Developing a personal development leadership plan is one of the most critical responsibilities of a new or existing senior leader. Having a clear idea of how you’re going to use your time and what you’re going to focus on is the key to staying motivated and being effective.
When you become a manager, CEO or senior leader in an organization, your responsibilities increase while the things you’re expected to achieve decrease. There’s more reporting, less freedom and flexibility, and greater accountability. While this can be a wonderful opportunity to develop your leadership capabilities, it can also feel overwhelming, especially if you don’t have a clear vision of where you’re headed.
What is a personal development leadership plan?
Put yourself in your ideal future self’s shoes for a moment. What would your ideal life be like as a manager, CEO or senior leader? What do you want to be known for? What are your strengths and weaknesses? What are the important things you need to focus on as part of your personal development plan?
The answers to these questions will help you design an effective plan to maximize your potential. This plan will serve as a road map for your development as a manager, leader or senior citizen. Your plan should include things like setting goals and reviewing progress at regular intervals. It should also include some thought-out actions you’ll take to overcome any weaknesses. Finally, your plan should be measurable and, when completed, you can track its effectiveness.
Set Goals And A Time-line For Your Plan
One of the first things you’ll need to do is set some goals for yourself. The best plans are usually created with a time-line in mind. Setting goals gives you a sense of direction and keeps you motivated. For example, you might want to set a goal to raise your sales by 35% within the next 6 months. Having a clear idea of when you want to achieve something in life is important because it gives you a sense of purpose.
As you work on achieving your goals, you’ll want to review them regularly to ensure they’re still relevant and to track your progress. Doing this regularly will also help you identify any changes you need to make to continue moving in the right direction. To do this, use a simple goal-setting worksheet like the one found in Stephen Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.
What is Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People?
Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is one of the best-selling business books of all time. Published in 1989, the book continues to inspire leadership and personal development in hundreds of thousands of people around the world. In the book, Covey teaches readers how to develop the following qualities:
- Wisdom
- Courage
- Consciousness
- Integrity
- Flexibility
- Humility
- Responsibility
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People is a timeless guide to developing habits of excellence. Through reading and internalizing the book’s lessons, you’ll become more effective as a leader and a person.
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Design A Development Program That’s Suitable For You
If you’re looking for a place to start your personal development journey, consider using Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People as a guide. The book has helped countless people around the world develop effective and efficient leadership practices. However, not all of us are suited to follow all of its advice. That’s why you need to tailor your development program to fit your unique strengths and goals. The following section will discuss how to develop a personal development plan that’s suitable for you.
Focus On Your Strengths
The first step in devising an effective plan is to focus on your strengths. To do this, you’ll want to start by identifying your primary and secondary goals. Consider what you already know you’re good at and what you’re not so good at. When you focus on your weaknesses, you put yourself in a place of negativity and self-doubt. Instead, identify your strengths and build on them.
For example, you might want to set a goal of being able to quickly resolve conflict to develop your people skills. Or you might want to improve your time management skill set to make better use of your time when you’re developing your personal leadership plan. As you work on developing your strengths, you’ll want to consider what parts of Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People you’re already using and what parts you’d like to work on. This way, you’ll be developing a program that’s tailored to suit your specific needs.
Understand Your Limitations
As you work on developing your strengths, it’s important to also consider your limitations. This includes things like your physical and mental capabilities. For example, if you have physical limitations, such as being wheelchair bound, you’ll want to consider what adaptations and accommodations you need to make in order to be able to work effectively. Similarly, if you have mental limitations, such as being highly disorganized, you’ll want to build in times when you’re going to have to re-focus and re-prioritize on what’s important.
Having a clear understanding of your limitations will help you design an approach that’s best suited to your needs. Otherwise, you may end up being ineffective because you’re not addressing your real challenges. Identify your physical and mental capabilities and what you need in order to be able to carry out your duties. This will help you build a management program that gets the best results from you.
Understand The Importance Of Your Environment
The environment you operate in is just as important as you are. To put yourself in the best possible place to succeed, you need to consider what your environment is like. To do this, look at how you react to different circumstances and how you perform under different conditions. For example, if you have a highly stressed environment, you may want to consider taking a break or making some changes to your work schedule. Or, if you have a highly regulated environment (such as a large government agency), you may want to consider training or hiring more people to help you navigate these regulations effectively.
The environment you operate in will impact your personal leadership journey. To put yourself in the best possible place to succeed, consider the following:
- Analyze your personal leadership style and how you perform under different circumstances.
- Know your organization’s environment and how you fit in.
- Determine what changes you need to make to continue moving in the right direction.
When you have a clear idea of how your environment impacts you and what you need in order to be effective, it becomes much easier to develop a personal development plan. Designing a program that’s suitable for you doesn’t mean you have to follow all of Stephen Covey’s advice. However, it does mean you’re considering his advice and applying it in your own way.
Develop Your Plan
Once you have a general idea of what you need to work on, you can develop a more detailed plan. This plan will include things like the following:
- An action plan for developing your strengths.
- A set timeline for completing your plan.
- Regular reviews to ensure you’re still progressing in the right direction and that your plan is still relevant.
- A set of measurable goals to track your progress.
As you work on developing your strengths and outlining a plan to make them a reality, be sure to keep the following in mind:
