Introduction
Leadership refers to the exercise of influence and control within an organization. My leadership development plan is based on the transformational leadership style. The style presents followers with a vision of the organization’s current position, and where it ought to be positioned then motivates the followers to rally behind the objectives set. According to the style, before one can lead, one must know thyself (Hoch, Bommer, Dulebohn and Wu, 2018). Leadership involves self-awareness, identifying strengths and weaknesses, recognizing the team’s needs, and inspiring them to improve their current status. The leader here formulates goals and measurable objectives that guide them in following the right direction to lead followers. Through a leadership plan, one can direct the organization more coherently and cohesively.The plan will assess the various ethical aspects of the leadership concept and how these elements can be integrated into the greater organization policy. A personal leadership plan is important as it serves as a guideline and reminder of the goals one has set for the organization. This leadership plan will include; personal value statement, vision, steps aimed at effectively achieving the vision, personal assessment using SWOT analysis, and future goals.
Personal Values Statement
A personal value statement sets clear boundaries, thus making it an effective tool for a leader in making tough decisions. A personal value statement integrated into the leadership plan leads to a more focused perception attributed to a leader. The statements act as pathways to success due to their involvement in the organization’s larger plan. My value statement is “To encourage, engage, and equip everyone I interact daily on the need to apply ethical principles to make a positive impact on the world” The personal statement of an organization should be continuously reassessed and adjusted according to the needs of the organization (Sahu, Pathardikar and Kumar, 2018). As the leadership plan progresses, a leader may find that some of the ideals are obsolete; thus, corrections need to be introduced to rejuvenate the follower’s dedication to the set goal.
Mission, Vision and Core Values
Personal leadership plan long term success is founded on the development of a vision, mission, and core values aligned to the personal value statement ideals. Transformational leaders have mastered the art of leading people and advocating for change in an organization. In choosing this direction, a leader must have developed a mental image of the possible future state of the organization and erect a goal to be achieved based on future events. Leaders’ role is to create a dream, live it, and bring followers on board to believe it too. The vision of the leadership plan is to be a leader in developing and creating new leadership opportunities for the team.
The vision’s purpose is to accomplish set objectives such as guiding decision making, unifying people having a common purpose for the future, and connects people to the mission (Rubens, Schoenfeld, Schaffer and Leah, 2018). The mission is the written form of the leadership plan vision. The mission is “Building connections as a gateway to leadership” The mission acts as a reference point on the goals set. The mission is to set clear guidelines for the execution of the strategy and accountability of the process. The mission statement in this leadership plan is a vital factor in the motivation of the followers. The core values of the leadership plan are loyalty, high moral standards, continuous improvement of my followers, and truthfulness in their actions. The core values describe the traits the organization leadership is built upon.
Steps to Achieve Vision
There exists the need to have an authentic process where leaders inspire others within the organization to share the same vision. This involves a step by step implementation process of fostering the fore mentioned vision within the organization. Transformational leaders are skilled in motivating workers towards the vision of the organization by way of idealizing the vision, inspiration, and developing avenues for feedback. The leadership plan provides the workers with an ideal that doubles up as an organization’s goal. This gives the followers a purpose as they strive to work towards the goal. The behavior of followers is determined by the ability to perceive a higher self, vision, and fulfillment. Inspiration is in the form of supportive communication and words of affirmation. The leadership plan incorporates the demonstration of care for the followers by way of acting on their feedback. Feedback is crucial in the implementation of the vision as it acts to gauge the level of involvement and chance of success.
General Assessment Based on Leadership Tools
My leadership plan is aligned to a transformational style of leadership where political skills are essential qualities. Political skills are building connections with people, thus fostering supportive and trusting environments in the organization (Aguas, Zapata and Arellano, 2017). I believe that my moderate political skills, interpersonal influence, networking ability, sincerity, and the ability to read and anticipate situations will benefit the organization in achieving its goal. A true leader has the innate ability to communicate the desired work ethic, such as transparency. My leadership plan will be crucial when building rapport with my workmates to ensure a conducive working environment.
