Self-Development Leadership Plan: Strategies and Progress
This paper presents a personal leadership self-development plan grounded in two self-assessment instruments: the Strengths Finder and the Emotional Intelligence Tool. Drawing on identified strengths such as restorative thinking, inclusiveness, contextual analysis, and a learning orientation, the author outlines four strategies for professional growth: enrolling in a public speaking course, building skills competencies through formal education in nursing management and healthcare finance, securing a mentor or coach, and increasing engagement in social justice outreach. The paper documents the implementation of each strategy, reflects on progress and informal benchmarks, and identifies next steps — particularly the development of a coherent professional identity and continued pursuit of mentorship.
- Overview and Self-Assessment Results: Strengths Finder and EQ tool findings
- Strategies for Change: Four identified strategies for leadership growth
- Implementation of Strategies: How each strategy was carried out
- Progress and Benchmarks: Evaluating growth against informal benchmarks
- Next Steps: Future priorities including professional identity
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper integrates two distinct self-assessment tools and synthesizes their overlapping findings into a coherent, evidence-based action plan, giving the reflection a structured analytical foundation.
- Each strategy is grounded in the self-assessment results, showing a clear logical chain from identified strength or weakness to the chosen developmental intervention.
- The author demonstrates intellectual honesty by openly acknowledging strategies that were partially or incompletely implemented, which strengthens the authenticity of the reflection.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper models the practice of connecting personal reflection to peer-reviewed research. Rather than relying solely on anecdote, the author cites studies on public speaking training, mentorship outcomes, self-efficacy, and authentic leadership to validate each strategy. This technique — anchoring experiential claims in scholarly literature — is a hallmark of graduate-level reflective writing in professional programs.
Structure breakdown
The paper follows a logical five-part structure: (1) self-assessment findings establish a baseline; (2) strategies are introduced as direct responses to the assessment; (3) implementation documents concrete actions taken for each strategy; (4) progress is evaluated against informal benchmarks; and (5) next steps project the plan forward. This mirrors a professional action-planning cycle: assess, plan, act, evaluate, iterate.
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.
References
Cho, Y., Harrist, S., Steele, M., & Murn, L. T. (2015). College student motivation to lead in relation to basic psychological need satisfaction and leadership self-efficacy. Journal of College Student Development, 56(1), 32–44.
Chollet, M., Wörtwein, T., Morency, L. P., et al. (2015, September). Exploring feedback strategies to improve public speaking: An interactive virtual audience framework. In Proceedings of the 2015 ACM International Joint Conference on Pervasive and Ubiquitous Computing (pp. 1143–1154). ACM.
Ren, S., Collins, N., & Zhu, Y. (2014). Leadership self-development in China and Vietnam. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 52(1), 42–59.
Seibert, S. E., Sargent, L. D., Kraimer, M. L., & Kiazad, K. (2017). Linking developmental experiences to leader effectiveness and promotability: The mediating role of leadership self-efficacy and mentor network. Personnel Psychology, 70(2), 357–397.
Shamir, B., & Eilam-Shamir, G. (2018). "What's your story?" A life-stories approach to authentic leadership development. In Leadership Now: Reflections on the Legacy of Boas Shamir (pp. 51–76). Emerald Publishing Limited.
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