to have an MCQ test or an essay one. A serious quarrel broke out between the college students. Some wanted the MCQ form, while others preferred writing essays. As a leader, I insisted on listening to their opinions first. I asked them to help me do what would be beneficial for us. So, we created a Google form to list the pros and cons of each choice. Then, on our Facebook group, we discussed everything together. We finally overcame this problem and had the MCQ examination with 443 votes in favor, and 52 against. This experience showed me that what makes a genuine leader is not being in a higher position and making individual decisions. Conversely, communicating with the team members, sharing ideas, and seeking solutions together is what defines leadership. Once a leader shows his group he respects and believes in them, they can achieve success.

Due to the spread of Coronavirus disease, we had to spend a lot more time at home. With the help of my friend, we thought of a way to keep us busy during the pandemic and to help others improve their English language. We organized free online sessions with some of our colleagues. I created a WhatsApp group and added those who showed an interest in the idea. In April 2020, we started our first virtual conversation club. Because I have been teaching for years, I found it better to delegate this task to my friend. My main aim was to give him the chance to be the instructor. After a few sessions, we convinced one of our colleagues to take part in the teaching process. Although sometimes our students were disappointed and afraid of not improving their language, we kept on motivating them to keep learning and not to give up. Now, after about four months of hard work, I am proud we started those sessions. This is because we see their improvement and happiness with the sessions. Going through such experience helped me adhere to my principle, which confirms that leaders help and influence people, support others, and share their knowledge with them.

Encountering such situations taught me that leadership does not emanate from a leader, but it is released by every individual in the team. I realized that higher positions do not make leaders because one can expand the influence he has in whatever position he holds. With its alumni networking, Chevening will give me the opportunity to expand my leadership and influence capacity and to engage with future leaders.

I strongly suggest that you do not use this particular essay for the leadership representation. It is not strong enough. The college level problem is too elementary and not really a leadership issue. The professional representation is also too forgettable and unimpressive to compete against professionals who will have international, diplomatic, executive, and business leadership experience. You should focus on your professional leadership presentation. You might have a stronger chance of representing your leadership experience, qualities, and qualifications if you try to portray yourself as a strong leader who is not reliant on technology in relation to the leadership discussion. Look for an impressive, problem that will highlight your leadership skills and abilities. Focus on professional experiences or a singular, but impressive moment that would create the idea of a world class leader as you might embody it.

Thanks a lot for your resonse. But allow me to ask 2 questions, please.
1. Can I write about a collge project in which I was the team leader? We faced a problem with that project and I handled the situation. Coz actually i just graduated the last year. That is why I do not have any professional leadership skills.

2. Should I delete that part related to the Online English conversation sessions? I thought it is related to (influence)..

Thanks again for your response.

The concept of problem solving and leadership is good, and would attract to continue reading the essay, but the scholarship requires 2 years of work experience, try talking about leadership situations you had during this time

Wish you all the best

@Enghirri
Thank you so much for your beneficial feedback. I really appreciate it.