Leadership Development Plan - Essay Example

Leading and Managing Project Table of Contents Report 3 Leadership Development Plan 6 Reflection 10 References 12 Bibliography 13 Report Leadership is one of the most vital aspects in the modern day scenario which is helpful towards guiding individuals in a particular direction. According to the perceptions and the study of Burns (2012), leadership is a particular approach of influencing others socially to support others in particular task to assure maximum positive results from the same. The author further depicts that leaders are someone who are followed by others in order to attain certain goals and objectives. In the present business context, leaders are believed to be the set of organised individuals who work towards the accomplishment of goals and objectives of business. Correspondingly, Northouse (2012) presents a diverse perception about the aspect of leadership. According to the study, leaders are the individuals who are believed to do the right things and adopt the right decisions which can further accomplish desired goals and objectives in an efficient and effective manner altogether. The study depicts that leaders have extreme level of social intelligence along with an enthusiasm to bring positive changes within the society in any particular domain (Northouse, 2012). It is believed that development of leadership is quite an important aspect as it can work towards the enhancement of skills and competencies of an individual so that he/she can ensure the deliverance of noteworthy results in every stage of his/her life. In this regard, Yost & Plunkett (2011) stated that the aspect of leadership development augments the quality of leadership of any individual within the society or any particular organisation. In order to attain sustainability in the domain of leadership, one needs to ensure continuous development in their leadership approach and move in parallel with the changing environment. It will be crucial to mention that the traditional approach of leadership has transformed considerably which is largely owing to the development of the leadership activities in due course of time (Yost & Plunkett, 2011). In similar regard, the study of Avolio (2010) presented a diverse viewpoint with regard to the aspect of leadership development. The study depicted that in the domain of business, the establishment and development of the managers and their skills and abilities is of paramount importance. Leadership development is also important with regard to the establishment of emerging and potential leaders which again works positively in favour of business units. In the contemporary business periphery, leaders need to deal with various challenges in their day-to-day operations which primarily include managing and motivating a diversified workforce for leadership for which continuous development of their leadership skills is crucial (Avolio, 2010). The first step that is involved in the development of an individual’s leadership is to set the desired goals and objectives, the attainment of which will ultimately enhance the leadership skills of the same. The goals and objectives of the leadership development will need to be transparent and realistic and it should ensure utmost precision. A clear vision and mission in any particular development approach can ensure the accomplishment of the goals in a smooth and effective manner (Zaccaro & et. al., 2001). Hence, the step of setting the goals in leadership development is indeed of paramount importance. The subsequent step in the domain of leadership development plan is to determine the plan of action of the entire leadership development approach. In this particular step, individuals have the need to determine aspects such as the things one needs to start doing and the things one needs to stop doing. This short-term approach will have a considerable impact on the long-term goals of the individual with regard to leadership development (SHRM, n.d.). It will be crucial to mention in the process of accomplishment of any particular goal, it is important to anticipate about what might be the future potential obstacle that might hinder the attainment of the set goals and objectives. There can be different forms of obstacles or barriers that might hinder the overcoming of the leadership development goals. In this regard, it is crucial that an individual anticipates about what might be the potential hindrance regarding the accomplishment of the goals and how the same could be mitigated. A few of the potential threats in any particular leadership development include a lack of support from the co-worker, a lack of funding for the leadership development program along with balancing the work and life among others. All these aspects impact the overall results of the leadership development plan in an unfavourable manner (Santa Clara County Leadership Academy, 2014). The next stage that should be included in the leadership planning template for leadership development process can include the way of analysing and leveraging the strengths of an individual in course of the process of leadership development. The strengths that an individual possess will be directly applicable in his/her process of the attainment of goals and objectives that are being predetermined in the leadership development process. The significance of such strengths is that one needs to take maximum advantage of the same with regard to attaining the goals and objectives of the individual’s leadership development approach (Mabey & Lees, 2007). In the subsequent stage of the leadership development program, an individual will need to comprehend the resources and the support needed to achieve as well as complete