Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.

Describe an example of your leadership experience in which you have positively influenced others, helped resolve disputes, or contributed to group efforts over time.

I stared at my computer screen, a variety of emotions running through my mind: joy, anxiousness, apprehensiveness, and enthusiasm, all mixing together in the melting pot that was my head. I anticipated only 5-10 volunteers. Imagine my shock seeing nearly 40 registered. Remarkably, English Empowered, the peer tutoring organization I started after learning about English literacy inequality in India, had caught on. I immediately thought I need help. I needed a team if I wished to expand my organization. Right away, I got to work, recruiting five people I trusted. Unfortunately, our euphoria only lasted a few weeks before our initial enthusiasm faded and problems started to surface. Simple tasks, some of which were even partially automated, such as emailing a tutor, took days, sometimes weeks, to complete. The team's motivation was dwindling, and collaboration was missing. To help understand the underlying cause of this issue, I consulted my best friend, one of the team members. He opined that I wasn't recognizing the strengths and weaknesses of each team member and inhibiting their potential contributions as a result. He had a point. I quickly started the efforts to understand my team better. Through candid conversations and analyzing their behavior, I learned how each team member liked to work, what drove them, and, most importantly, why they joined the organization. Consequently, I decided to research and apply different management techniques while experimenting with varying leadership styles, making sure to specialize my approach to each person's idiosyncrasies. The effects were quickly evident. Efficiency improved, team members started fostering relationships, and we began collaborating like one team. In two years, English Empowered grew from 50 to 500 tutors who provided over 5,000 service hours, a $125,000 in economic value tutoring 1,000 underprivileged students, and added 20 people to our management team. I saw the team personally invested in the expansion of an organization they built. As I dream of being a social entrepreneur, using technology to make education universally accessible, my leadership experience will allow me to extend my ideas beyond myself and inspire others to join me on my social entrepreneurship journey.