10 years in the leadership role. CHEVENING ESSAY - FUTURE LEADER AND INFLUENCER

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my journey and success

What I believe is that one has to lead from the front to be a future leader or influence- ones ideology, ones thoughts and one's strength should be a pillar to change situations and environment for the betterment of individual and society.

As a professional I have worked for the last 13 years and 10 year have been in the leadership role. From growing as a small leader to leading a business unit in reputed organisation I have gained substantial knowledge from different pockets. I have grown as a leader and in some case as influencer .To substantiate my the claim, I would like to cite one such example :

On 21st Aug '2007, I joined Aviva Life insurance as a Territory manager, bancassuarance and business partnership for the north-east market (which includes 7 states).While I went for the interview, I was the 42nd candidate and the last one. The selection panel was almost exhausted and while I walked in "the first surprise was- a lady" as the position requires lot of travelling and they were not very comfortable for a female candidate. I could see the discomfort but as we progressed, the confidence and the reassurance was evident and finally the interview ended up with a cup of coffee after one hour 15 min and I was on boarder the next day. It was a challenge being the only lady territory manager PAN INDIA during that time. But "challenge was a challenge ". From a 6 lacs market to a 5 crore market - exceptional relationship with my channel partners (the banks I was managing), with my team and with external stakeholder. In a period of two years prompted to Area Manager and winning two CEO award. The only thing I did was -"Connect & create visibility "- connect well with people, connect well with external stakeholders. I stood up with my team, travelled with them and handholded them. In the same profile, I was also responsible to crack gratuity deal for the company. The deals were from state Apex and gramin bank .The board member were mostly MLA or ACS officers, meeting them and building confidence was a real problem. I happened to crack the deal for Assam State Apex Bank. The MD was a ACS office and superbly busy throughout the day . The first thing I did was "no presentation". Every competitor was doing the same thing. I figured out that he played tennis in India club every day from 6.30 pm. So I made my way to the tennis club . Joined the sport and finally we connected and casually the introduction and then it was quite easy to get my way to the office as well as get the sign off from all the sitting MLA as board members and a deal of 5 Cr was done . He even assigned me his personal coach to learn the sport. We became good friends and my entry to the Govt offices became very easy.

There are many more such example which have been part of my journey and success .Leaders are created not born and I have grown each day as better leader and influencer. I also hope that my potential can be revamped with the rightful knowledge and I can give back more to the society in general.

Eva, do not tell the reviewer what your leadership and influencing skills are. You need to show him how you put these things into action. Your essay is good, but it only summarizes your leadership qualities and influencing skills. It does not offer an accurate portrayal of how you handle sensitive issues or lack of cooperation in your team. Remember, you need to show that these are skills which will, along with your development as a Chevening scholar, help you to become a leader in the field of your choosing upon your return. The essay is too short in terms of actual application. It focuses more on summarizing your experiences. It is important that you do less of a summary and more of a narration of the events that led to your leadership and influencing skills becoming necessary in a particular professional scenario. Show off your problem solving skills that highlight your leadership talents and influencing abilities. Don't just tell the reviewer about various settings you performed in, pick the one that highlights your abilities the most and present that, in an expanded form that best highlights the traits of a person who has the potential to become a country leader and influencing personality when the time comes.