Manifest AIESEC Twente Margot Lindemulder
12-04-2014
I am a third year International Business Administration student interested in the position of LCP of Aiesec Twente. I think Aiesec is a very interesting organization because I think it is fun and important to provide people with the possibility to develop themselves and experience different cultures and places. In this manifest I will introduce myself and elaborate on my study, committee and work related experiences. I will motivate my reasons for applying as LCP Aiesec, highlight what I think I can learn and contribute. I will express my vision of an even better Aiesec, how I think I can support the organization in this endeavour and end with a brief conclusion.
Who am I? I can describe myself best as enthusiastic, driven, open and to-the-point. I am motivated when challenges arise and optimistically strive to enjoy and make the best of every situation. I was born and raised in Amersfoort. My parents still live there with my two year younger brother. For many years I enjoyed playing volleyball with a close team but switched to running, hitting the gym and Zumba lately. I still love volleyball, the enthusiastic atmosphere to aim for the win is something I really enjoy. Some other interests of mine are reading, exploring new cities and countries and watching films and series and playing cards or board games. I like to be involved in community, I am for example member of a sorority and multiple committees. I am structured, independent, spontaneous and always try to approach things positively.
What experiences do I have? After a year of exploring where my interests lay I eventually chose International Business Administration and started my study in Enschede. The many different aspects of my study, from statistics to marketing is something that attracted me. I like that the study is broad and focused on people as well as organizational aspects. As a third year bachelor student I have developed my analytical thinking, skill to work systematically and developed a thinking process focused on solutions instead of problems. I also gained a broad knowledge of the various important aspects within different organizations. During my study I was part of multiple committees. In my first year I organized, as the Freshmen Committee, various fun activities to stimulate social integration between first year students of the study association Stress with each other. The following year I wanted to join a bit more professional committee and thus became treasurer of the newly started Practice Afternoon Committee of the association. Multiple lunch lectures and cases given by companies were organized. My first committee taught me how to have efficient meetings, the importance of promotion, and planning towards events. The Practice Afternoon Committee challenged me on other levels such as communication and inter-team dynamics, especially
since we had to work closely together with the acquisition committee. In my second year as student I also supported freshmen who were active in committees of the study association Stress as SAS (student activism support) coach. I supported two students with study, work as well as personal matters. Here I thus got in contact with how it is to motivate and guide others. Even before I started in Enschede I learned how to work closely together as a team. As an all-round entertainer at a camping the aspect of teamwork was very important. I learned how to work hard, work with different personalities, and approach different parties (e.g. children, their parents and other employees) differently. This job put me outside of my times, for example while performing on stage or dealing with difficult children. This made me more confident and open to new challenges. In my most recent part-time job I am coordinator of the quality control for the study International Business Administration and the master Business Administration of the University of Twente. Taking minutes, facilitating communication between different parties (e.g. students, lecturers, program coordinators), planning, working independent as well as keeping the team informed are skills I now feel confident in. Besides working in this Education Quality Committee I worked as student assistant, supporting multiple lecturers in the development of different skill courses. Here I felt challenged because I wanted to incorporate their knowledge and ideas with my perspective on what is useful to teach and what is not. That I am driven and like to actively participate in the community can thus be seen as I helped organized volleyball camps, coached other students, was member of multiple committees and am involved in the quality assurance of the study. I can manage these multiple additional activities besides being a nominal student. Besides these work related experiences I had the chance to develop myself personally. In 2014 I spent five months abroad in Sweden, where I followed multiple courses at the university in Kalmar. I really value this experience as it made me even more independent, curious towards diverse cultures, improved my English, taught me that no matter where you are there are always fun people around and opened my eyes when it comes to the possibilities of enjoying every single moment. Moreover it was very exciting to go somewhere completely new and meet new people from around the world with different life stories.
What do I want to learn? I think I have grown a lot the last couple of years because of the experiences I had. I am good at planning, structuring, setting priorities, collaborating, motivating others and improved my communication within groups. Moreover during these past years I got to know myself better and become more confident. However, there is still a lot I would like to improve and learn. I have never been in the position of chairman. I would therefore really like to develop, besides further improving my team working skill, my leadership skills. To learn how to coach people in achieving their professional and personal goals. To learn how to guide people towards one common goal and make them feel connected and at ease. As mentioned I already have some experience with coaching individuals but would like to improve in this
matter and learn how to coach a team. During my study I had a lot of theory on team dynamics, leading an organization and implementing strategies but I miss a hands on experience. This will help me prepare for my professional career. Besides, this would also improve my people skills which is applicable in everyday life. I know there is still a lot for me to improve in this aspect. When working together I often take the lead and can be frustrated when other people aren’t working as motivated or precise as I like to. To be able to accept and know how to guide different types of people better is something I would like to develop further. Furthermore I want to improve my presenting skills, networking skills, and working and communicating professionally. I think that by practicing I will become more confident and better at presenting. Besides that I feel like I can improve when it comes to professional communication. Networking is an important aspect of this, exchanging information, building contacts and bargaining will guide me towards achieving this goal. Especially bargaining, as maintaining ones point of view can sometimes lead to better results than when you immediately try to find an acceptable compromise. I therefore think that I will be challenged by the function of LCP and am able to grow on a lot of different aspects.
Why am I interested in Aiesec? I am thus interested in becoming a board member as I believe that it will help me develop myself further, personally and professionally. Three years of theory made me eager to apply this in practice and see if and how I can use my knowledge and skills. I believe that becoming a board member will help me explore my strong points and pitfalls better. Furthermore I think it is fun and challenging to work that close together in a team. I like that Aiesec focusses on personal development and expanding boundaries, besides that I really like the international aspect of the organization as matches fits my study and interests. I think Aiesec fits with my enthusiastic and driven personality and provides me with multiple challenging experiences, stimulating my personal growth. I am still new to what Aiesec is but am already inspired, convinced and motivated to become part of this organization.
What are my thoughts for the future of Aiesec? Aiesec envisions peace and the fulfilment of humankind’s potential. Thus aims to help young people to explore and develop their leadership potential. Aiesec Twente provided multiple students with an international experience and talent days. But striving for more and better results, with other words, aiming for excellence is part of Aiesec and organizational development should therefore be a continuous process. In my opinion Aiesec & Make a Move Twente would ideally achieve the following: Full awareness of all young people in Twente of Aiesec as an organization and the possibilities it offers. Being able to inspire and motivate this target group for the useful and worthwhile experiences Aiesec offers and supporting them where needed on their experience with Aiesec and Make a Move Twente. Besides that it I would strive for Twente to offer a large amount of high quality internships for young people from abroad to
develop themselves and make them enjoy their experience as much as possible. Position Twente as an interesting region for foreign students. By providing these things Aiesec Twente can support people in developing themselves and expanding their worldview and thus educate future global citizens. Hence I believe that Aiesec can still develop and grow on multiple aspects the coming years. Aspects like brand awareness, structure and standardization and the improvement and expansion of organizational relations. Brand awareness has improved already, more and more people know Aiesec. However I believe that there are still many opportunities for Aiesec in this matter. Intensified collaborations with study and student associations for example could significantly influence the promotion reach among students. Having a direct link to the page of Aiesec or even a news feed with new internships applicable for students of that study association improves the awareness among students. Also reaching students via faculties, the international coordinators and study advisors provides opportunities. In my opinion social media could be used more effectively. It can provides Aiesec with the possibility to constantly inform people about events, progress, inspirational quotes, new collaborations, new goals set etc. Thereby strengthen the brand awareness of Aiesec Twente. This not only ensures initial contact but also makes sure this contact results in a closer relation throughout their years as student. Having a clear page of Aiesec Twente with all the information students need would make Aiesec more transparent, findable and approachable. Brand awareness is difficult to measure. But the aim could for example be to increase applications of students in Twente for internships by 20 percent due to promotion activities. Furthermore I think structure and standardization are important for Aiesec Twente. With other words, growing as a professional organization. Being structured, having good documentation, and thus forming standards will insure that Aiesec has a solid basis to build on. I think other cities can form an inspiration to establishing a kind of standard, also on a national level. A small example of what I would like to improve is that now, when exploring the site of Make a Move, it is not possible to choose Enschede as city when searching for events. Becoming an even more active part of this national platform would not only help to be more professional but also to be perceived as more professional. When there is a clear and solid basis Aisecers and young people know what to expect and are able to see what can still be improved. However, I do also believe that Aiesec should maintain its flexibility and freedom of individuals to manage Aiesec the way they see fit. Consequently a middle ground should be found, guidelines and clear information could form a suitable solution. I heard that there already were new establishments when it comes to partnerships with companies. I think this is very important to make Aiesec more professional, enabling Aiesec with providing more possibilities for young people and being sustainable. Therefore I would like to build on this progress. Contacting many organizations, for sponsorships but also for internship possibilities and building long term relationships. Hengelo is one of the biggest industry regions in the Netherlands, besides that Enschede has an enormous amount of spin offs. Representing the region could help form partnerships and position Aiesec Twente more professional and desirable as destination.
