Scholarship application - Question 1

Leadership & Influence Question

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)

<<< MY ANSWER >>>

During my career, I had the chance to lead and influence plenty of people who worked with me. Young people as well as older people. I had the opportunity to teach or learn something with all of them. When I was a financial manager in 2000, the company where I worked for, was hiring someone for the cashier function. After the selection process, I chose one person who was in his 50's and most of my colleagues said that it was a mistake to choose him, he was considered old for the function. However, I taught him and after three years he was chief of his sector, and he thanked me for had given the opportunity to him. I saw someone who was wanted someone to bet on him. I bet, and I may say that I changed him as well as he changed me.
I believe that one of the most important skills that a leader should have is knowing how to listen what people have to say. This is also called humility. Sometimes the solution to one problem come from the most unbelievable person. When I worked for a company in 2009, I had two interns and I was the first manager of the company who included interns in the weekly meetings. Until that time, no one had done it. I believe that this is a great opportunity to them to have contact with the real business world. All of my interns thanked me for had given that experience to them. So, one day I was with a super problem to solve, and suddenly one of my interns came and asked to talk to me. I said, sure! It wasn't a surprise when he showed me the solution for the problem that I had. He told me that he only came to talk with me because I was the kind of leader who allows the team to explore new ideas and new perspectives, but most importantly, I always was open to receive these ideas no matter the level that the employee has in the company.
These are only two cases when I had the chance to influence someone and be seen as a leader. I have many others situations that I was capable of change and help people. I believe that most importantly beyond teach, influence or lead teams is always ready to learn something from them.

Theo 7 months

Theo at school.

Theo and the washing machine !!

Discourse markers (1): linkers - 1A

Discourse markers (1): linkers - 1A

Discourse markers (1): linkers - 1A

Discourse markers (1): linkers - 1A

What motivates you? Unit 1A

I spent a lot of time thinking about this subject. What motivates me?
It's easy to know what demotivates you. The nature of human being is to complain about everything and everybody. This natural behavior turns easier the task to make a list of demotivating things.

However, the purpose was to find what motivates me.

One simple sentence describes what motivates me.

"Do different things, know different people and cultures, know different places and so on..."

Everything based on these words - Different, other, diverse, varied...

I can't feel motivated doing the same thing every day, at the same place, with the same people. That it's not what I want.

On the other hand, be challenged to study something different, work with a different subject, with different people and culture at a different place, definitely, it's what motivates me.

Finally, I have the need to always keep my mind busy, learning something new. If I am in this status, you can be sure that I am motivated.

See You

Vocabulary - 1A

I will introduce some new expressions that I learned in my English class.

Unit 1A - Subject - WORK. (I've already posted something about this subject yesterday).

IN A SENSE - In one way

COMFORT ZONE - (colloquial) the working or living enviroment in which we feel safe and unthreatened.

FILL sb IN ON - to tell somebody about what has happened.

CATCH UP - (with somebody) to reach the same level or standard as somebody who is better or more advanced.

KNOW YOUR OWN MIND  - to know what you want or like.

STICK TO YOUR GUNS - (informal) refuse to change your mind about something even when other people are trying to persuade you that you are wrong.

GRTTING MY TEETH - be determined to continue to do something in a difficult or unpleasant situation.

Examples

1. If I wasn't so scared of leaving my COMFORT zone, I'd change my job now.
2. Could you please FILL me in on the meeting I missed last week?
3. She tried to argue against my proposal, but I stuck to my GUNS.
4. The best way to deal with a bad day at work is just to GRIT your teeth and get on with it.
5. After missing so many classes, he'll find it hard to CATCH up with the other students.
6. You need to know your own MIND to succeed in this job. There's no room for self-doubt.

See you soon!!
 

Vocabulary - Work

Hello! Today I will write about - Vocabulary - The subject  is WORK.

So, let's go to the business.

CAREER - refers to the series of jobs that a person has in a particular area of work, usually involving more responsibility as time passes, e.g. a career in journalism. It can also refer to the period of your life that you spend working, e.g. He had a long career as a tennis player.

POST - (synonym position) is normally used when talking about having or applying for a specific job in a large organization.

PROFESSION - usually refers in a general sense to jobs that require special training or qualifications, e.g. the medical profession.

WAGES - the money paid weekly to do a job, whereas (Cambridge Dictionary) SALARY - the money that you are paid monthly or annually to do a job, especially professional employees.

BONUS - an extra amount of money that is added to your wages/salary as a reward, e.g. a productivity bonus.

PERKS - an advantage you get from a company or employer in addition to the money you earn, e.g. a company car. In formal English, e.g. in a job description, you can also use benefits as a synonym.

STAFF - all the workers employed in an organization considered as a group, e.g. Only company staff can use the canteen. It normally takes a plural verb.

EMPLOYEES - the workers seen as individuals. You may want to point out that employee can also be stressed, employee.

SKILLS - particular abilities required in a job, whereas QUALIFICATIONS usually refers to exams passed.

TRAINING - the process of learning the skills you need for a particular job.

HOURS - a fixed period of time during which people work, an office is open, etc., e.g. I work very long hours.

TIMETABLE - a plan of when things are supposed to happen (e.g. school timetable) or a bus/train is supposed to leave or arrive, e.g. There's a bus timetable on the wall.

That's it!! See you soon.