Professional Development Plan

Essential Leadership Competencies

The purpose of this assignment is to examine essential leadership competencies to demonstrate leadership as a vocation, as well as successfully lead in an organization. Complete all of the questions for each category of essential leadership competencies. Be sure to address each question fully and support your responses with at least one supporting reference.

Self-Leadership

1. Self-leadership provides an opportunity to achieve your objectives through your own thinking, feelings, and behaviors. Self-reflection is a necessary tool to improve the way you function as a leader. Discuss how you plan to practice methods of self-reflection that contribute to the development of how you lead.

I am planning to practice self-reflection such as meditation and journaling to analyze different aspects of my life. I intend to practice meditation for thirty minutes a day. I also want to start journaling every day. Self-reflection will give me time to review myself as a leader. Also, self-reflection will facilitate improvements in my leadership practice and skills, allowing me to better understand my team.

2. Recognition of characteristics of professional excellence plays a key role during interviews and performance evaluations. These characteristics must be visible to colleagues and stakeholders in order for you to benefit from them. Describe which characteristics of professional excellence you currently have and which characteristics you want to have.

I possess multiple characteristics of professional excellence, among them: integrity, commitment, and respect for myself and others. One characteristic I want to have been empathy. By definition, empathy is the ability to step into someone’s shoes, with the aim to understand their perspectives and feelings (Krznaric, 2012). In other words, it is the ability to feel or understand what another individual is experiencing.

3. Emotional and social intelligence skills translate to communication skills. Leaders who are able to access their emotional center have an advantage over leaders who only rely on intellect. Emotional and social intelligence can be an area of significant personal growth. Discuss the emotional and social intelligence skills you think you most strongly possess and those you want to work on.

I possess multiple emotional and social intelligence skills. As of now, I can communicate effectively with other people. I can also solve challenges and issues in ways that work for every member. However, I need to strengthen my own empathy. Sometimes I fail to recognize or understand how another individual may be feeling. This could cost me as a leader.

4. Continued professional development delivers benefits to individuals, their profession, their community, and possibly the world at large. Most notably, continued professional development keeps you desirable in your current position and attractive to potential employers, if needed. Discuss the ways you can utilize professional development to ensure ongoing professional progress and growth, specifically in leadership.

I can utilize professional development in many ways. First, I can enroll on leadership and management courses to help me learn new leadership skills and techniques. I can also attend leadership conference or events to sharpen my leadership skills.

5. Organizational responses to change in the workplace are the result of individual leaders who are employed within the organization. As a leader, the ability to manage change is essential. Describe how you can demonstrate flexibility and adaptability in response to changing or unknown circumstances.

During organizational change, I can easily shift and adapt to new ways of working. Also, I can adjust my leadership style to changing circumstances. I can also revise plans as well as strategies to meet the new demands.

Leading Others

1. An effective leader has followers and inspires them. This relationship is mutually beneficial. Leaders and followers support each other in order to achieve goals, vision, or objectives. Evaluate the role of authentic leadership in creating trust and followership. Describe how you plan to inspire followership through the utilization of such leadership and motivation theories.

Authentic leadership is a leadership style where leaders are self-aware, genuine, and transparent (Gatty, 2019). When a leader is genuine, individuals know what to expect. This tends to create opportunities to build trust and fellowship. I intend to do the following to inspire followers: promote transparent communication, solve conflicts and issues in honest and unbiased ways, and show compassion to my followers.

2. Diversity can be a strength within a team and organization. First, diversity must be recognized and leveraged as a strength. Diversity provides fresh ideas and perspective for a team or organization. Discuss how you will analyze people's strengths in order to leverage diversity to improve performance outcomes.

I will use a SWOT analysis too analyze people’s strengths. SWOT analysis usually considers an individual’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, as well as threats. Implementing a SWOT analysis for each person will help to get a better understanding of their strengths and weaknesses. This will also allow me to identify their specific threats and opportunities.

3. Communication and collaboration are increasingly important in a global and digital environment. Effective communication and collaboration among different stakeholders are prevalent in the workplace to meet business goals. Explain what strategies you will use for effectively leading teams and fostering collaboration among various stakeholders and how you will apply them.

I will use different strategies for effectively leading teams and fostering collaboration. First, I will define my teams’ goals. I will also foster open and honest communication. Effective team collaboration depends on truthful and open communication. Besides that, I will create opportunities for creativity. For instance, I will arrange for brainstorming sessions. This is a great opportunity for various stakeholders to put forward their ideas and even challenge them. Brainstorming sessions can be discouraging but they can encourage collaboration.