These are my initial ideas about possible goals for Aiesec the coming years. However I think it is especially important to get to know the organization and see which aspects need the most attention. Responding to these needs will ensure the organization will grow where it is most important. Also keeping track of changes which influence students, listing to their needs and communicating and collaborating with multiple parties to see opportunities could influence the organization positively. Thus responding to emerging urgencies and making decisions based on the situation are just as, if not more, important than maintaining the focus on the strategy in my opinion.
How can I contribute to the achievement of these goals? The only way Aiesec Twente can achieve its goals is when there is a motivated, well organized team with one goal. One unit that works together, aiming for the same targets while everyone knows which aspect they are responsible for and how they can achieve this and can possibly even push boundaries. Thus my personal goal of developing my leadership skills is important to me. I believe I can reach this goal by experiencing leadership in practice, receiving feedback and being critical towards myself. When I think about leadership I would love to be able to use ‘situational leadership’. Being able to adapt my leadership style to each person and situation would ensure that everyone receives the support they need. For example, setting the pace when someone is motivated and strives to reach for more or use coaching when someone wants to develop new skills and so on. However I think I first need to develop my leadership skill before I will be able to function as I envision it. Besides what I already mentioned I think I can still improve myself when it comes to being strict when needed, improving my communication skill when I need to disappoint people or when someone isn’t performing optimally, focussing and coaching towards specific goals, delegating instead of wanting to do everything myself and being able to notice when someone isn’t feeling optimally and responding to this correctly. Despite these many learning points I expect to be a good LCP. I think I will automatically be an informal, people oriented leader and can stimulate others with my enthusiasm. I am a good listener, know how to set priorities, plan, take initiative, am able to manage conflicts and perform under pressure. I believe it is important to have an open communication, to create opportunities for giving and receiving feedback aimed at the development of a high trust climate and be eager to improve yourself and others. Besides this personal goal and establishment of an effective team organizational goals should also be elaborated on. I believe that brand awareness can be achieved at Aiesec Twente. However to reach this a clear marketing strategy should be set up. Using information of experienced people and experiences at Aiesec could support Aiesec Twente in building this strategy. For social media for example it should be clear which platforms shall be used, which information shall be communicated towards the target group, who shall manage these platforms and so on. Also collaborations encompass various decisions. With whom to collaborate? Is this collaboration purely focussed on providing information or should events be organized? Etc. Analysing, goal setting, strategy formulation, implementation and evaluation are essential when it comes to determining and reaching goals. I would like to support Aiesec in this.
Conclusion Aiesec is an inspirational organization with still various opportunities for growth. Goals like increasing brand awareness, growing as a professional firm and increasing and sustaining organizational relations would improve the position and performance of Aiesec Twente. But at the same time it is important to solve emerging issues. I aim to use my characteristics and experiences to achieve this together with the LC. I think that my teamwork, people, and organizational skills together with my enthusiasm and drive fit Aiesec and could help forming a motivated and dedicated team. By constantly learning from being a board member, a coach, part of a close team, being in contact with various parties, by having various responsibilities etc. I want to develop myself personally and professionally as LCP of Aiesec Twente and while doing that help grow Aiesecers and Aiesec as a professional organization.