assignment on development of leadership

Ideas and insights from Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning

How to Create a Successful Leadership Development Program

• Leadership development initiatives are most effective when they focus on performance outcomes that support a key business priority, like revenue increase.
• Leadership development program content and design should be tailored to different leadership levels for maximum relevance and engagement.
• Data should be collected before, during, and after the program to measure progress and optimize for impact.

As organizations evolve in response to technological advancement, external events, and generational paradigm shifts, it can feel like the only constant for leaders is change. If so, there is no greater leadership asset than the drive to keep learning. And there is much to learn. Today’s leaders have a broader scope of priorities than ever before. They must manage volatility in the short term while maintaining a vision for the long term. They must be silo-bridgers, thoughtful innovators, and stewards of company culture. Companies that prioritize continuous learning can realize extraordinary potential ; those that don’t will stagnate.

Learning at this scale doesn’t happen without a plan. It’s great to set development goals for leaders during yearly evaluations, but without a solid leadership development plan that directly connects to business outcomes, other priorities and distractions will take over.

At Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning, we partner with companies to create curated learning experiences for leaders at every level. Though each partnership is unique, there is a proven process for designing and developing impactful learning initiatives. This guide shows you how to use that process to shape, implement, and optimize a leadership development program for your organization.

Process for designing and developing impactful Leadership Development Programs

Alignment: what do you need, goals: how will performance change, assessment: where are you now, development: what kind of learning experiences will work for you, executive involvement: how can senior leaders support learners, implementation: how will you integrate the learning experience, feedback and evaluation: how are learners performing, measuring impact: how effective was the program, what’s next: creating a culture of learning.

A generic leadership development program will yield generic results, so your plan should be grounded in a firm understanding of your organization’s unique values, challenges, and priorities. The process begins with alignment on one foundational question: What is the business priority driving leadership development? In the most general terms, most business priorities fall into a few broad buckets: Companies want to increase profits, cut costs, and mitigate risks .

Once you’ve established the key business priority, identify how employees can support it. What do you want leaders (and by extension, their teams) to do differently as a result of the program? Do leaders need to be more agile ? More innovative ? More inclusive ? These performance outcomes will shape the structure, content, and measurement of the learning experience.

Concentrate on the most critical needs. It’s tempting to try to improve everywhere, but learning experiences are most effective when they focus on a few key outcomes. If your goal is to inspire leaders to innovate more, ask yourself: What is preventing them? Skills gaps might include digital competency, navigating complexity, cross-functional collaboration, or even talent development. Identifying these gaps will ensure your learning objectives have the greatest impact on the business’s most important priorities.

The process begins with alignment on one foundational question: What is the business priority driving leadership development?

When we partnered with the global theater chain Cinépolis , their key business priority was growth through innovation. Their primary performance outcome was developing innovative leaders from the C-suite to the frontline. Cinépolis had total alignment on what they wanted, so their leadership development program could be highly focused. Their program used a cascade approach, beginning with intensive training for senior leaders and extending all the way to individual theater employees. The culminating exercise asked employees to propose one-page solutions to identified problems, which resulted in innovative new projects that increased revenue and customer satisfaction.

Checklist for Alignment

• Align on the key business priority
• Choose a focused set of performance outcomes

Additional Resources

• Key Alignment Questions
• Top 10 In-Demand Leadership Skills for the Future of Work

Now that you’ve identified your business priorities and performance outcomes, you can set leadership development goals . Your program should deliver impact in three areas: learner experience, on-the-job performance, and impact on the business. Success indicators might include strong engagement in the program, more confident decision-making, and improved retention, respectively.

Whether success indicators are qualitative or quantitative, each will need corresponding metrics to measure at the beginning and the end of the program, and each metric should have clear methods and sources for measurement. Success indicators should be specific to your organization and the unique ways you measure performance.

Leadership Development Program Goals Example

Checklist for goals.

• Set program goals, including success indicators and metrics
• How to Define Impactful Leadership Development Goals
• Learning Experiences That Get Results

With detailed goals in hand, leadership skills assessment can begin. Start with an honest assessment of your business’s organizational systems and norms. Can they support the changes you’re advocating for? If entrenched company culture or processes will disincentivize leaders from applying new skills and approaches, the investment in training will be wasted. If you expect leaders to evolve, the broader organizational culture must welcome and support it.

