Leadership Development Plan: Communication and Core Competencies

Introduction: The Purpose of a Leadership Development Plan

Having a leadership development plan is essential for identifying the opportunities available for improving leadership skills, behaviors, and styles. It enables a leader to see which competencies need to be acquired, what key behaviors should be developed, and what styles of leadership should be practiced. The aim of a leadership development plan is to promote and foster more effective leadership. Shanks and Buchbinder (2012) explain that "leadership development includes both formal and informal efforts" (p. 279). This paper focuses on the competencies, behaviors, and styles required to develop effective leadership skills, organized around a concrete plan with defined timelines and success criteria.

Leaders Must Be Effective Communicators, Listeners, and Servant Leaders

The most important competency for any leader is the ability to communicate effectively (Ruben & Gigliotti, 2017). This skill encompasses a number of related competencies: emotional and social intelligence, cultural competence, the ability to listen and obtain and reflect on feedback, the ability to communicate and express a vision that others can embrace, and the ability to serve others and ensure their needs are met (Mikkelson, York, & Arritola, 2015). The leadership styles most useful for gaining these skills are transformational leadership and servant leadership (Atkin-Plunk & Armstrong, 2013; Warrick, 2011). There are numerous opportunities to develop these competencies in the workplace, and this plan identifies those opportunities and demonstrates how they can be put to use.

Opportunities for Leadership Development in the Workplace

Opportunities to engage in the development of leadership skills are all around. They are present whenever there is a chance to engage with others in the workplace. In my workplace, I have the chance to speak with workers daily and weekly, in both informal and formal settings. Taking advantage of these opportunities is one way to develop as a leader. The central question is how to make the most of them. As a leader, my goal is to become a better communicator, which means being open to what others have to say and being sensitive to the challenges they face. To accomplish this, developing core foundational competencies that will facilitate communication is the necessary first step. These core competencies include social and emotional intelligence (SI and EI), cultural understanding, the ability to serve others, and the ability to develop and articulate a vision that inspires and motivates others (Doody & Doody, 2012).

Competencies to Be Developed

The competencies to be gained are: (1) cultural intelligence, (2) emotional and social intelligence, (3) communication, and (4) service of others. These competencies can be achieved by being mindful of one's surroundings and engaging in routine practices that build proficiency in each area. Just as physical strength is developed through consistent exercise, each of these leadership competencies can be built through deliberate, repeated practice in specific behavioral areas.

Cultural Intelligence

The behaviors required for cultural intelligence center on empathetic appreciation for others' cultures. This behavior cannot be faked (Leininger, 2008). The leader must develop a genuine sense of others' cultures — why those cultures are important and what they signify. To cultivate this behavior, the leader must first study the different cultures of the world and come to appreciate them. Doing so mentally prepares the leader to demonstrate empathy toward diverse people in the workplace. For me, this practice must be sustained weekly by devoting one hour per week to the study of different cultures. Using Hofstede's cultural dimensions framework is an excellent way to begin, and assessments can be taken each month to measure how well cultural competence has been acquired.

Emotional and Social Intelligence

Every leader must develop emotional intelligence (EI) and social intelligence (SI) because these skills facilitate meaningful interaction between leaders and workers. These competencies depend on the leader's ability to demonstrate empathy toward others, read body language, understand human behavior, and use that understanding to provide support where it is needed. Developing these behaviors first requires the study of human behavior — observing how people communicate, avoid others, and react and respond to various situations in everyday life. Reading literature can also help, especially the classic works taught in the humanities. The humanities are taught primarily because they illuminate what it means to be human, which is why they carry that name. To develop genuine EI and SI, a leader must understand how people think, feel, act, and react.

To acquire this competency, I will set aside 30 minutes each day for reading canonical works of literature studied in the humanities, building a foundation for understanding human nature. I will measure my EI and SI development by using available online assessment tools. These skills can be meaningfully developed within a month of dedicated study, yet they can be refined over a lifetime — making this an area that calls for continuing education throughout one's career.

Communication

Communication requires listening to others, obtaining feedback, reflecting on what has been shared, and articulating a vision that others can buy into. For this reason, transformational leadership is closely linked to communication: it is the style in which the communication of a vision is most vital (Atkin-Plunk & Armstrong, 2013). To develop my communication competence, I will schedule regular formal and informal meetings with my workers so as to engage with them, discuss workplace issues, obtain feedback, and allow myself time to reflect on what was shared. This practice should occur weekly, and over the course of a year it should become routine, producing a marked improvement in workplace morale. Workers should demonstrate renewed engagement and motivation as a result of being included in the leader's thinking and planning.

Communicating a clear vision is the central behavioral skill that must be practiced in this area. This can only be developed through repetition and through gathering feedback from workers. Surveys should be administered regularly to assess how well workers are embracing the communicated vision, what they think of it, and what they think of the leader's overall approach. Feedback is essential for measuring effective communication.

Service of Others

Servant leadership is the other major style I want to develop. Serving others is at the root of effective leadership because a leader must provide others with what they need in order to succeed. A servant leader puts workers first. This behavior can be practiced by getting to know workers and their individual needs, and then making myself available so that they can access the support they require. This must be done on an individual basis to be truly effective, which means each worker should have the opportunity to meet with me on a monthly basis. To measure the effectiveness of this competency, interviews can be conducted to assess whether workers are meeting their goals and feel adequately supported.

Conclusion

To become a more effective leader, this leadership development plan has identified the core behaviors, skills, and styles needed within the workplace. The key to developing leadership effectively is consistent practice, ongoing study, and the regular collection of feedback — because measuring one's progress is essential for understanding whether development is moving in the right direction.

References

Atkin-Plunk, C. A., & Armstrong, G. S. (2013). Transformational leadership skills and correlates of prison warden job stress. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 40(5), 551–568.

Doody, O., & Doody, C. M. (2012). Transformational leadership in nursing practice. British Journal of Nursing, 21(20), 1212–1218.

Leininger, M. (2008). Transcultural nursing: Its importance in nursing practice. Journal of Cultural Diversity, 15(1), 37–43.

Mikkelson, A. C., York, J. A., & Arritola, J. (2015). Communication competence, leadership behaviors, and employee outcomes in supervisor-employee relationships. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 78(3), 336–354.

Ruben, B. D., & Gigliotti, R. A. (2017). Communication: Sine qua non of organizational leadership theory and practice. International Journal of Business Communication, 54(1), 12–30.

Shanks, N. H., & Buchbinder, S. B. (2012). Introduction to health care management. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

Warrick, D. D. (2011). The urgent need for skilled transformational leaders: Integrating transformational leadership and organization development. Journal of Leadership, Accountability and Ethics, 8(5), 11–26.