4. A great leader seeks to coach and guide in order to develop leadership qualities in others. Most leaders have had the opportunity to be coached by other great leaders. Coaching others enables people to improve their performance. Discuss some of the methods of coaching and providing guidance that can help develop leadership qualities in others.

There are several methods of couching and guiding others to help develop leadership qualities. Examples include team coaching, virtual coaching, and systematic coaching, among others.

Leading an Organization

1. Analyzing organizational behavior can drive innovative change and encourage organizational growth, including improved outcomes. When new leadership is established, the leader often sets a vision. The leader must evaluate systematic interdependencies among individuals, teams and departments to inform their vision and apply innovation to improve organizational outcomes.

Explain how you can develop and communicate a compelling vision to guide organizational development. Include a discussion of how you plan to analyze organizational behavior to determine systemic interdependencies among individuals, teams, and departments. As well as how you plan to integrate creativity and innovation to improve organizational outcomes through leadership.

In order to develop a persuasive vision, I will first engage employees’ minds and heart. For employees to give their best, they must be emotionally involved. I will also align the vision with those of the employees. After that, I will use variety of channels to communicate the vision.

I intend to examine employees’ actions and beliefs to determine interdependence among individuals, departments, and teams.

I also intend to create and foster an environment that support creativity and innovation. I am also planning to give employees the autonomy required to successfully complete their work.

2. New and existing leadership requires the leader and the followers to be of the same mind. Explain how you can foster a climate of learning and development within an organization.

One way to promote a climate of learning and development is to lead by example. I will take part in continuous learning and ask employees to do the same. Another way to foster a climate of learning and development is to include learning and development in the organization’s core values (Finkelstein, 2021).

3. Organizational responses to technological advances and economic shifts contribute to change in the workplace. Determine which strategies can be utilized for implementing and managing change within an organization and how you plan to use them.

The first strategy that can be utilized for implementing and managing change in an organization is to propose incentives that will encourage individuals to accept and engage with the new company’s direction. Another strategy is to re-define cultural values. I am planning to use all these strategies to ensure a successful change management. In the case of cultural values, for instance, I will create and support a culture of continuous improvement. This will help to changes the minds and hearts of other individuals within the organization.

Leading as Vocation

1. Compare the strengths and weaknesses the characteristics of transformational leadership theory and leader-member exchange theory (LMX). Explain the responsibility leaders have in improving organizational performance. Discuss how you would integrate aspects of transformational leadership theory and leader-member exchange theory in your personal approach to leadership.

Transformational leadership theory focuses on how leaders create a positive and valuable change within their followers. On the other hand, LMX focuses on the relationship between followers and leaders. However, transformational leadership theory can be utilized negatively. On the contrary, the basis ideas behind LMX are not fully developed.

Leaders build and uphold company culture, design effective work processes, and create organizational values. All these elements are vital in improving organizational performance.

Based on the two theories, I will try to push my team out of their comfort zone. I will also try to reestablish the relationship with my followers so as to achieve the best.

2. Numerous historical and recent events provide examples of leaders who did and did not understand they had a moral obligation to lead with kindness, compassion, and justice for the good of followers and the community. The outcomes of these events may directly and indirectly affect you, your peers, the community, and society. Discuss guidelines to ensure you lead with moral obligation for the good of followers and the community. Include how you intend to lead with kindness, compassion, and justice.

The following guidelines will ensure I lead with moral obligations: practicing honesty and integrity, treating every follower in an equal way, and showing respect to the followers and the community.

When leading, I will try to be compassionate and kind with my followers. I will also treat everyone equally.

3. Leaders who consider leadership their vocation consider it a service to others and for the common good. Explain how the moral imperatives of servant leadership are distinguished from other forms of leadership. Describe how you intend to implement servant leadership that promotes the common good and contributes to the benefits of communities and society at large.

Servant leadership is all about serving others through the moral principle of stewardship. I will allow my followers to take leadership roles and provide the tools and skills needed to do so. They will use these skills to serve and help their communities and society.

References

Finkelstein, J. (2021). 5 ways to foster a learning culture. Chief Learning Officer. Retrieved from: https://www.chieflearningofficer.com/2021/04/21/5-ways-to-foster-a-learning-culture/

Gatty, A. (2019). 4 Authentic Leadership Traits that Build Trust. Real Leaders. Retrieved from: https://real-leaders.com/4-authentic-leadership-traits-that-build-trust/

Krznaric, R. (2012). Six Habits of Highly Empathic People. Greater Good Magazine. Retrieved from: https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/six_habits_of_highly_empathic_people1

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