The clarity you established in the previous phases will be helpful here. Ensure that senior leaders understand the leadership behaviors you’re targeting and the business priorities they serve. Encourage executives to raise awareness of why certain leadership behaviors are needed and reinforce those behaviors by highlighting success. Celebrating early wins by sharing success stories—the “what,” “the why,” and most importantly, “the how”—will link those behaviors to desirable outcomes and encourage other leaders to practice these new habits.

If you expect leaders to evolve, the broader organizational culture must welcome and support it.

Now you’re ready to segment leaders by senior, mid-level, and frontline (or whatever distinctions make sense for your organization) and assess their baseline. You may already have a strong anecdotal sense of what each level needs, but data will always surface fresh insights. You may be able to leverage yearly evaluations or previous survey results, but you’ll probably want to do a new survey to capture more targeted data that you can track through the end of the program.

Make sure you’re hearing from individuals as well as supervisors. We’ve found that employees clearly understand their own needs. In our survey , 85% of respondents recognized the skills needed to improve their current performance. It’s worth understanding what leaders want to learn, because employees are most engaged when learning is linked to individual goals and aspirations, not just company performance.

With data in hand, consider the gaps between the current state and the ideal one. Where are the gaps most significant? This will help you prioritize who and what to focus on.

If your business is at an inflection point, your program should target leaders at all levels. The learning experiences will vary in content or method, but they’ll all be driving towards organizational transformation. You’ll want to decide if learning will be segmented, conducted in parallel with tailored learning experience for each level, or cascaded, where leader-teachers train their staff.

If you’re working towards a narrower goal, focus your effort on the learner levels that will be most impactful. For example, in our work with Fortune 2000 global companies who want to innovate, a common goal is getting leaders to foster group norms of innovation on their teams. To that end, we’ve found that starting with mid-level leaders is most impactful.

Checklist for Assessment

• Assess organizational context
• Consider the gaps between the current state and the ideal one
• Identify target audiences
• How to Assess Leadership Skills for a Leadership Development Program
• Don’t Let Your Company’s Culture Stifle Leadership Development
• How L&D Can Create More Effective Learner-Driven Experiences

Leadership development programs are a significant investment. Not only do they cost time and money, but they also connect to individual emotions about workplace performance and worth. Employees feel valued, engaged, and empowered if the program is worthwhile. If it isn’t, it can be a powerful drag on morale.

Because the stakes are high, organizations often partner with learning experts like Harvard Business Publishing Corporate Learning to guarantee that their investment has value and impact. Through decades of research and continuous focus on improvement, we’ve found that clarity, thoughtful design, and quality content yield the most successful programs.

The right experience will consider what leaders at each level need and how much time and focus they can devote. Self-guided programs are consistent and low-maintenance; immersive group experiences allow for more nuance and depth.

Different leadership levels have distinct responsibilities, needs, and expectations. The architecture of the learning experience should consider these factors. Frontline leaders who are new to management may feel isolated and can benefit from an experience that connects them with mentors and peers. Mid-level leaders, managing both up and down, are highly leveraged and can benefit from micro-learning and skill practice that is directly applicable to their work. Executives benefit from depth and high-touch interactions with peers and experts that provide an outside-in perspective.

Most enterprise leadership development programs leverage a combination of experiences. Our partnership with Capital Group , designed to reinforce leadership standards and priorities across locations, included a mix of in-person and virtual learning with curated content, facilitated discussions, executive sponsorship, and structured assignments that pushed participants to apply learning on the job.

Content is another critical factor. There’s no shortage of leadership development resources, and a coming wave of low-quality AI-generated content will only exacerbate that. Resources should be vetted, relevant, and applicable to learning goals. This is essential to building trust in the program.

With learning content, less is more: too many choices will overwhelm the learner; too many priorities distract from the key goals. Keep the program focused, even in the face of pressure from senior leaders to add new things to the mix. Generally, what is highly relevant is much more important than what is “interesting.” Make learner relevance your touchstone.

Checklist for Development

• Define the learning experience
• Tailor architecture for different leadership levels
• Curate content
• Strategies to Effectively Engage Learners Across the Enterprise
• When Designing Employee Learning Programs, Less Is More

The behaviors that are reinforced and rewarded by senior leaders greatly influence how employees act. If time and structure allow it, consider how you can integrate senior leadership in your leadership development program, beyond simply seeking buy-in.

