Describe a professional experience that required you to influence people. What did this experience teach you about working with others, and how will it make you a better leader?

As a Board Member at the American Cancer Society (ACS), another Board member, John, and I decided we wanted to spearhead a Fundraising Committee. Our goal was to continue raising money year-round for scholarships and educational events and to ultimately launch a small endowment.

We knew that to organize this committee, we would need to collaborate to effectively influence the Board. Some Board members had been involved for as long as 25 years and were extremely resistant to change. In anticipation of our formal proposal presentation , we met frequently to try and anticipate Board members’ questions and concerns, and determine preemptive solutions. When presenting, we appealed to their logical side, explaining that with our professional backgrounds in fundraising (John) and finance (me), it would be fruitful to utilize these skills to help ACS. We appealed to their emotional side by specifically describing the benefits that excess funds we intended to raise would bring our members.

We also desired to convince the Board to invest our currently limited funds to make a small return. Past Board members had tried this to no avail, but by doing significant due diligence on various investment options beforehand, and clearly communicating our findings in layman’s terms, the Board eventually signed off. Ultimately we were granted permission to launch our Fundraising Committee.

This experience taught me the importance of capitalizing on each team member’s strengths and delegating accordingly. Because John had more experience fundraising, he took the reins there; I am a strong communicator, so I created the proposal and presented it to the Board. Together, our non-profit organization benefited from our combined business strengths.

I also learned that people are more open to input if you’ve proven your commitment first. I was newly elected to the Board, so before proposing our Fundraising Committee, I built relationships with other members and demonstrated my dedication. These efforts enabled me to influence the Board more effectively than I could have otherwise.

Finally, this experience taught me the power of inspiring others through creating a vision. When past Board members attempted to convince the Board to invest the limited funds, they were unsuccessful. We inspired them by detailing the possibilities that more money could bring and by doing so, it was easier for them to support us in our pursuit.

This experience equipped me with the tools I need to become a better leader: learning to appreciate that every person brings a unique set of skills to a team, and working together to leverage this is crucial. I will strive to demonstrate my commitment to my team, and will continue to inspire through far-reaching yet attainable vision. I look forward to implementing these learnings through experiences at Kellogg, such as leading the Global Initiatives in Management trip, and beyond.