This article contains Chevening leadership essay writing tips, guides, examples, and winning Chevening leadership and influence essay samples from previous applications.It provides crucial tips that will be useful to international students who are applying for the UK masters degree scholarship program this year.
Our guideline contains informative tips on how to write the leadership and influence essay question. The stated tips are backed up by selected leadership skills examples from previous, sample Chevening scholarship application essays. In other words, the guide analyzes the applications submitted to the UK Government’s international students scholarships program in past years to identify tips and errors.
Our guideline also touches on the format for writing Chevening leadership and influence essays, in addition to the influencial leadership skills examples from previous applications. This is meant to guide students on how to answer the leadership and influence essay question using the correct Chevening leadership essay structure and format.
If followed keenly, this valuable resource has the potential to increase their chances of winning a Chevening Scholarship for a UK masters degree. The article is also available in the form of a downloadable leadership essay PDF document.
Writing Chevening Leadership and Influence Essays
Writing a winning Chevening leadership essay requires a deep understanding of the influence and leadership skills examples that must be included in the answer to the Chevening leadership and influence question in order to convince the review committee.
To study in the UK under the Chevening UK Gov scholarship for international students, applicants must first provide specific examples of leadership skills in their Chevening essays and how they used they have used their leadership ability to influence change in the past. This is in line with the requirements of most college application essays whereby students must exemplify exemplary influence and leadership skills competence.
Chevening Leadership Essays- Post Study Career Plan
The Chevening leadership essay writing question is closely linked to the Chevening career plan essay. In addition, to writing the leadership and influence essay, students applying for the UK government’s masters scholarship must give convincing examples, when writing the post study career plan essay, of how their leadership skills will be used post UK study to influence change in their host countries.
After all, the UK government’s masters degree scholarship for international students is meant to identify and mentor bright students who have plans to return home after studying in the UK and to use their academic and professional qualifications to create transformative change in their home country.
Leadership and Influence Essay Question
The Chevening Leadership and influence essay question is one of the four Chevening essay questions and writing tasks that must be completed by students seeking to secure the UK Gov masters degree scholarship for international students.
The Chevening Leadership Skills Essay Question
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.
Tips for Writing Winning Leadership and Influence Essays
Winning a Chevening Scholarship is a process that starts from submitting accurate personal information and academic credentials, writing winning Chevening essays.
Finally, student applicants must select suitable UK masters degree courses that are covered by the Chevening Scholarship, and securing a course approval letter from a Chevening approved UK University or College listed under the UK Government’s Masters Degree Scholarship program.
This particular guide covers tips for writing a winning Chevening leadership essay. According to the Chevening Scholarship committee, the best Chevening leadership essay should contain well written, reasonable, and specific examples of leadership and influence, including clear demonstrations of how they were previously used in their career or professional experiences to influence positive change.
5 Common Mistakes When Writing Leadership and Influence Essays
Mistake 1. Describing Leadership at the Expense of Stating Leadership Skills Examples
When answering the Chevening leadership essay question, a good number of students make the mistake of focusing on defining leadership instead of stating their leadership skills, influential leadership experiences and the relevance of the Chevening, masters degree scholarship in respect of their career goals, leadership, and post-study plans.
Mistake 2. Failing to Support Examples with Evidence
Most Chevening leadership essay samples found on the internet confirm the observation by the Chevening scholarship essays review committee that one of the most common mistakes found in leadership and influence essays is failing to link substantial evidence to the examples stated in those submissions.
This mistake, which is common to many, poorly written essays, is attributed to poor leadership essay writing skills and misinformation on the content of a winning response to the leadership and influence skills question.
Mistake 3. Using Irrelevant/ Outdated Examples
In some cases, students applying for the Chevening Scholarship use examples of leadership from their early school life academic experiences instead of giving recent examples from their current professional or career experiences that are more useful and relevant examples of current leadership ability.
Mistake 4. Assuming that Administrative Positions Amount to Leadership Ability
Sadly, several Chevening leadership essays, and a good number of the examples contained in most of the samples found online, mistakenly assume that their previous job positions or ranks at work are, solely, sufficient proof of their leadership skills competence.
Where such leadership skills examples are used in scholarship essays, specific details of how the position was used, in an exceptional manner, to influence others and achieve a gainful positive change. Otherwise, stating positions and failing to explain how they were used to influence a desirable result will only result in failing the Chevening leadership essay question.