Active listening skills entail my leadership skills as a good listener. Transformational leadership qualities include the power of listening and feedback. A good leader should be able to listen to his/her followers and give feedback on the issues raised. By listening to the employees, a leader gets to know the challenges each person’s faces and thus find ways of helping for the greater good of reaching the set target. By engaging the employees on their issues, one can plan for the future by considering their considerations.
Organizational politics refers to the activities associated with the use of influence to improve organization and personal interests. Office politics are mostly associated with relationships and allies in the workplace. Organizational politics is part of the corporate world; thus, my leadership plan plans to use the benefits accosted to office politics. The vision of the organization is to develop new leaders; thus, with organizational politics comes leadership opportunities. This will ensure that the future leaders of the corporation will continue the tradition of having a transformational leader at the helm.
Assessment of Different Aspects of My Leadership
My leadership plan is based on the ability to persuade people to follow my lead. This is achieved by appealing to their interests and communicating effectively while selling the organizational objectives. Good leaders make good negotiators. Employees follow a leader when they have assurances that it is in their best interest. The negotiation tactic I will deploy is focusing on employee’s interests and satisfying them without compromising the company’s short and long-term objectives. The tactic will involve negotiating an agreement that will favor both parties, thus creating a positive environment. Potential conflicts that I will avoid include the emotionally charged altercation. Emotional intelligence in leadership is essential in developing negotiation skills critical for a leader to succeed. Impulse control in conflict resolution is also vital in relationship management, especially in passive-aggressive conflicts.
Conflict Resolution
The assessment of the conflicts will be based on the active listening of the parties involved. Active listening is crucial in conflict resolution as the information to be relied upon is first hand. The next step will be self-reflection on the information obtained from the listening session. Self-reflection helps a leader to understand the point of view of each party involved. Transformational leadership qualities entail a leader listening to employees while being attentive to their words and trying to view the situation from their perceptive. The decision made will reflect the vision and mission of the company to lead staff in all aspects. Empathy will reign with a warning, as conflict resolution is necessary to build better relationships among the employees.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is a strategic planning technique to help identify a person’s identity using four tools; strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (Gürel and Tat, 2017). The strengths identified include self-confidence and the ability to be a role model. Self-confidence helps in strengthening my interpersonal skills when building connections and rapport. It allows me to approach a problem with an aura of confidence in solving it effectively. One of the pillars of transformational leadership is the ability to motivate people based on a leader demonstrating his vision in his/her behavior. Weaknesses include being patient towards employees and providing support to the team. Employees take different times to process a developmental change in the company; thus, one must be patient to maintain the overall department’s morale. I plan to improve my supportive rate to employees when faced with obstacles. This can be harnessed to stimulate the employee’s work rate. The opportunities that exist include global influences influenced by my leadership and economic growth. Good leadership is a gateway to building a positive brand review, thus coupled with excellent political skills that can easily win over investors, leading to an improved financial position. The technological threat is viable, where personal interaction is replaced by technology.
Conclusion
The personal leadership plan is cultivated from the transformational style of leadership. It serves as a reflection of my leadership journey, where leaders act as guides for the attainment of a set target. The personal value statement, vision, and mission are the embodiment of the leadership plan, where the primary aim is to cultivate more leaders that resonate with the organizational goal. The SWOT analysis gives an informed decision of the qualities possessed and areas of improvement in pursuit of being a better leader.
Reference
Aguas, P. P., Zapata, L. V., & Arellano, D. L. (2017). Transformational Leadership Plans. World Journal of Education, 7(4), 1-11.
Gürel, E., & Tat, M. (2017). SWOT analysis: a theoretical review. Journal of International Social Research, 10(51).
Hoch, J. E., Bommer, W. H., Dulebohn, J. H., & Wu, D. (2018). Do ethical, authentic, and servant leadership explain variance above and beyond transformational leadership? A meta-analysis. Journal of Management, 44(2), 501-529.
Rubens, A., Schoenfeld, G. A., Schaffer, B. S., & Leah, J. S. (2018). Self-awareness and leadership: Developing an individual strategic professional development plan in an MBA leadership course. The International Journal of Management Education, 16(1), 1-13.
Sahu, S., Pathardikar, A., & Kumar, A. (2018). Transformational leadership and turnover. Leadership & Organization Development Journal.
