Personal Leadership Plan: Vision, Goals, and Style

Introduction

The environmental factors that influence individuals', companies', and organizations' behavior require that people benefit from the guidance of a strong leader. In an environment characterized by different types and levels of change, it is important that people feel supported by a leader who is able to point them in the right direction, provide the resources they need, and give them the constructive feedback required to reach their objectives. Leaders must be able to adapt their leadership style in accordance with the requirements of each situation, rather than remaining rigid in a single approach.

In order to become successful leaders, people must develop a plan. This is important because it helps them establish their objectives, which define the direction upon which they build their strategy (Burns, 2012). In addition, by developing a personal leadership plan, individuals increase their commitment to reaching a leadership position.

Personal Vision and Mission

As a college senior, I am interested in building a strong management career that allows me to apply my skills and interest in managing people. I cannot claim to have a fully clear vision of the specific professional position I intend to occupy, but I know it must involve managing people and processes. It is obvious that this is a long-term objective that will be achieved through intense study, hard work, practical experience, and recognition from peers. Therefore, my vision is to become a flexible leader who keeps both the company's interests and team members' needs in mind simultaneously. My mission is to develop and apply a leadership style that adapts to the necessities of each situation and that encourages people to follow.

Leadership Strengths and Weaknesses Self-Assessment

The success of business enterprises relies on communication. In other words, how we communicate with our business partners, employees, and managers determines our success. It is important to focus on developing and improving communication skills, which are especially critical for leaders (Brent & Dent, 2013). Leaders cannot expect their team members to make all communication efforts. The leader must set the example that the team follows. Therefore, individuals who want to become leaders must evaluate their communication skills in order to identify areas that require additional improvement.

To evaluate my communication skills, I used several tools. I took multiple online communication assessment tests and requested feedback from people I know, including colleagues at work and college professors. Some of their responses confirmed what I had already established about myself, but certain issues emerged that I had not previously identified — most notably, how I handle conflict situations.

The communication skills evaluation revealed that I have strong overall communication skills, but there is room for improvement. Areas where I scored highest include active listening, empathy, constructive feedback, motivation, and flexibility. I scored lowest on conflict management. People who evaluated me noted that I do not often address conflicts between individuals directly. This is clearly an important skill to develop, because conflicts are frequent in business environments.

Planning and organizing are another important asset of great leaders. I have always been skilled at planning and organizing activities, and my abilities have continued to improve. The subjects I have studied in college — especially those related to management — have helped me refine my prioritization skills. I believe that in order to achieve great results through planning and organizing, it is essential to prioritize effectively, because the business environment generates an ever-increasing number of activities that leaders and their teams must manage.

The leader must also be able to teach team members how to plan and organize activities successfully. I believe I am well-suited to this, as I served as team leader in most projects I undertook during college. The results I obtained during this period speak for themselves: all teams I led submitted their projects ahead of schedule. I planned and organized project activities by assigning tasks to the team members best qualified for each one. As a result, all team members completed their work on time without needing to work excessive hours or exert extraordinary effort. I am confident I can replicate these results in an organizational leadership role.

In order to plan and organize effectively, leaders must have strong time management skills (Nahavandi, 2000). By consistently meeting deadlines across all my projects, assignments, and activities, I can say that I possess solid time management skills. However, I intend to improve further by taking time management courses in an effort to make better use of my team's work and maximize collective productivity.

Professional Goals

In order to develop as a strong leader, it is important to set periodic goals in the short, medium, and long term. These goals serve as a navigational compass that indicates whether I am on course or drifting from my intended path. In establishing my goals, I applied the SMART framework, ensuring that each leadership development goal is specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. This adds clarity to goals and enables the development of efficient strategies for reaching them.

An important related consideration is that the goals I set must remain flexible. They must allow for modifications to my strategies in order to adapt to environmental factors that significantly influence my professional development (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). I have established these goals in relation to the current state of the industry I intend to work in, but I cannot predict how that industry will look in decades to come. Therefore, my goals must be designed to accommodate different types of change within the industry.

The following goals represent the priorities I have identified in pursuit of becoming a successful leader. I consider it important to begin with smaller, achievable objectives in order to build motivation. Reaching these objectives will provide the satisfaction and drive needed to pursue more ambitious goals over longer time horizons.

During this period I also intend to conduct research on great leaders. What interests me is identifying their values and motivations regarding leadership, as well as the effect their leadership has had on others. This will help me better determine the type of leader I should aspire to be. I believe every leader has a personal disposition that aligns more naturally with certain leadership styles, but I also believe that leadership style can be developed and adapted through deliberate effort.

The following objectives are designed to help me grow into a meaningful leadership role over the medium term.

I believe a strong leader must have a solid professional background in his or her field. In addition, a leader should seek experience in related fields in order to gain knowledge that benefits the team. Research suggests that teams led by multidisciplinary leaders tend to be the most successful, because such leaders understand the work demands associated with each role within the team.

This also requires that a leader pursue higher-level education relative to most team members. Beginning MBA studies will provide access to advanced knowledge and also build credibility among peers and team members. The business environment also makes it essential to develop a strong professional network. There are situations where skills and work experience alone are insufficient, and professional connections within the industry become decisive. I intend to build a strong network within my preferred industry, as well as among suppliers and other types of business partners — a resource that benefits both my development as a leader and the organizations I work with.

Conclusion

Becoming a successful leader is a dynamic and ongoing process. In my opinion, efficient leaders are flexible and are able to adapt their leadership style in accordance with the requirements of each situation. I believe transformational leadership can produce the best results for the leader, the team, and the organization, but leaders should also attend carefully to the processes their teams are engaged in. Flexible leaders cultivate skills across multiple leadership styles and know which to apply in a given context. It is important to develop adaptable competencies that can improve performance across varied environments.

References

Avolio, B. & Yammarino, F. (2013). Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead.

Brent, M. & Dent, F. (2013). The Leader's Guide to Managing People: How to Use Soft Skills to Get Hard Results.

Burns, J. (2012). Leadership.

Kouzes, J. & Posner, B. (2012). The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations.

Lussier, R. & Achua, C. (2010). Leadership: Theory, Application and Skill Development. Cengage Learning.

Nahavandi, A. (2000). The Art and Science of Leadership. Prentice Hall.

Radcliffe, S. (2010). Leadership: Plain and Simple. Pearson Education.

Yukl, G. (2000). An evaluative essay on current conceptions of effective leadership. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology.