What should be the structure?
 Write in paragraphs
Leadership exists in different spheres and it
doesn’t always have to mean being a director
of an organization, or leading a social
movement. What they want to see is that you
possess the courage, and the determination
to see a problem around you, gather enough
support around it and execute a plan of
change. Even if the change doesn’t happen,
what’s important is that you have what it
takes to be a change agent. The point of this
section is for you to demonstrate that you
have the potential to be someone your
country can one day depend on to bring
change in your sphere of influence. So
remember the past, brag about the present
and dream into the future, searching into your
soul and putting your heart in ink on paper.
Where do I start from?
 Brainstorm. Delve back in the past
and write about the time(s) you lead
or influenced a decision.
 It does not just end at a particular
time. Ideas may stream into your
mind while eating, bathing or even
praying. Do well to note them in a
book or space devoted to your essays.
They may come as sparks in the mind
and if not trapped who knows, they
may be quenched!
 Pick at least 3 experiences from your
ideas that are most beneficial and
memorable for you that shows your
capability as a leader/influencer.
 Organise your ideas into sentences.
 Use the STAR model discussed under
essay writing tips
 Have an introduction, main body and
conclude by showing how the
Chevening scholarship will help you
be a better leader/influencer in your
chosen profession or highlight areas
you intend to improve and how the
Scholarship can assist you to do so.
 Use more than one example but be
mindful of the word limit.
The Leadership essay with an example
The Question from last year;
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. (Minimum word count:
50 words, maximum word count: 500 words)
Here, the reader is looking for a Leader if you
don't see yourself as a leader, then this
scholarship is not for you. You have to
persuade the reader that you are a leader,
even if you think you not. So an example;
2 years ago I travelled to Germany. And we
had some activities we did in the refugee
camps. I was asked to do some presentations
from my country. I can use this situation to
say; I came up with ideas of how I could make
our visits a success. I led and effectively
taught the Germans ABC. We successfully
presented this for the next 7 weeks. On the
last day I was *commended for being a great
team leader and an effective communicator.
This is a bit exaggerated but the experience is
true. Use a language that persuades the
reader. Don't be ordinary, they are not
looking for ordinary individuals. You can see
also that figures are used. If you know they
are large. Use them for your advantage. For
example I supervise over two hundred staff as
well as one hospital and seventeen health
centres covering a population of seventy-five
thousand, in primary healthcare provision,
promoting healthy rural households (This is
1
from one of the Chevening scholars). Don't
just say I supervise staff. Use about 3 to 4
examples and even more leadership examples
not just one.
The following is a good leadership example
using the STAR model:
Situation:
During my third year of college, I was elected
Vice President for Professional Programs for
my student association. The duties of the
position included securing speakers for our
meetings, advertising the programs to the
campus community, introducing speakers,
and evaluating each program.
Task:
Previous attendance at meetings had
decreased substantially due to a decrease in
the overall student population. The goal was
to implement programs to address the
professional development of our association
and increase attendance by 25% compared to
the prior year's figures.
Action:
I assembled a team to help with the program
design and speaker selection. I developed a
survey to determine the members'
professional interests and ideas for possible
speakers and topics. My team and I had each
member complete the survey. Then we
randomly selected members for a focus group
interview. I had learned about this research
technique in my marketing class and thought
it would help us identify why attendance had
dropped.
Result:
Because of the information we gathered from
the surveys and interviews, we selected
speakers for the entire year, produced a
brochure describing each program and the
featured speaker. Under my leadership,
attendance increased 150% over the previous
year.
To use the STAR technique effectively,
remember:
 You are the STAR of the story, so
focus on your own actions.
 Tell a story and capture the interest of
the reader. Include relevant details
but don’t waffle.
 Move from the situation, to the task,
to your actions, and finally to the
result with a consistent,
conversational approach.
Final tips
 Be honest. Speak about who you are
and the things you’ve done. Don’t go
for the larger than life narratives.
They are easy to see through and will
disadvantage you.
 An important reminder is that keep
your language simple. Those reading
the applications have to go through
hundreds if not thousands of essays
and if your language is complicated
and the read cumbersome they are
likely to drop you or be
discombobulated by your essays. This
link has some of the leadership words
you can use you can also find more
here.
 Focus on the questions. It’s easy to
get caught up on trying to sell yourself
academically but Chevening is looking
for leaders and influencers. The
degree is only one component of the
application process and minor one,
because everyone else applying
already has one. The key is to talk
about the things that set you apart.
 I recommend that you include one
clear example (among other
examples) of how you used your
leadership skills to solve a problem or
help attain a particular goal. It’s key to
illustrate clearly and speak in specifics
rather than generalise.
 Chevening wants to evaluate you not
your team so if your example is about
a tem, focus on what your role
was and if that role was you getting
work done by you effectively leading a
2
 team then so be it, but Chevening is
not taking your entire department to
a masters in UK so focus on your role
in accomplishing something, even if
you were part of a team. This should
apply on the Action part of the STAR
approach.
 It is also important also show a
consistent pattern of your leadership.
You can say your leadership skills
started in 2009, or in university etc
when you were elected president of
the University union, or when u joined
the union or when ABC happened.
Mention what you did, don't just
mention positions, tell them what you
do or what you did.

*Disclaimer: The views and opinions

expressed are those of the author and
editors’ experiences and do not reflect that of
the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO)
and its partner organizations.

References:
 The scholar journey website.
 Google
 Notes from previous scholars.

Issue Date: 01/07/2018

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