how to write chevening leadership essay

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4 Examples of Chevening Essay: Leadership and Influence

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.

See all Newest Chevening Essay Example: click here .

Leadership Essay for Chevening Example 1

With a background in psychology, I am excited to apply for the MA in Interpreting and Translation in the UK, with a focus on the Spanish-English-French language path. I’d appreciate your feedback on my leadership essay and the others that I will be submitting. I firmly believe that leadership is a multifaceted concept, varying significantly from one person to another. In light of this, I would like to highlight my unique leadership experiences, particularly during my tenure at Navistar International.

See also:  Ultimate Chevening Scholarship Resources

At Navistar International, I was the first psychologist to be hired, and I quickly realized the absence of any mental health campaigns within the company. Seizing the opportunity, I developed a comprehensive mental health program, concentrating on stress inoculation. I chose this focus because I noticed many employees grappling with long hours and difficulties during their shifts. Designed to span four weeks, the program’s content was both easily comprehensible and pragmatic for the employees.

The program also extended a psychological assistance service to those in need. I meticulously wrote and devised this program with the aim of institutionalizing it as an ongoing mental health initiative for the company, thereby contributing to the prevention of mental disorders. I am pleased to share that the project was successfully incorporated into the company’s annual medical care campaigns.

I also demonstrated leadership while overseeing a university project in 2017, having been selected as the former representative. I was tasked with creating a health initiative for a vulnerable community in my hometown of Victoria. I led a team of eight students from the school year below mine and one from my own school year.

Navigating this project was challenging, particularly in delegating tasks in alignment with the individual knowledge and capabilities of each team member. With the more senior classmates, I elucidated the project’s structure and the psychological approach we would adopt to foster life skills such as problem-solving, assertive family communication, and knowledge about government facilities offering healthcare services, which many community members were unaware of.

Working closely with my peers Carlos and Patricia, we thoroughly reviewed the project structure and sponsorships. After successfully presenting the project to a jury, I am proud to share that we received a first-place award. As a token of recognition, we were each awarded an extra point in our semester grades, and the project was implemented, benefiting a community of nearly seventy people .

Lastly, I am honored to have had an article published in the psychology journal ‘Psychology and Health’ from Universidad Veracruzana. Driven by a desire to contribute to science, I researched journals interested in the topic, ultimately finding a suitable platform. Over the course of six months, my work was reviewed and accepted, thanks to the invaluable support of my teachers, Miss Báez and Miss Torres. The article was officially published in January 2020 and is available on both the journal platform and my Google Scholar profile.

In conclusion, my leadership strengths are rooted in observation, empathy, and a keen ability to discern people’s needs, strengths, and abilities. I excel in the design and organization of projects that promote well-being, community engagement, and effective communication. With a passion for languages and an MA in Interpreting and Translation, I am eager to leverage these strengths to make an impact in the linguistic field.

“Leadership and influence” Chevening Essay Example 2

It is increasingly becoming a well-known fact that ‘influence is the new currency for success’. This is especially true in this new social media era, where several careers have taken off on the strength of social media influence alone, and several political careers have been elevated through the power and ubiquity of social media. Former American President Barack Obama, who used the Internet to orchestrate an unprecedented political campaign mainly using social media, is a prime example. I am well aware that influence and leadership are intertwined, where one cannot exist without the other. Amassing influence is, therefore, the surest way of achieving one’s leadership goals because people can only be motivated to follow a person with some influence. With this knowledge in mind, I have endeavored to build my influence over the years to become a leader within my profession and community. This has seen me take on various leadership responsibilities in school, work, and community.

In high school, I held two primary leadership responsibilities— I was both the Head Girl and Netball Captain at Kereri Girls High School. Being a Head Girl is the highest leadership position one can attain as a secondary school student, and as you can well imagine, it came to a lot of weighty responsibilities. I was the overall leader of all prefects in the school and had to carefully use my influence to guide them towards exercising thoughtful and balanced leadership over the rest of the students. As the Netball Captain, I had to motivate my teammates to succeed in the various national and provincial competitions in which we would participate. Even at the university, I found myself in a leadership role where I was tasked with heading the Fourth Year University Project Group.