Our learning solutions often include a “leader as teacher” element. Leaders might share a personal story at the program’s kick-off, host a discussion, participate on a panel, or sponsor an action learning project. Some of our clients also use formal mentorship programs to reinforce learning. Whatever the method, the payoff is significant: the presence of leaders as teachers significantly increases relevance and engagement.

Even if leaders aren’t directly involved, they should be very aware of the context of your learning initiative so they can identify teachable moments in the day-to-day work. Regular updates from you will keep the program content top-of-mind for them.

When American Express wanted to strengthen close to 16,000 mid-level leaders, we co-created a virtual, blended cohort program customized for relevancy and immediate application. Over 100 senior leaders acted as sponsors, sharing career stories and contextualizing learnings to American Express’ business environment. Frontline, mid-level, and upper-level leaders got to explore how important topics like collaboration really worked at American Express. For sponsors, it was a good opportunity to connect authentically with a large number of leaders in a psychologically safe space to discuss topics they were passionate about, which helped build these senior leaders’ personal brands in the company.

Checklist for Executive Involvement

• Determine how senior leaders will be integrated into the program
• How to Turn Your Busy Leaders into the Teachers They Need to Be

Successful implementation requires clarity, ease, and support. Leaders’ time is precious, so program delivery should be relatively seamless. Experiences can be integrated into an existing environment to minimize learning curves and platform fatigue or delivered on a separate, all-in-one platform. The right choice will vary by organization, but the most critical factor is ease. It should be easy to access lessons, content, schedules, cohort information, and progress indicators. Make sure there’s a responsive support contact to provide platform training and field questions.

Before you launch a leadership development program, make sure everyone understands how the program aligns with your learning development strategy and the organization’s broader business strategy. Drawing clear connections between desired behaviors and business outcomes will encourage employees to prioritize learning. If it’s one of multiple learning initiatives, help employees understand the unique part this program plays.

Drawing clear connections between desired behaviors and the ultimate business priority will encourage employees to prioritize learning.

Beyond serving company goals, leadership development has a lot of value for individuals. Defining “What’s in it for me?” for employees is a powerful motivator, especially at the beginning of the program. Share the scope of the learning development plan with participants so they understand that it will be relevant and practical, with clear outcomes that align with what leaders believe will make them even more successful.

Checklist for Implementation

• Choose the right platform
• Delegate a support contact for participants
• Contextualize the program before launch
• The Changing Face of Leadership Development

Leaders can read a thousand articles, but if they’re not putting learning into practice, the effort is wasted. Managers and leadership development teams must cultivate a safe space for application and experimentation. Digital simulations and peer discussion groups can help, but it’s just as critical for senior leaders to encourage and support applications of learning throughout the workday and to provide regular feedback.

You shouldn’t wait until the end of your learning experience to find out if it worked. Some digital platforms, including Harvard ManageMentor® and ManageMentor Spark® , can provide real-time reporting in aggregate, in groups, or at the individual level, including real-time polling on behaviors. With this data, managers and learning partners can adjust lessons and content to address gaps and areas of challenge. Over time, trends can be identified, helping organizations deepen their understanding of organizational strengths and weaknesses. This also provides useful information on how leaders learn best, to guide future programming.

Checklist for Feedback and Evaluation

• Create a plan for learning application and feedback
• Collect data for analysis and optimization
• Decisions, Decisions: How L&D Can Use Data to Gain Insight on Learning
• How to Give Feedback—Especially When You’re Dreading it

Once a leadership development program ends, you can analyze its business impact and learner engagement and satisfaction. Depending on your program timeframe and goals, it may be months before some quantitative business metrics like increased revenue or retention are proven out, but others—like program engagement and application of learning on the job—can be assessed immediately.

Engagement data might include participation by team and level; hits and return visits for specific content; and social and sharing metrics. Application data can be quantitative (number of learners who used new behaviors on the job) and qualitative (self-reported ratings of success, confidence, and desire for more practice).

An end-of-session satisfaction survey for participants provides feedback on many points, including perceived value, program strengths and drawbacks, logistical and platform feedback, success stories, and more. A survey aimed at supervisors can determine if the program influenced behavior change. We typically recommend conducting a follow-up survey two or three months after the learning experience to assess the program’s impact on behavior.

Change requires effort and risk—make sure participants know their efforts are appreciated.

Evaluating satisfaction, engagement, and impact data will provide valuable information about the levers you can pull to improve future learning experiences. But no matter what the outcome is, be sure to celebrate employees for their commitment to learning. A third of employees don’t think their companies provide enough recognition or reward for the learning they’re doing. Change requires effort and risk—make sure participants know their efforts are appreciated.

