Self-Development Leadership Plan: Strategies and Progress

Overview and Self-Assessment Results

Using self-assessment tools like the Strengths Finder and the Emotional Intelligence Tool, I have initiated a process of change aimed at enhancing my leadership capacities. Through these tools I learned my strengths and weaknesses, and this knowledge helped me develop specific strategies for growth. The Strengths Finder showed that I have great restorative strength — that I interact harmoniously with others and seek solutions through collaboration and mediation. I also learned that one of my strengths is the ability to contextualize and analyze current situations based on past experiences and events. This is not the same as dwelling; this strength refers to the broad meta-analysis needed to understand a current problem. The past provides us with tools and lessons. Even when we have dealt with a past situation poorly, we can learn from our mistakes and make different choices now. Another strength revealed by the Strengths Finder was my tendency toward inclusiveness in social situations. Inclusiveness comes naturally to me — I cannot imagine being any other way — which will make me a strong leader in diverse and complex environments. Finally, the Strengths Finder confirmed that I have a passion for learning. A learning orientation means I am hungry for knowledge, curious about the world and how it works, and open to new ideas.

The Emotional Intelligence Tool showed that I have a high overall EQ. I am able to monitor and manage my emotions, and I do not grapple with difficult emotions on a regular basis. I am inherently calm and composed even in the face of adversity, which could also mean I have not yet been sufficiently challenged. Echoing the results of the Strengths Finder, the Emotional Intelligence Tool confirmed that I tend toward inclusive approaches to others, listen well, and seek opportunities for win-win solutions to problems. Each of these insights contributed to the evolution of a leadership plan concurrent with my personal and professional development.

Strategies for Change

The strategies for change I identified based on my self-assessment and self-development indicators are as follows. First, I will take a course in public speaking so that I can become a more effective leader who is comfortable with my own voice and capacity to influence others. Given my predilection for learning new things, I believe this strategy will also align well with the second strategy: developing my skills competencies in one key area of my profession. This could mean a class or workshop, or it could mean reading a book. Third, I will find either a mentor or a coach and formally engage that person to help me cultivate the leadership skills I need to advance my career. Fourth, I will conduct more outreach and advocacy work in the interest of promoting social justice and the major professional values I stand for in my field.

Implementation of Strategies

I implemented each of these strategies in roughly the order presented above. The first thing I did was explore options for public speaking training. As an aspiring leader, I know I need to improve my group communication skills. I am effective in one-on-one and small group settings but freeze up in front of a large crowd. I want to communicate my ideas more effectively because doing so will allow me to effect change in the world. When I share my voice and vision with others, they are inspired to take action. Therefore, I enrolled in a public speaking course at the local community center. Perhaps one of the biggest misconceptions people have about public speaking is that some people are born with what it takes and others simply are not. I learned that, on the contrary, all skillful speakers have developed their skills through dedicated effort. Chollet, Wörtwein, Morency, et al. (2015) show how "training and practice are essential," but that speakers need to learn in a "safe and engaging environment" (p. 1143). I enrolled in a class that provided exactly that environment, which in turn produced a tremendous boost in my self-confidence. The course involved three two-hour sessions. I do not feel that was enough time to fully hone my skills, and in the future I will seek out additional opportunities to speak in public and continue improving.

While the public speaking course was available through a local community center, I simultaneously sought out instructional training in my area of professional expertise. I did so through my university, signing up for a course in managerial aspects of advanced practice nursing and also enrolling in a healthcare finance course. This coursework was part of my overall strategy to improve skills competencies. If I hope to be a leader, I need to be familiar with a number of different aspects of management and strategic planning, and financial management is one area where I need deeper knowledge. These courses are still ongoing, and I have done well so far. They have improved my sense of self-efficacy, which is a critical component of effective leadership self-development (Cho, Harrist, Steele, et al., 2015). The strategy of pursuing formal education also builds on my core strength of being learning-oriented and continually eager to assimilate new information and integrate it into my existing schema, self-concept, and worldview.

The third strategy was to find a coach or mentor. Formal mentoring is closely associated with positive leadership development outcomes (Seibert, Sargent, Kraimer, et al., 2015). This proved harder than it sounded. I approached several of my superiors at work, but all of them were too occupied with their own careers to devote time to mentoring me. They suggested I contact the university about enrolling in a formal mentoring program. I did, but the available mentoring was designed more for newcomers to the profession, whereas I needed a leader who could coach me on how to carry myself differently and envision healthcare planning and policy from a broader vantage point. I looked into hiring a life coach familiar with the nursing profession, but found that the cost of coaching sessions was simply too much to bear while paying for graduate school. I did complete one session with the life coach, which helped me frame my future differently and visualize more clearly what I want out of my career. I did not fully execute this strategy as I would have liked, and I will continue working to find the right mentor or coach. I believe I will always have need for coaches and mentors, even in later stages of my career, because we are never too old to learn.

Finally, the strategy of becoming more active in outreach and social justice was difficult to implement. I became involved in two social justice organizations in my community, but neither provided me with a role I could use as a springboard for direct action — I was simply volunteering on an administrative basis. I decided to make a list of the issues I feel most passionately about and then focus on the top priorities before spreading myself too thin. I broke this strategy down into more manageable steps. I know that social justice is a lifelong mission, and the steps I take now will lay the foundation for a future of leadership in this area. For now, I have decided to focus on what I can do to help foster children in my community through targeted intervention programs at public schools.