Mistake 5. Stating the Achievements of Groups Instead of Individual Leadership and Influence Experiences
When writing a Chevening leadership essay, students MUST avoid using the term ‘We’ and the examples of what was done by others or in groups. Chevening Scholarship application essays on leadership and influence should only use the first person pronoun ‘I’ to describe the leadership abilities and achievements of the individual applicant in using leadership skills to influence change.
Approach and Structure of a Leadership and Influence Essay
The examples of leadership and influence used in Chevening essays should focus on defining the manner in which leadership was provided, the results achieved, and the impact of the leadership experience on professional growth.
The STAR approach should be used when writing the Chevening leadership essay to state and explain your leadership skills and examples of leadership and influence in an orderly manner.
The STAR Approach of Writing Good Essays on Leadership and Influence
STAR stands for Situation (S), Task(T), Action(A), Result(R).The STAR approach of writing Chevening leadership essays helps one to define a specific experience or problem that needed to be addressed, the enormity of the task, the course of leadership and influence/ action taken, and the resulting positive change that was achieved. For a more detailed explanation of the STARL approach check the Chevening Career Plan Essay Sample PDF and Examples of Post Study Chevening Essays.
Leadership and Influence Skills Example (PDF Download)
Identifying problems, developing solutions and influencing their implementation is the hallmark of my leadership ability. Over the years, I have developed various leadership skills that I use in problem solving, the most significant being my ability to use influence to elicit a desire in persons within my network to support noble causes for common good.
My leadership skills development has been gradual, inspired by the idea that leaders should be proactive in tackling community challenges and influencing transformative change. As a food safety and water quality analyst at Polucon Ltd. in Kenya, I was concerned about the risky food and water handling by vendors operating near the company’s premises, in a stark contadiction of Polucon’s investment in food safety and water sediment quality analysis. This had the potential to dent the company’s image.
Chevening Leadership Essay Sample
I raised the concern in a meeting with the company’s managers in November, 2020 and successfully influenced them to allow me to conduct free food safety and water quality training sessions for food vendors in the company’s conference room on weekends as part of corporate social responsibility (CSR). I then created a WhatsApp group that I used to manage and enlist vendors to the program.
Consequently, I have trained over 500 vendors on hygiene, safe food handling, and basic water treatment. This helped minimize the rampant cases of food and water bourne diseases in the area by raising awareness on food safety and water pollution. In recognition of my achievement, I was made a member of the company’s CSR committee and awarded a salary increment.
Chevening Leadership Essay Samples PDF
Proactive leadership through informed decisions and communication is important for change management. In 2019, Covid-19 presented new occupational health challenges at a time when I was Polucon’s health and safety advisor. I proactively began to create awareness on the Covid-19 pandemic and its containment by using internet technologies to research, record and relay information to fellow employees.
Additionally, I mobilised a health and safety committee within the company to implement Covid-19 prevention measures. This increased Covid-19 awareness and facilitated adoption of health protocols by employees. Consequently, 98% of the staff got vaccinated and none of them contracted Covid.
Chevening Leadership Essays Sample
Team work and delegation skills are essential for effective leadership. In August 2014, I was part of the ‘Napenda amani, je wewe?’ initiative developed by Red Cross-Kenya, to support displaced survivors of ethnic violence between the Orma and Pokomo communities of the Tana River District in Kenya. There was an urgent need to raise funds for the initiative.
I recruited 200 university students into the program and organized them into small groups of 25 members, tasking them with meeting specific objectives for raising funds and developing appropriate strategies. I ensured close collaboration between these teams and the Red Cross office through weekly emailed reports. Eventually, I conducted a successful cash donation campaign, raising KSh 1.16 million that was used in constructing temporary shelters for 200 displaced families.
Sample Chevening Food Safety Essay PDF
A Chevening Scholarship will further develop my leadership abilities through the numerous leadership programmes organised by the Chevening UK Gov scholarship secretariat. I will use the skills gained through the the program to influence the adoption of sustainable food systems that will promote good health and trade hence reduce poverty by fostering sustainable development in Kenya.
Read More Chevening Essay Samples and Download Free PDF Essay Formats
You may want to read more popular Chevening Essays, Samples, and Guides below to improve your chances of landing a fully paid Chevening UK Gov Masters Degree Scholarship:
Chevening Essay Samples on Post Study Career Plan (with PDF)
Chevening Essay Samples on Networking (with PDF)
Chevening Essay Samples on Why Study in the UK (with PDF)