Checklist for measuring imapct

• Measure outcomes against the baseline
• Celebrate program success!
• Measuring the Impact of Leadership Development

Analyzing your learning experiences will yield important information about the structure, content, and concepts that work. You can bring that information into the next learning initiative, which might tackle a new business priority or scale the program for a different leadership level or geography.

Between formal learning experiences, learning and development teams can offer self-guided options and resource libraries to help employees maintain a continuous learning cadence. We’ve found that companies with strong learning cultures share a few key strategies.

Strategies that Nurture a Learning Culture

The leadership development journey is ongoing. Critical skill sets are rapidly evolving, and there will always be new leaders entering the field who need to learn the evergreen skills of management. Developing a culture of continuous learning is one of the most forward-looking investments a company can make in an era marked by uncertainty and disruptive shifts.

• Create a Culture of Learning: Five Critical Strategies
• Six Ways to Scale Corporate Leadership Development Quickly for Strategic Advantage
• Driving Learning Across the Organization at ABB

Explore further

Ready to level up your leaders? Use our checklist to help your organization develop a leadership development program that delivers results.

Download Now

If you have a question about leadership development programs, get in touch with one of our learning design specialists.

About the authors

Deanna Foster

• Senior Director, Global Solutions at Harvard Business Publishing
• Connect with Deanna on LinkedIn

Dr. Gregg Kober

• Director, Global Solutions at Harvard Business Publishing
• Connect with Dr. Gregg o n LinkedIn

Let’s talk

Change isn’t easy, but we can help. Together we’ll create informed and inspired leaders ready to shape the future of your business.

© 2024 Harvard Business School Publishing. All rights reserved. Harvard Business Publishing is an affiliate of Harvard Business School.

• Privacy Policy
• Copyright Information
• Terms of Use
• About Harvard Business Publishing
• Accessibility
• Digital Accessibility
• Higher Education
• Harvard Business Review
• Harvard Business School

We use cookies to understand how you use our site and to improve your experience. By continuing to use our site, you accept our use of cookies and revised Privacy Policy .

Cookie and Privacy Settings

We may request cookies to be set on your device. We use cookies to let us know when you visit our websites, how you interact with us, to enrich your user experience, and to customize your relationship with our website.

Click on the different category headings to find out more. You can also change some of your preferences. Note that blocking some types of cookies may impact your experience on our websites and the services we are able to offer.

These cookies are strictly necessary to provide you with services available through our website and to use some of its features.

Because these cookies are strictly necessary to deliver the website, refusing them will have impact how our site functions. You always can block or delete cookies by changing your browser settings and force blocking all cookies on this website. But this will always prompt you to accept/refuse cookies when revisiting our site.

We fully respect if you want to refuse cookies but to avoid asking you again and again kindly allow us to store a cookie for that. You are free to opt out any time or opt in for other cookies to get a better experience. If you refuse cookies we will remove all set cookies in our domain.

We provide you with a list of stored cookies on your computer in our domain so you can check what we stored. Due to security reasons we are not able to show or modify cookies from other domains. You can check these in your browser security settings.

We also use different external services like Google Webfonts, Google Maps, and external Video providers. Since these providers may collect personal data like your IP address we allow you to block them here. Please be aware that this might heavily reduce the functionality and appearance of our site. Changes will take effect once you reload the page.

Google Webfont Settings:

Google Map Settings:

Google reCaptcha Settings:

Vimeo and Youtube video embeds:

You can read about our cookies and privacy settings in detail on our Privacy Policy Page.

The Future of Leadership Development

Gaps in traditional executive education are creating room for approaches that are more tailored and democratic. by Mihnea Moldoveanu and Das Narayandas

Summary .   

The need for leadership development has never been more urgent. Companies of all sorts realize that to survive in today’s volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous environment, they need leadership skills and organizational capabilities different from those that helped them succeed in the past. There is also a growing recognition that leadership development should not be restricted to the few who are in or close to the C-suite. With the proliferation of collaborative problem-solving platforms and digital “adhocracies” that emphasize individual initiative, employees across the board are increasingly expected to make consequential decisions that align with corporate strategy and culture. It’s important, therefore, that they be equipped with the relevant technical, relational, and communication skills.