the leadership development program. It has been noted from the earlier discussion that a lack of support might certainly act as a barrier in the leadership development program. Hence, it is important to determine appropriate support for the leadership development program. It is also important to develop a timeline for the project since all the activities should be completed within a specified period of time in order to ensure effectiveness of entire leadership development program (Mabey & Lees, 2007). This aspect of development with regard to my leadership skills and abilities will be crucial in my future endeavours when I get the opportunity to be a part of a project team which will be together for a period of two years. In this regard, it can be stated that it is vital that a member of a team or a leader should be competent to handle or gel effectively within a bunch of people. In case of a leader within a project team, guidance of the leader is vital to drive the team towards desired level of success along with meeting the goals and objectives. Contextually, I will frame a leadership development plan for myself in order to enhance my leadership competencies, skills and capabilities which can further help me in handling the project team I am associated with in the future context (Mabey & Lees, 2007). Leadership Development Plan In order to make myself competent to lead and manage the project, I will first need to develop my skills and competencies with regard to leadership through my participation in a leadership development program. Though I possess certain characteristics which will be helpful in my leadership role but these strengths or competencies should be further developed in a systematic manner. The leadership development plan provided hereunder is framed with the intention to enhance my leadership capability for my leadership endeavours amid the period of 2015-2020. What: My Personal Leadership Development Goals Goal 1 The primary objective of mine from this particular leadership development is to enhance my ability to delegate roles and responsibilities to my subordinates especially within the scenario of working in a project team. Since leadership is all about providing the right people with the right task, this particular goal will be quite crucial. Goal 2 My second goal from this particular leadership development program will be to enhance my skills and abilities regarding communication with others. It is believed that in case of demonstrating effective leadership one needs to develop worthy interpersonal relations with others for which proper communication is highly desired. Hence, this particular goal is potentially significant. Goal 3 I will also like to enhance my ability with regard to creativity and innovation. Since a leader is one who is being followed and admired by others for their abilities and competencies, it is important that I can think and work differently to gain positive results for the projects. How: Action Steps I Will Take to Meet My Development Goals 1. Plan your actions. Every time I see the following situations: …I will take the following action: 1. Enhancing My Goal of Delegation It is known that effective delegation of work is quite important in leadership activities. Therefore, I will try to ensure my proper engagement with the employees in the workplace which will help to understand their working capability and further delegate the work to them accordingly. 2. Attaining Proper Communication Skills Proper communication is of paramount importance in executing the responsibilities of leaders in any project. In this regard, I will intend to ensure my communication to be quite simple and understandable by others. My communications skill is also expected to get positively benefitted when I develop proper interpersonal relationship with the co-workers in the workplace. 3. Enhancing Creativity and Innovation Correspondingly, I will need to enhance my thinking activities. This means that I will need to come out of my usual comfort zone with regard to my thinking process and make diverse range of decisions, apart from the tried and tested ones. How: Action Steps I Will Take to Meet My Development Goals 2. Anticipate obstacles. Obstacle/Barrier Solution 1. My first goal is to enhance my ability for proper delegation. However, there are certain barriers that can hinder the attainment of this goal which includes a lack of employee support, fear of failure and fear of losing control. In order to overcome the barrier, I will ensure that the team shows maximum engagement with the operations of the project and is motivated to take up any responsibility that comes their way. I will also assure my full confidence towards the team members and their capabilities and delegate responsibilities accordingly. 2. A few of the barriers to proper communication include the use of complex language, a lack of attention and interest from the opposite end and cultural differences amid others. In this regard, I will ensure to communicate in a clear and transparent manner with simple and short sentences that might keep the interests of others intact. I will also associate myself with a systematic course in order to develop by understanding regarding the aspect of cultural barriers in communication. 3. Leverage strengths. Strength How will it help me achieve my goals? 1. I have the strength to comprehend people and their capabilities by involving in conversation with them. This particular strength of mine can be quite helpful in the domain of achieving effective delegation capabilities as I will be able to develop better relationship with others and comprehend their skills and delegate them with their role accordingly. 