How to Create a Personal Leadership Development Plan

Leaders play a critical role in every industry and at every company. Not only do they manage teams but they are responsible for making difficult decisions that can guide the company in the right direction. Even though leaders are often associated with being high-up at the company, in reality, leadership skills can come from a variety of job titles and roles within the organization. At Cultivate Advisors, our personal leadership development consultants are happy to work with you to put together a customized plan based on your unique needs. Read more to see how we can help below.

What Is Leadership Development?

Benefits of a Personal Leadership Development

Having a leadership development plan will directly benefit your business in a multitude of ways:

1. It helps the business achieve better results: Personal and professional relationships thrive which helps reach higher financial performance and consistent achievement within your company.
2. Skilled leaders are more agile: Companies that nurture leadership skills can more easily navigate today’s complex business environment and better solve problems.
3. Strong leadership is helpful in innovation: Business leaders that are part of an ongoing leadership development journey will be more inspired to work toward the overarching goals of your company and drive innovation in competitive markets.
4. Skilled leaders attract and keep top talent: Personal leadership development plans can help attract top performers to your business and keep them around for longer. A reduction in staff turnover is key to meeting your business objectives.
5. Helps increase employee engagement: Potential leaders can participate in leadership training that makes them feel more connected to the company.
6. Improves communication both internally and externally: Effective leadership can make or break the success of your company. If leaders prioritize personal growth and meeting leadership goals, it will result in a stronger culture.
7. Proper leadership development strategy drives overall business strategy: Having an effective leadership development plan can help drive the direction that your business is heading. When you take the time to cultivate a leadership style that works for your industry and talent, you will ultimately create a lasting direction for where you want your company to go.

Elements of a Personal Leadership Development Plan

Once you’ve put some thought into the professional development at your company and you have a better idea of how to create a great leader, it’s important to put together a good leadership development plan. The document should be personalized and formatted in an ideal way for the intended audience; some people prefer spreadsheets while others want visual charts. Regardless, here are some elements to include.

1. Essential Skills to Master

Meeting leadership development goals often means mastering certain skills such as running meetings, making personnel decisions, and sharing information with groups. Outline the skills needed to thrive in these types of tasks. In some cases, shadowing someone who exemplifies these strategies is helpful in improving these leadership skills.

2. Experience Gaps to Close

On top of developing tactical skills, it’s important that you understand the strategic responsibilities that an effective leader can take on. This may include anything from starting a new project or turning around an existing project that might not be going according to plan. Managing larger and more essential business projects is also important when determining where to close certain gaps.

3. Identify New Relationships to Build

On top of developing tactical skills, it’s important that you interact with various company stakeholders regularly such as heads of department, managers, and front-line employees. Future leaders need to know how to interact with those in leadership positions and build relationships with them. As you continue your leadership assessment, make sure to identify those that you want to build a mutually beneficial relationship with.

4. Outline Tasks to be Delegated

You can become a better leader by balancing your responsibilities. Finding a balance between taking on tasks yourself while also delegating to those who you entrust to assist you is key for leadership roles. Good leaders always prioritize projects that can generate the most revenue for the company and are completed on time.

5. Pinpoint Key Action Items to Complete

Another aspect to consider on this leadership development journey is to outline the strengths and potential areas where improvements can be made. For example, if you want to improve in a particular area, make sure to follow it up with action items such as a timeframe or any associated costs. This could also include reading more leadership books, completing assessments, or identifying educational opportunities.

6. Establish the Critical Success Indicators

A great leader knows that they are only as successful as their teams. Make sure to strive to always improve your quality of work, provide continuous learning opportunities for your team, delegate when necessary, and improve morale whenever possible.

What do you think? Maybe you’d like to read on?

Check out the full version here then if you need more help with your leadership and don’t know where to start, you don’t have to go at it alone. Schedule an initial call to dig into your business and develop a plan.