Partner Center

How to Craft a Leadership Development Plan: Steps for Success

Leadership development is a pivotal component in the growth and sustainability of any organization. Through structured leadership development plans, organizations can ensure a steady pipeline of capable leaders ready to take on new challenges. This not only helps in maintaining business continuity but also fosters an environment of continuous improvement and strategic growth.

Creating a comprehensive leadership development plan involves several key steps, from deep self-assessment to ongoing evaluation. This guide will walk you through each phase, providing practical insights and strategies to help you design effective leadership development plans. Additionally, leveraging Development Plan Templates and understanding how to write an Action Plan will enhance your approach to mapping personal and professional growth.

What is a Leadership Development Plan?

A leadership development plan is a structured initiative designed to enhance the leadership skills and capabilities of individuals within an organization. These programs aim to improve leadership competencies, prepare future leaders, enhance organizational performance, align leadership with company goals, and foster a leadership culture. They typically include a mix of learning methods such as workshops, coaching, mentoring, job rotations, action learning projects, 360-degree feedback, and self-assessment tools. By focusing on skills like communication, decision-making, strategic thinking, and emotional intelligence, these programs help create a pipeline of capable leaders who can drive the organization forward. They can be tailored for various leadership levels, from first-time managers to executives, and may be conducted in-house or through external providers. The ultimate goal is to develop leaders who can effectively guide their teams, implement organizational strategy, and adapt to changing business environments. By investing in leadership development, organizations not only improve individual performance but also strengthen their overall leadership bench, leading to better organizational outcomes and a more engaged workforce.

• Ready to use
• Fully customizable template
• Get Started in seconds

Why Does Developing a Leadership Development Plan Matter?

Enhances business performance.

Leadership development plans are pivotal in driving superior business performance. Effective leadership nurtures a workforce that excels in productivity, innovation, and commitment to organizational goals. This translates into higher financial performance and competitive edges. By leveraging tools such as Creately, organizations can set and achieve strategic goals, ensuring alignment between leadership and business aspirations.

Fosters Innovation and Agility

A well-defined leadership development plan cultivates a culture of innovation and agility. Effective leaders encourage creative thinking and proactively adapt to changes in the business environment. By involving leaders in continuous learning and strategic planning, companies foster an atmosphere where new ideas flourish and agility becomes second nature.

Improves Employee Engagement and Retention

Investing in a leadership development plan significantly boosts employee engagement and retention. Leaders who are trained to communicate well, show empathy, and mentor others inspire loyalty and dedication in their teams. Good leadership reduces turnover rates and attracts top talent, creating a robust and motivated workforce.

Drives Better Communication

Good communication is a cornerstone of effective leadership. Leadership development plans that focus on enhancing communication skills ensure that leaders can convey strategic objectives clearly, foster open dialogue, and build trust within their teams. This results in a more cohesive and productive organizational culture.

Source: https://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/trends/top-priorities-for-hr-leaders

Steps to Building a Leadership Development Plan

Step 1: asses and identify talent.

The foundation of any successful leadership development plan lies in accurately identifying high-potential employees who possess the attributes and aspirations to become future leaders. This step involves a systematic approach to evaluating your workforce, utilizing various assessment tools and methodologies to uncover hidden talent and validate perceived potential.

Using the 9-box grid: Implement the 9 Box Grid Assessment Tool to evaluate employees based on both performance and potential. The process involves creating a matrix with performance on one axis and potential on the other, then plotting employees into nine categories according to their scores. The primary focus should be on high potentials, stars, and high performers. This tool provides a visual representation of talent distribution and helps prioritize development efforts effectively.

Leverage Talent Pools: Leverage existing talent pools and leadership programs by utilizing internal resources and tapping into previously identified high-potential groups. Review the progress of employees who have participated in past leadership initiatives to assess their development. Additionally, integrate this approach with succession planning to ensure talent identification aligns with the organization’s future leadership needs.

Step 2: Obtain Buy-In from Key Stakeholders

The success of a leadership development plan hinges on the support and commitment of various stakeholders within the organization. This step focuses on securing buy-in from senior leadership, managers, and the employees themselves. By aligning interests and addressing concerns, you create a supportive environment that maximizes the program’s effectiveness and ensures its longevity.

Senior Leadership: Align the plan with strategic goals, present ROI projections, and address funding needs.

Managers: Involve them in planning, communicate benefits, and offer training on supporting employee development.

Employee Engagement: Communicate benefits, offer voluntary participation, ensure transparent selection, and address concerns.

