A leadership development plan details a set of goals and the actions taken to achieve them to prepare a person for leadership roles and senior management positions. It is a useful tool for strategically planning career growth and professional development.
A development plan should be written down with specific goals included so that progress can be measured. It should involve identifying and doing some or all of the following:
• Specify individual career goals
• Identify desired traits of successful leaders to emulate
• Critically assess current leadership skills
• Define a set of values
• Prepare a vision statement
• Plan to develop skills through training
• Choose a mentor for guidance
Leadership plans provide a concrete path for advancement in leadership roles and have been shown to improve overall satisfaction, provide better opportunities and challenges that lead to better career outcomes.