2. I am a person who gets quite easily involved with others with minimal hesitation. I also have a good sense of humour which keeps the interest of people intact during conversation. This strength of mine will be helpful in building proper communication since it is important to keep the interests of the people intact while conversation so that a successful communication could be developed. 3. I have less fear in me with regard to taking decision as I am always ready to accept the result (whatever it may be i.e. either positive or negative). This particular strength of mine will allow me to move out of my comfort zone and take creative decisions without fearing about the consequences. Who: Resources and Support for Achieving My Goals How will I draw on my coach, peers and others to track my progress, gather advice and feedback and support my learning? In order to attain the goals of my leadership, I will need the support of the people around me in the form of feedbacks so that I could be able to measure my success and rectify any of the mistakes that are exhibited in the course of my learning. Subsequently, I will conduct a 360 degree feedback to track my progress in the leadership development. Who will I ask to support me? Who do I know who already possesses the competencies I want to build? I will mainly take the support of the leaders that are around. These leaders can be in any particular domain which might include my teachers and even my employer who are also leaders one way or the other. I can learn from their experiences and ensure better results in my leadership development process. Accountability When will I begin taking action to meet my goals? I will start taking actions to achieve my leadership goals mainly with the initiation of the year 2015. I believe that the development process is quite lengthy in nature in order to get effective results. Since I would like to move in a systematic and step-by-step approach to meet my goals, the process is expected to take 2-3 years to the least. When do I expect to see significant progress? (Milestone commitments) As said, it will be a systematic process which is deemed to take time to deliver positive results. Hence, I expect to see positive progress from the development plan till the 2018. How will I evaluate my progress? My evaluation process to determine the success of the development plan will mainly include acquiring feedbacks from the people around me about what changes they can see in me in terms of pre-involvement of the development plan and post involvement of the same. How will I leverage what I learn? Whatever I learn as per the leadership development plan will be implemented by me in future endeavours in learning and managing projects. Reflection From the above description, it is quite apparent that leadership is one of the most vital aspects, which is associated with the facet of managing any particular project towards delivering positive results. I also would be joining a particular team of a project for which it is important that I develop my skills and abilities of leadership to guide the team towards delivering positive results. In the course of my association to create this particular leadership development plan, I was to learn a few valuable new aspects which were quite new to me and were further deemed to be quite helpful in my future endeavours. I have come to comprehend about the various implications associated with any particular leadership role. I have further understood that a leader is a person who should have clear and transparent goals so that the same can be attained smoothly. However, I have also reflected from the assessment that continuous development is quite necessary in the domain of leadership in order to remain or move in parallel with the changing requirement from time to time. Contextually, I have formed a personal development plan to enhance my leadership capabilities when I would join the project for two years. In the process of developing this particular plan, I was able to explore that I need to set specific predetermined goals to ensure the attainment of the objectives of leadership development program. Through this particular assessment, I have been also able to assure that the present strengths of mine could be fruitfully leveraged towards enhancing my leadership skills. Hence, the overall assessment has an invaluable learning experience altogether. References Avolio, B. J., 2010. Full Range Leadership Development. Sage. Burns, J. M., 2012. Leadership. Open Road Media. Mabey, C. & Lees, T. F., 2007. Management and Leadership Development. SAGE. Northouse, P. G., 2012. Leadership: Theory and Practice. SAGE Publications. Santa Clara County Leadership Academy, 2014. Overcoming the Obstacles that Hinder Participation in Leadership Development Programs. Home. [Online] Available at: http://www.leadershipacademyscc.org/pdf/Overcoming-Obstacles--TipSheet.pdf [Accessed April 25, 2014]. SHRM, No Date. Developing Leadership Talent. Home. [Online] Available at: http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/research/documents/developing%20lead%20talent-%20final.pdf [Accessed April 25, 2014]. Yost, P. R. & Plunkett, M. M., 2011. Real Time Leadership Development. John Wiley & Sons. Zaccaro, S. J. & et. al., 2001. Team Leadership. The Leadership Quarterly, Vol. 12, pp. 451-483. Bibliography Downs, L. J., 2008. Listening Skills Training. American Society for Training and Development. Furlong, J. & Maynard, T., 2012. Mentoring Student Teachers: The Growth of Professional Knowledge. Routledge. Kahrs, T. K., 2000. Enhancing Your Presentation Skills. iUniverse. Kalbfleisch, P. J., 2002. Communicating in Mentoring Relationships: A Theory for Enactment. Academia, pp. 63-69. Read More