Step 3: Identify the Leadership Style

Selecting the appropriate leadership style is crucial for aligning your leadership development plan with your organization’s culture, values, and strategic goals. This step involves understanding various leadership approaches, assessing their relevance to your organization, and determining which style or combination of styles will be most effective in developing leaders who can drive your business forward.

Democratic Leadership: This style encourages team participation and collaboration, promoting open communication and idea-sharing. It involves employees in decision-making, fostering creativity and innovation. It is best for organizations that value diverse perspectives and employee engagement.

Pacesetting Leadership: Leaders set high standards and lead by example, focusing on achieving goals quickly and efficiently. They expect excellence from team members and demonstrate high personal performance. This style works best in fast-paced environments where rapid results are essential.

Coaching Leadership: Coaching leadership emphasizes personal growth and skill development, providing regular feedback and aligning individual goals with organizational objectives. It is ideal for organizations focused on long-term talent development and nurturing future leaders.

Transformational Leadership: This style inspires and motivates employees to achieve extraordinary results by communicating a compelling vision. It encourages innovation and creative problem-solving, focusing on both individual and organizational transformation. Transformational leadership is suited for organizations undergoing significant change or aiming for substantial growth.

Agile Leadership: Agile leaders are adaptable and flexible, thriving in volatile environments. They emphasize quick decision-making, continuous learning, and balancing short-term responsiveness with long-term vision. This style is best suited for industries experiencing rapid technological changes or unpredictable market conditions.

These leadership styles offer different approaches to managing teams and driving organizational success, depending on the specific context and needs.

Step 4: Determining Key Leadership Competencies

Identifying key leadership competencies is essential for creating a focused leadership development plan. This process involves analyzing current and future leadership needs, aligning competencies with organizational strategy, and establishing a comprehensive framework for development.

Competency Categories:

1. Leading the Organization

Strategic Thinking: Involves long-term planning, understanding market trends, and aligning goals with organizational objectives.

Decision-Making: Requires problem-solving, risk management, and ethical frameworks.

Change Management: Focuses on guiding organizational change, building adaptability, and effective communication.

2. Leading Others

Communication: Clear, persuasive communication, active listening, and empathy tailored to diverse audiences.

Team Building: Fostering collaboration, trust, and leveraging diversity for innovation.

Conflict Resolution: Mediation, negotiation, and creating win-win solutions.

3. Leading Self

Self-Awareness: Understanding personal strengths, weaknesses, and striving for continuous improvement.

Emotional Intelligence: Managing emotions, practicing empathy, and stress resilience.

Time Management: Prioritizing tasks, delegating, and maintaining work-life balance.

Best Practices:

Align Competencies with Values and Strategy: Ensure leadership competencies support core values and long-term goals.

Assess Current and Future Needs: Perform a gap analysis and future-proof the organization by identifying emerging competencies.

Involve Successful Leaders: Use interviews, workshops, and reviews with current leaders to validate and refine competencies.

Use Competency Models: Analyze roles, assess high-performing behaviors, and scale proficiency levels.

Incorporate Hard and Soft Skills: Balance technical expertise with interpersonal skills.

Regular Updates: Review and refine competencies regularly to adapt to evolving business needs.

This approach ensures leadership development efforts are effective, relevant, and aligned with organizational goals.

Step 5: Strengthening Soft Skills

Leadership is not just about hard skills but also about mastering soft skills such as communication, empathy, negotiation, and conflict resolution. Soft skills enable leaders to navigate complex organizational landscapes and build cohesive teams.

Practice active listening and refine your communication techniques through workshops and real-life interactions.

Develop empathy by understanding and addressing the needs and concerns of your team members.

Enhance negotiation skills through role-playing exercises and studying successful negotiation cases.

Creately offers a suite of tools such as 30-60-90 Day plan templates and career development plan template to support these development activities and track progress efficiently.

By following these steps, you’ll craft a comprehensive leadership development plan that not only aligns with organizational goals but also propels personal growth and career advancement.

Step 6: Designing the Development Plan

Creating a leadership development plan is crucial for grooming future leaders. This plan should address competency gaps, align with organizational goals, and accommodate individual learning preferences. A well-rounded plan integrates various learning methods to foster holistic leadership development and ensure practical application.

Learning Opportunities:

1. Self-Paced Learning

Online Platforms: Utilize e-learning platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, or edX, and create custom courses through internal Learning Management Systems (LMS). Provide access to industry-specific training.

