Potential leaders look inward to assess their suitability and readiness for lead

ership. They begin to do the work necessary for creating their leadership develo
pment plan, a map that guides individuals on their journeys to fulfill their lea
dership potentials.
Leader Devt Plan (LDP) keeps one disciplined, focused and motivated to accopmpli
sh what they need to in order to grow in their leadership abilities.
Individuals design their plan to acquire skills and experiences that make them v
aluable to their organizations.
LDP 3 basic activities :
1. Assess yourself and your environment (preplanning)
2. Set goals, objectives, and actions (planning)
3. Plan to sustain your development (planning )
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ASSESSING SELF & ENVIRONMENT
It involves assessing yourself as a leader, establishing a vision of yourself in
the future, and identifying obstacles on you leadership journey.
- Values
- Leadership style
- Motivators
- Key competencies
Four steps to define values :
1- Make a list of everything important to you.Whatever value - and +.
2. Repeat step (1) but be more selective.
3. Pick out five most important and them in order of importance.
4. Define what each value means to you.
Assessing leadership style.
It grows out of you values. It is the way you interact with people to give dire
ction. implement plans and motivate others. Styles : authoritarian, participativ
e and delegating.
Decisions :
1. Authoritarian TELLS employees
2. Participative INVOLVES employees
3. Delegating EMPOWERS employees.
Good leaders adapt their styles to suit specific situations.
MOTIVATORS
- Compensation, titles, perks, social status, helping others, doing a good job,
winning , etc.
Assess with four steps as with values.

KEY COMPETENCIES : aggregations of knowledge, skills and abilities that leaders
possess.
Key compentencies :
- developing others
- challenging status quo
- modelling desired behaviours
- Getting the job done
DEVELOPING others :
encourage ppl to take ownership of their jobs, improve their skills and knowledg
e, learn to make good decisions, and take responsibility for their actions.
CHALLENGE STATUS QUO :
challenge the accepted way of doing thing
- pioneering spirit, taking risks and showing courage in the face of adversity
MODELLING DESIRED BEHAVIOUR :
- Walk the talk. Don't ask people to do things you wouldn't do yourself. Exem[l
ify the desired behaviors for others.
GETTING THE JOB DONE
Act ! Try new ideas, create action plans and get things done.
ESTABLISHING YOURSELF IN THE FUTURE
Visualise what you become in the future
Approaches :
- imagining your future
- talking to people to find out what they think a leader should be
- do some long-range planning.
Start with focused daydreaming.
Think about your legacy.
project your mind out to the end of your career.
Summarize the vision. Easy to remember. Think of something or someone that symbo
lizes it.
Talk to other people about it. Ppl can provide feedback about things you might w
ant to change about yourself as you go forward. It enables you to gain info that
can help you progress. To become a leader that others will follow, you need to
know what other think a good leaders is.
IDENTIFYING OBSTACLES
- Internal and external. within and out of control.
It's fruitless to fret over barriers you can't control. Focus on the ones you ha
ve some control over.
3 proven techniques :
1. Decide what you are willing to give up to eliminate obstacles.
2. Identify hidden opportunities that could help you face the obstacle.
3. Chunk the problem into manageable pieces so you can deal with each smaller pi
ece separately. You could also compromise. This would enable you to accomplish t
wo seemingly devergent tasks or goals at once.
Assessing Your Values, Motivators, Leadership Style, and Competencies
Purpose: Use this follow-on activity to assess your values, motivators, leadersh
ip style, and key competencies.
Use the questions to identify your values, motivators, leadership style, and str
engths and weaknesses associated with key leadership competencies. Then establis
h a vision of yourself, identify obstacles, and determine how you will overcome
them.
Assess your values
What in life is important to you?
Write a list. Don't edit yourself and don't think about barriers or obstacle
s. Put this list aside. Note that this first step is like brainstorming with you
rself. It will bring to the surface all of the things you value.
Write a second list. This time, carefully consider each of the values you wr
ite down. Make sure that this list reflects what you truly believe in.
Determine your most important four or five values, and place them in order o
f priority.
Write definitions for each value. What does it mean in your life? (Example:
Money can mean power, status, wealth, success, or the ability to support your fa
mily. Define what it means to you.)
Identify your motivators
What motivates you toward achieving your goals?
Make a list of as many things as you can think of that motivate you (Example
s: money, status, power, winning, ambition, and recognition).
Identify your top five motivators and list them in order.
Determine your leadership style
Are you an authoritarian, participative, or delegating leader? Many questionnair
es and assessment surveys can help you figure out your natural style. For instan
ce, consider these questions:
Do you consult with employees when making major decisions? If you answer "ye
s" to this question, your style may be participative.
