This content analyzes an MBA application essay that highlights an applicant's leadership style as an introvert, demonstrating that impactful leadership can manifest in quiet, inclusive ways, and that self-awareness and authenticity are highly valued in admissions processes.
Mind Map
Click to expand
Click to explore the full interactive mind map • Zoom, pan, and navigate
Hi, I'm Liza Wheel, founder of Gate
House Admissions. And I'm Jeremy
Shinwald, founder of MBA Mission. And
today we're reviewing another
application essay from an MBA applicant
who was admitted to HBS. If you want to
follow along, use the link below to
download a free copy of our book of
successful HBS application essays. In
our last video, we looked at Suzanne's
businessminded essay. Now, let's take a
look at her leadership focused essay. On
day one of our annual team offsite, a
small group of us are gathered around a
shady bench on the Netflix campus
discussing how to minimize project scope
creep. It was a painoint identified in
our team pulse checks, a bi-weekly
survey that I started. Upon joining my
team, I noticed there weren't any
outlets to raise work issues. At MBB,
anonymous surveys allowed us to rate
topics like work life balance, impact,
and growth opportunities. Management
listened and responded to feedback which
made employees feel heard and I wanted
to create a similar experience at
Netflix. Over the past year, the pulse
checks have helped elevate issues that
my co-workers may not have felt
comfortable communicating upwards.
Comments on a lack of camaraderie pushed
us to organize more socials.
Consistently low work life balance
scores informed leadership's decision to
open five new analyst positions. As an
introvert, I feel strongly about
creating inclusive environments where
everyone is comfortable sharing their
thoughts. Earlier in my career, I held
back from asking questions during
meetings for fear of wasting the team's
time. I noticed the same reservations
with a new analyst I'm overseeing. So,
when he sent his questions to me
offline, I encouraged him to ask the
team. While he was hesitant at first, he
slowly gained confidence and is now
speaking up more during meetings. As I
grow in my career, I aspire to become a
leader who listens to and advocates for
the quieter voices in the room. Jeremy,
take it away. Three words that I say as
an introvert. Okay. Amazing. Amazing.
And this is why uh because people
believe that at HBS every single person
has to be the prototypical leader who's
going to, you know, lead everyone on the
field and get that winning touchdown.
Some sort of Tom Brady or even, I don't
know, some Winston Churchill or
something like that who's just going to,
you know, be the person to motivate
everyone and get them all inspired and
get them all overachieving. And you
can't have you can't have 950 people
like that. It just doesn't work. There
is there is room in the class for
introverts at at HBS. Not everyone has
to be an extrovert. You have to you have
to own who you are and um and discuss
that. I've I've told a story before
where one of my favorite applicants who
was interviewing at Harvard uh looked at
me very dry fellow and he looked at me
in a mock in a mock interview I did and
said, "I'm not the type of person to
light up a room." And I laughed because
it was it was the most sweet and sincere
and authentic moment. He knew exactly
who he was and he got in. Um, and I
said, you know, you you can't run from
that. So, those three words are are
really meaningful. And I'm sure that
many people who are introverts or just
maybe again have a weakness or a flaw
try to hide from them or wallpaper over
them or whatever. And she just owns it.
And why not? There's nothing wrong with
being introvert. And so, and she talks
about and she talks about how that was a
challenge for her. and she she wants to
use it for for good for another person
to be to be a better leader and to make
sure that other people can contribute
and and also to kind of like immediately
sort of say like well I'm you know I
mean not quite saying it as blunt as
that but I'm not going to accept that
you're going to have to you're going to
have to work at that from day one here
if you want to if you want to you know
be effective in your career I'm going to
push you I'm not gonna accept second
best from people around me I'm gonna
push you from day one to you know to
offer more of yourself because that's
that's what I learned about myself I I
needed I needed that the the the other
piece about this is what a foil from
with with essay one, right? So essay one
we're just like wow this person is
driving change on a macro level across a
worldleading company like wow like what
a what a killer like this that she's
just just an incredible I'm surprised to
learn that about her right yes totally
right I'm surprised to learn that that
that her that her leadership is is is a
quiet form of leadership and and it it
gives a totally different perspective to
who she is and and and kind of really illuminates
illuminates
how just how impactful she was in some
ways because because she didn't through
it do it through like okay hey I'm here
let's do this I got the idea she had to
it had to have been hard for her to go
out there and advocate for her own ideas
but she she saw the power of it and knew
she was right so love it I'm I am we're
halfway through these these three essays
because you've got something to say of
course about this but like I'm I could
see why someone would read this and be
like we got to we got to read this
person's we got to interview this
person. Yeah, I I was I was surprised. I
mean, she started this essay, just even
this essay about how she instituted
pulse checks that she, you know, had
learned about when she was in management
consulting. She brings them over to
Netflix and I the same thing. I imagine
this, you know, rah rah out there in
front and then boom as an introvert and
it really all of a sudden I looked at
all of her past experiences differently.
Yeah. And it was it it was a strategic
choice not to lead with it. She could
have started this essay with as an
introvert and we could and but I think
wow she it's almost like the in her her
introversion is a characteristic.
doesn't define her and she in her
accomplishments can stand on their on
their own. But I was just delighted to
get to that paragraph and discover that
because that had you know we should
never you can't ever judge a book by its
cover. You can't ever make assumptions
or you can and and I had made the wrong
assumption about her. Right. Yeah. Like
it's it's it's rare that you meet you
read an essay and you're really like
surprised by a turn. Like there's a turn
you're like really surprised and and and
she does that and I always talk about
like grab like talk about keeping the
reader learning and grabbing and holding
their attention. She's grabbed and held
my attention. I I am I am listening. I'm
I'm like wow this is a fascinating
self-aware person. Yes, I I 100% agree.
And again I can't wait to to to read
essay 3. I'm like I don't know if you
have more to say but like I'm like let's
get on with it. Well that's a good
segue. So, next up, we'll look at
Click on any text or timestamp to jump to that moment in the video
Share:
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
One-Click Copy125+ LanguagesSearch ContentJump to Timestamps
Paste YouTube URL
Enter any YouTube video link to get the full transcript
Transcript Extraction Form
Most transcripts ready in under 5 seconds
Get Our Chrome Extension
Get transcripts instantly without leaving YouTube. Install our Chrome extension for one-click access to any video's transcript directly on the watch page.