Curated Content Libraries: Develop a repository of leadership articles, videos, and podcasts. Create reading lists of essential leadership books, journals, and offer subscriptions to industry publications.

2. Experiential Learning

Job Rotations: Implement cross-functional assignments to broaden leadership perspective, shadowing programs with senior leaders, and international assignments for global exposure.

Stretch Assignments: Assign projects outside the current role to challenge participants, lead cross-functional teams, or present to senior leadership or board members.

Action Learning Projects: Form teams to address real organizational challenges, implement solutions, measure impact, and reflect on leadership lessons learned.

3 . Social Learning

• Mentoring Programs: Pair participants with experienced leaders for mentorship. Establish clear goals and objectives for these relationships to ensure they support leadership development effectively.

A successful leadership development plan combines self-paced learning, experiential opportunities, and social learning methods to cultivate well-rounded leaders. This approach ensures that individuals can develop critical leadership skills in a way that aligns with both personal and organizational needs.

Setting Measurable Goals for Leadership Development

Setting clear, measurable goals is vital for any leadership development plan. These goals serve as the foundation guiding a leader’s growth journey from start to finish. Not only do they provide direction, but they also offer tangible benchmarks to monitor progress.

Why Measurable Goals Matter

Measurable goals help define success and facilitate continuous improvement. Without specific targets, it’s challenging to gauge progress or determine areas needing further development. Clear, precise objectives also enhance motivation, as leaders can see incremental advancements toward their overarching aspirations.

Using SMART Criteria

The SMART criteria is a proven framework for setting practical and impactful goals in your leadership development plan. SMART stands for:

Specific: Clearly define what you aim to achieve.

Measurable: Establish criteria for tracking progress and success.

Achievable: Set goals that are realistic and attainable.

Relevant: Ensure goals align with broader organizational objectives.

Time-bound: Define a timeline for completion to maintain focus and momentum.

SMART goals transform vague aspirations into concrete targets. For example, instead of aiming to

Core Competencies for Leaders

It’s essential to outline the core competencies needed for a effective leadership development plan. These competencies can be divided into three main categories, according to the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM):

Leading the Organization

Leading Others

Leading the Self

Within each of these categories, there are several specific skills and abilities that are crucial for success:

Strategic Vision: The ability to set long-term goals and create a path to achieve them, considering the organization’s mission and the market context.

Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Understanding and managing your own emotions, as well as recognizing and influencing the emotions of others.

Communication Skills: Proficiency in conveying ideas effectively, listening actively, and engaging others in dialogue.

Decision-Making: The ability to analyze information, weigh options, and make sound choices that benefit the organization.

Adaptability: Flexibility in responding to changing circumstances and leading the organization through transitions.

Ethical Judgement and Integrity: Upholding ethical standards and demonstrating honesty and transparency in all actions.

Steps for Customizing Leadership Development Plans

Identify Individual Needs: Start by assessing each individual’s strengths, weaknesses, and career aspirations. Tools like the 9 Box Grid and 360-degree feedback can offer invaluable insights.

Select Appropriate Training Methods: Choose from a variety of methods such as self-paced learning, professional courses, mentoring, job shadowing, and job rotations. This multi-faceted approach ensures comprehensive skill development.

Leverage Technology: Utilize platforms like Creately for visual strategy mapping and structured planning. Creately’s Career Plan Template and Career Development Plan offer valuable resources for mapping out development plans visually.

Incorporate Continuous Feedback: Implement periodic evaluations and feedback loops to adjust the plan as needed. This dynamic approach ensures the plan remains relevant and effective.

Methods for Leadership Development: Coaching, Mentorship, and More

Developing effective leadership within an organization requires a diverse array of methods. Utilizing a combination of coaching, mentorship, journaling, formal training, and on-the-job experiences can significantly enhance leadership development skills. Here are some of the most impactful methods:

Coaching and Mentorship

Coaching and mentorship play a crucial role in personalized leadership development. Coaching programs focus on setting and achieving specific goals through structured guidance. Conversely, mentorship provides long-term professional relationships where seasoned leaders offer insights and advice, shaping the mentee’s career journey. Both methods foster personal responsibility, continuous growth, and strategic alignment with the organization’s goals.

Journaling and Reflection

Journaling is an introspective tool that encourages leaders to document their experiences, challenges, and learnings regularly. Reflective practices enhance self-awareness and critical thinking skills, which are vital for effective leadership.