Professionally, I have consistently exercised my leadership skills throughout my career. As the Branch Operations Supervisor at NIC Bank, I oversaw teller operations, back office, and customer service operations and guided staff accordingly. I recognized my leadership capabilities and was rewarded with the ‘NIC Bank Branch Forex Champion’ award. These leadership roles have continued as I progress in my career at NIC and currently chair the NIC Securities Limited Welfare Committee. Within the community, however, I have most enjoyed exerting my influence as a leader because it has helped me contribute to society’s betterment in my little way. I am a Mentor at Nyabururu Girls High School, Kereri Girls High School, and the Equity Bank Wings to Fly Program. As a mentor, I have been able to guide young people in terms of professional and academic mentoring and financial support, especially concerning sanitary towels and other school items. In addition, I currently work with the Uthiru Area Chief to support disadvantaged families by donating clothes, food, and some financial support.

Chevening Essay Example 3

“Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it”. (Dwight D. Eisenhower)

Coming from Jordanian-Palestinian Family taught me about Eisenhower’s definition of leadership throughout my personal, academic, and professional life. External political and economic forces drove my father’s Palestinian family to move to Jordan, Lebanon, then settle in Syria. In 2015, the carpet-bombing of Aleppo forced me to leave for Turkey without a firm grasp on my future.

From the Voluntary experience I gained from working in the Red Crescent and my University Degree in Economics, I have worked as a humanitarian for the UN, trying to assist crisis-affected communities with economic empowerment and development. I have used my leadership skills to assist others who believe in recovery and resilience to commit to the exact humanitarian cause. I helped coordinate and manage the first pilot project for economic recovery in northern Syria at UN-IOM Turkey. Using my communication and administrative skills, I monitor and oversee the implementation of IOM’s programs in Turkey through our partners remotely daily. My leadership skills have been crystalized through the effective management of this project by allowing the partner flexibility to implement the activities and getting feedback on the results.

Strong leadership comes from clear communication of the task and the ability to give freedom and motivate others to thrive in implementing the objective. Moreover, I have used my communication and coordination skills to initiate change in the workplace. When the Turkish lira dropped significantly against the US dollar, and inflation rose 40%, UN local staff suddenly could not support themselves. I led discussions with colleagues suggesting writing a letter to the management expressing our needs and the aim of changing our salaries. By listening, gaining their trust, and acknowledging their fear, I convinced many local staff members to sign a letter to senior management. The letter led to a meeting with senior management to officially coordinate this issue with other UN agencies in Turkey, which later required establishing the Staff Association Committee that I was elected to lead and represent more than 150 staff in the south of Turkey.

The Chevening scholarship will allow me to receive an education that will provide me with the technical expertise and the network I will need when I return to create social change in terms of development and economic recovery not only at the community level but also in terms of policy implantation. This is a highly needed change for the current Syrian Refugee crisis and the Middle East.

Example 4: Leadership and Influence in Water Management

In the pivotal final year of my degree, I took a stand against the pressing issue of limited access to clean water in Sucre, my hometown. Recognizing the urgency, I spearheaded a groundbreaking project focused on groundwater research. Not only did I secure crucial funding from the water services company, ELAPAS, but I also orchestrated collaborations with key stakeholders across neighborhoods. My leadership role encompassed everything from research initiation and sample collection to the actualization of purification units. Through my unwavering commitment, I championed the cause of Sustainable Development Goal 6 and Water Quality Regulation NB512. The tangible impact? Seventy families now have access to safe drinking water, and a ripple effect of heightened awareness about hygiene and responsible water consumption has been set in motion.

