POST GRADUATE PROGRAM IN Action Journal

MANAGEMENT FOR EXECUTIVES

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Welcome
This program focuses heavily on opportunities for you to further
develop your self-awareness as a leader. Feedback and reflection are
two major drivers for personal growth. Feedback helps reveal how
you might be perceived by others. Reflection helps you integrate that
feedback in a way that constructively moves you forward. Feedback
and reflection—with our support—will largely shape your program
experience. And the Action Journal is here to help.

Your Past What’s Next

This is your leadership future. Own it.

Take the helm and turn your aspirations into action.

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This is not an everyday development plan; it’s your Action
Journal—a resource specifically designed to help you process your
feedback and facilitate strategic reflection.

Throughout this program, you will leverage the results and insights
from your Birkman Method Assessment, and reflections within this
action journal, to identify your core strengths as a leader, and the areas
where further development might be needed. The work you do within
this Action Journal will guide you through a process of mapping out
your future as a leader, using the feedback to inform where you are
today and—ultimately—help you carve out and achieve your desired
future state as a leader.

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 The following reflection activities are structured to lay the
foundation for your Action Journal. Throughout this journal, you
will identify the experiences and people who have shaped the
leader you are today. You will also derive critical information
about the competencies you need to leverage and develop as
leaders in your organization.

When we are together again in July, we will build upon your

leadership story within the context of your organization and the
industry at-large. What are the environmental and economic
trends that are shaping the direction of your industry? How will
these trends impact your organization? What is the call to action
for you as a leader?

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Looking Back We are the mosaic of
all our experiences.
—Kevin Sharer,
Your Leadership Story Chairman and CEO, Amgen

The first step in understanding yourself as a leader is reflecting upon the people
and events that have shaped the type of leader you have become. These events
serve as an important foundational context as you launch into this mission of
focused leadership development. Throughout this reflection process, you will
begin to crystallize your own leadership story.

Let’s start at the beginning… this portion is focused on the events over the past 5,
10, 20 years that have been most formative in your leadership development.

What events and major milestones have most impacted your career path thus far?

Who are the people who have most shaped your view on leadership?

How have these events and people influenced the type of leader that you have become?

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 Leadership Successes

What leadership behaviors and practices have most What are you most proud of in your leadership
enabled your successes? experiences? Why?

What gives you energy, inspiration, and motivation How can you leverage this insight to become an
to evolve as a leader? even stronger leader?

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Facing Challenges and Taking Risks

What leadership behaviors and practices have What has been the biggest test of your leadership
caused you challenges as you have progressed ability so far? What have you learned as a result of
throughout your career? this test?

What risks have you taken that impacted your How can you leverage this insight to become an
success as a leader? How did they turn out? What even stronger leader?
did you learn about yourself as a result?

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Looking Forward

Writing the Next Chapter

Now that you have taken the time to look back on your career path thus far,
and considered the insights gleaned from answering the questions found in this
journal, the next step is to think about how these inputs inform your desired next
steps. Think about the next 5 years of your career and leadership experience and
reflect on where you want to be at that point in your career, while answering the
following questions.

What are your professional aspirations? What leadership capabilities and roles do you
aspire to achieve in your career?

Aspirations

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In reflecting upon your leadership experience thus far, what are three leadership and/or communication behaviors you
want to take with you (e.g. I communicate clearly with my team, I am patient with others, I coach and develop others
well)?

What are three leadership and/or communication
behaviors you want to leave behind (e.g. I find
that I interrupt others and don’t listen well, I do
not delegate work to my team, I do not clearly
communicate my expectations)?
Where do I want to see the most growth in myself
as a leader? How do I want to impact my team and
the organization by the end of the program?

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