Venky,
I think your approach is a great way to show growth and maturity, particularly if you discuss an example in which u learned a lesson and another 1-2 in which u applied it to great results. As far as word limits, the key is to keep situational details to the bare minimum, just enough to set the context, and jump right into what you did - that's where the leadereship part comes in, right?
My personal approach was to set up an overall leadership that focuses on two primary characteristics and then use a different experience to illustrate each one. To keep it interesting, I chose one work situation and another from a college extracurricular and set up each with a rough approximation of Situation (Leadership Challenge)-Action-Result. By setting up a leadership philosophy up front, there was no need for a concluding paragraph to tie it together at the end.
Hope that helps!