Do you tell your employees what to do and how to do it? If you answer "yes"
to this question, you may be an authoritarian leader.
Do you allow your employees to determine what to do and how to do it? If you
answer "yes" you may be a delegating leader.
What do you think is your natural style?
What style do you use when you're under pressure?
Assess your strengths in key leadership competencies
Leaders use many different competencies, and different ones take priority at dif
ferent times.
Developing others
Have you ever inspired someone to perform better? How did you do it?
Have you ever helped others become more self-confident? How did you do it?
Have you ever developed people on a virtual team? How?
Challenging the status quo
Is risk-taking hard for you? Why?
When has risk-taking provided a positive reward?
What can you do to practice taking risks?
Modeling desired behaviors
When have you shown the way in the past? How did employees respond?
Getting the job done
Do you take action or put things off?
Why is it important for you to take action?
Do you chunk projects down and set milestones?
Are milestones important to you? Why?
Establish a vision for yourself
Sit back and relax. Envision yourself at some time in the future after you've be
come the inspirational leader you want to be. Finish this sentence with a story
about yourself.
In the future, I will be...
Use these questions to help you:
What is a typical day like?
Who do you interact with?
What are you thinking about?
What are you feeling?
What skills do you have?
Identify obstacles
Now think about the obstacles that you'll encounter on the journey to achieving
your vision. What internal obstacles lie in your way? What external obstacles ca
n you identify on the path ahead?
How do you plan to deal with these obstacles?
Decide what you're willing to give up.
Chunk the obstacle into smaller pieces and deal with those pieces.
Look for hidden opportunities.
Course: Leadership Essentials: Creating Your Own Leadership Development Plan
Topic: Assessing Yourself and Your Environment
======================
SETTING GOALS , OBJECTIVES & ACTIONS
Work backward from you vision.
GOALS : Broad-based statement of intent
OBJECTIVES : Specific and actional statements
ACTIONS : Basis for leadership devt plan
Objectives > specific, challenging
Specific : Use action words such identify list, perform, demonstrate, show, or c
alculate. Because the language is specific, objectives are actionable - you know
what you need to do just by reading an objective. Words like understand, apprec
iate, know, and learn are typically too vague to make good obhectives.
Challenging : If you don't stretch, you can't grow. Objectives should make you s
tretch, but they should also be attainable. If an objective requires too much or
too little of you, you may not try to achieve it.
Development actions are composed of a variety of formal, informal, directed, and
self-directed tools, techniques, approaches, and methods. Here are some common
actions :
Reading and using resource material :
1 of best way to keeo yo with area of expertise, learn more about leadership, ke
ep oneself inspired. Develop habit of reading books, professional magazines, and
journals. Broaden your mind.
Participating in training sessions, programs, courses, and internships.>> effect
ive way to gain skills and knowledge. Check your org's training catalog, look in
to offerings, search internet.
Hands-on practice/learning >> You aren't likely to retain what you learn by read
ing without some form of practice. Experience is the best teacher. Take advantag
e of hands-on learning opportunities in the workplace, and work with your mentor
to identify experiences that will help you grow.
Journaling > Tool for exmaining and evaluating your thoughts, actions, and react
ions. Getting thought out of your head and down on paper help you examine your t
hinkng from a third person viewpoint.You can gain insights you might not otherwi
se achieve.
Volunteering >> You can always get the leadership experiences you need when you
need them. However, some of the same kinds of experiences can be had by joining
organisations or volunteering in your community. For example, a community servic
e organisation can give you the opportuity to practice public speaking, give pre
sentations, improve people skills, and show leadership. Even something as simple
as reading to people who are visually impaired can help you build empathy and p
eople skills that you may lack.
Consulting with peer groups, role models, mentors, and coaches. >>In addition to
identifying activities, you should also identify people who can help you. Find
a peer group with which you can discuss your ideas and solicit feedback. Inform
your supervisor or manager of your aspirations and check in periodically to asse
ss your progress. And keep an eye out for individuals with expertise in areas wh
ere want to grow.
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Be a self-directed learner.
HOW TO CHOOSE THE RIGHT ACTIONS ?
Start with objectives .
Objective : Practice honesty each day.
Hands-on practice : Give honest and complete answers.
Objective : Identify 1 process per week for improvement
Objective : Delegate power
Objective : Complete project on time and within budget
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PLAN TOOLS
Daily reminders, symbols, activities, rewards, back-up plans, support, reinforce
ment.
LDP
- Supports your vision ( Goals, objectives and actions)
- Tailored to your needs
- Reflects real-world experience
Example :
Vision : Become a strong, caring leader
Goal : Demonstrate a participative leadership style
Objective : Elicit participation from all team members during meetings.
Development actions :