My leadership journey didn’t stop there. As a board member of the Scientific Society of Civil Engineers Univalle-Sucre, I took the helm in coordinating all hydraulics and hydrology-related activities. The pandemic posed unique challenges, but I innovatively transitioned to virtual platforms, spotlighting critical issues like sustainable water management and the pivotal role of women in the water sector. My proactive involvement in the society culminated in co-authoring a scientific article, now published in a renowned Costa Rican journal, poised to enlighten future researchers.

Another feather in my cap was my active involvement with ABIS Chuquisaca. Here, I played a pivotal role in orchestrating the “1st Water Fair” in Sucre, offering a platform for 17 companies to showcase their expertise in the water sector. This event, which I helped bring to fruition, garnered significant attention from students, professionals, and the general public alike. Notably, I was among the elite group of eight professionals recognized during the association’s official founding act.

In essence, while my GPA might not be sky-high, my leadership trajectory speaks volumes. I’ve consistently demonstrated the ability to inspire teams, set visionary goals, and navigate through challenges with resilience and determination. I firmly believe that my proven leadership prowess and influential impact make me an ideal candidate for the Chevening scholarship. My vision is clear: to leverage this opportunity to further the development of my nation, elevate living standards, and champion sustainable water management.

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Writing Chevening Leadership Essay

by Quva | Aug 21, 2019 | General | 2 comments

If you are reading this article, you have most probably progressed to the essay section in your Chevening application, and are wondering how you can sell yourself to a scholarship with one of the most rigid requirements in the world in a mere 500 words? The Leadership essay is undoubtedly the heart of your Chevening application, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it can make or break your application. So, it is important to carefully choose what you write because EVERY. WORD. COUNTS. (Literally).

Here is what the Chevening Leadership Essay question says:

Chevening is looking for people 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

Word of advice

The first thing that you should know (and have hopefully done if you are already in the process of completing your application) before writing the essay is that a good essay cannot be written in a day or two. You cannot just think of one leadership example from your high school and structure your essay around it. It takes multiple iterations to write the perfect essay. However, there is no need to be intimidated by this fact because if you work in simple steps, you will find yourself fast on the right track, that is, illustrating your leadership potential in a convincing and authentic manner to the selection panel.

The first thing that you ought to do is to remember to not be overwhelmed by the essays of successful applicants you have read on the internet, and to not think that everyone who gets accepted to Chevening is bound to have held a high position in a big company. You should simply work on demonstrating your leadership potential from what experiences you have had in your life in an authentic and compelling manner. Remember, Chevening is looking for some indication in your essay that tells them that you have the potential to influence people in your country to bring about positive change in near future, and your essay should provide them with one. The first step towards writing the essay is to make a list of all the jobs you have held in your professional life in the past 5 years. For each job you have listed, also write your responsibilities, and the reason you are proud of that job. Any examples that you use in your essay should be recent, and not going as far back as high school. Next, prioritize. Take some time to think and eliminate the least impactful examples. Keep working till you find the ones that you feel can reflect you in the best light. Select top three examples from your life that show you in the capacity of a leader, in a scenario where you faced a problem and took charge, and went beyond your job description to solve that problem. Once you have selected your examples and figured out which leadership trait each example reflects, being with the first draft of your essay. It is important to begin your essay with one or two lines about what leadership is for you, and how do you describe it. Once you have done that, move on to answer the question of the essay with what is known as the STAR technique. It provides you with a structure for your essay and helps save words by describing your story in an efficient manner. STAR stands for S – Situation. This is a problem or a situation encountered by you. Start by briefly describing the problem, including the who, what, when, where, and how. T – Task. This is the part where you talk about your responsibilities in handling the situation you described above. Describe any challenges that encountered. A – Action. In this part, describe the steps you took to counter the situation. Be specific about any initiatives that you took as a leader to overcome the challenges you faced. Focus on your individual role in remedying the situation, and not on the team work. This will help Chevening identify you as a potential future leader, which is the purpose of this essay. R – Result. Finally talk about the results that you were able to achieve, and describe how you were able to avert the crisis using your leadership abilities. Be specific about the outcome that you were able to accomplish, and make sure that the results are realistic and believable in order to maintain the authenticity of the story. Once completed, do not forget to take one line to describe the lesson you learned from the situation you have mentioned. It will help you transition into your conclusion nicely. To conclude, briefly mention how Chevening will help you on your way to achieving your goals and becoming a leader. A few words of advice:

• Use formal English. Don’ts and can’ts are not allowed.
• Express your thoughts in a concise and clear manner. Do not be wordy.
• Use words efficiently to keep your word count in check.
• Finally, proofread. You cannot proofread your essay enough. Edit it and keep rereading it every 3-4 days. This is really important because every time you read your essay after a break, you will be able to look at it from a fresh perspective and see mistakes and identify problem areas that you could not before. Being in that frame of mind will also help you come up with better ways to write your examples or improve the existing ones.

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What type of leader are you? How to show leadership skills in your Chevening interview, according to current scholars

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One of the key qualities we look for in our Cheveners is strong leadership. Here’s how you can show this in your interview.

Our Chevening Alumni work all over the world in a huge range of disciplines, but they all have one thing in common: they’re great leaders.

Proving that you have great leadership skills is a sure-fire way to convince interviewers of your value to the Chevening network and put yourself in a strong position to receive a scholarship.

We’ll show you how you can do this and even give you tips from successful scholars. But first, why do we look for leadership qualities in the first place?

Why is leadership important?

The Chevening Scholarship is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that gives students from around the world the chance to advance their education and careers by taking part in the UK’s stellar higher education system.

We select our Cheveners by looking for four important qualities:

• Leadership and influencing
• Relationship building
• A strong career plan
• Enthusiasm for studying in the UK

Leadership skills are important because our goal when awarding a Chevening Scholarship is not just to fast-track individual success.

A Chevening Scholarship allows students to create a positive impact in their own communities and around the world, and we aim to select only the students who are willing and capable to enact this positive change.

Having strong leadership skills – and being able to demonstrate these at interview – is an important part of this.

What kind of leader are you?

In order to show your interviewer that you have the leadership skills we’re looking for, you first need to know what kind of leader you are .

The answer to this question will differ from person to person. Think about situations in which you have had to take a leadership role. What skills did you most employ? What are the qualities you most associate with the strong leaders in your life?

For Hui Wang, a 2021 Chevener hailing from China, resilience is the quality they most associate with strong leadership.

“For aspiring future leaders who aim to bring about positive change, there are bound to be ups and downs along their journeys. It is crucial to tell the interviewers you can get back up from failure and figure out how to improve.”

Hui chose to highlight this quality during the interview and, clearly, was successful. But how can you show that you’re a great leader when talking to a panel of interviewers?

How can you show leadership skills in your interview?

The key to showing off your leadership skills in your interview is giving strong, specific examples.

Using the insights you have gained from reflecting on what leadership means to you, prepare a few strong examples of these qualities in action.

Laith Abdin, a 2021 Chevener from Jordan, focused on highlighting his social skills.

“I mainly focused on multiple examples that revolved around social influence, two of which were about leaving a positive impact on society through my job and my voluntary experiences,” he says.

“One of my favourites is that, despite working for a for-profit organisation, I was privileged to lead a project that ultimately aimed to support the government in responding to a vital challenge that contributes to the greater good of my country.”

Sithabile Daka-Mungombe, another 2021 Chevener from Zimbabwe, chose to foreground her work empowering women in her community.

“I [showed] my ability to give back to my community through various volunteer activities with UNICA-AfroEdge and other community based organisations that are greatly impacting society through early childhood education and girl child education,” she says.

“[These are] causes which are dear to me because of the odds I had to overcome as a girl child growing in a community that valued girls less.”

By thinking deeply about your unique leadership style and demonstrating this with a specific example, you can put yourself in the best position to receive a Chevening Scholarship. Good luck in your interview!

By  Amy Hughes