Formal Training and Seminars

Formal training programs and seminars offer structured learning environments where leaders can acquire new skills and knowledge. These programs often include interactive workshops, case studies, and expert presentations, providing a comprehensive understanding of leadership competencies. Various development plan examples can illustrate how to integrate such training.

On-the-Job Training

On-the-job training allows emerging leaders to gain practical experience in real-world scenarios. This method involves job shadowing, task rotations, and project leadership opportunities, ensuring that skills learned in formal settings are applied and refined.

Combining these methods creates a robust leadership development framework. Utilizing tools like Creately’s visual workspace can enhance these processes by offering customizable strategic planning and skill inventory & talent mapping. This ensures a comprehensive and tailored approach to developing leadership competencies within your organization.

Common Challenges To Developing a Leadership Plan

Limited Resources: Often, organizations struggle with budget constraints and designated time for comprehensive leadership training, making it difficult to implement thorough development plans.

Lack of Commitment: Without buy-in from senior leadership and managers, the implementation of leadership development strategies can falter. A culture of continuous learning is essential for success.

Rapid Skill Evolution: The pace of change in required skills often outstrips the speed at which organizations can update their training programs. This can leave gaps in leadership capabilities.

Ineffective Succession Management: Poor succession planning processes can result in the right leaders not being prepared at the right time, weakening organizational resilience.

The Importance of Flexibility

To navigate these challenges, organizations must adopt a flexible approach. Continuous reevaluation and adaptation of leadership development plans are crucial. Incorporating feedback from 360-degree evaluations and staying agile in training methods can drive sustained improvement.

Additionally, leveraging visual tools like those offered by Creately can enhance clarity and collaboration. For instance, Mastering The Kaizen Principles illustrates how visual strategy mapping supports continuous improvement by making processes more visible and adaptable.

How Creately Helps in Developing a Leadership Plan

Implementing a successful leadership development plan requires more than just outlining skills and goals. It demands the right tools to visualize, map, and collaboratively refine these plans. This is where Creately comes into play. As a comprehensive visual workspace, Creately offers a suite of features designed to streamline the process of creating and executing leadership development plans.

Visual Tools to Structure a Plan

Creately’s visual tools are instrumental in structuring leadership development plans. With career maps and development templates, HR professionals can clearly outline the growth trajectory for future leaders. These tools allow for dynamic adjustments and provide a clear, visual representation of goals, milestones, and progress.

Collaborative Workspace for Collective Buy-In

One of the critical aspects of successful leadership development is gaining buy-in from various stakeholders. Creately’s collaborative features enable real-time cooperation between senior leaders, managers, and employees. This collective input ensures that the development plan is comprehensive and aligns with organizational goals.

Multiple Strategic Thinking and HR Development Frameworks

Creately offers multiple frameworks tailored for strategic thinking and HR development, such as skill inventory and talent mapping. These features help identify key leadership competencies, visualize skill gaps, and plan targeted development activities. The Top 10 Organizational Skills guide provides insights into the essential skills for every professional, which can be visually mapped using Creately’s tools.

Centralized Location for All Resources and Development Tools

Managing various resources and tools for leadership development plans can be challenging. Creately acts as a centralized hub where all related documents, templates, and progress reports can be stored and accessed easily. This centralization ensures consistency and makes it easier to track the progress of leadership development initiatives.

In conclusion, Creately’s visual workspace is not just a tool but a catalyst for enhancing leadership development plans. Its features like career path mapping, customizable strategic planning, and collaboration functionalities ensure that businesses can align leadership development with their strategic goals effectively. By incorporating Creately into their development strategies, organizations can build a robust pipeline of future leaders ready to drive success.

https://www.aihr.com/blog/leadership-development-plan/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/paolacecchi-dimeglio/2024/01/04/five-steps-for-creating-a-successful-leadership-development-plan/

FAQs About Leadership Development Plans

How long does it typically take to see results from a leadership development plan, can leadership development plans be customized for different industries or company sizes, how can remote or distributed teams effectively participate in leadership development programs.

Chiraag George is a communication specialist here at Creately. He is a marketing junkie that is fascinated by how brands occupy consumer mind space. A lover of all things tech, he writes a lot about the intersection of technology, branding and culture at large.

Related Tools and Resources

Join over thousands of organizations that use Creately to brainstorm, plan, analyze, and execute their projects successfully.

Browse Course Material

Course info.

• Dava Newman

Departments

• Institute for Data, Systems, and Society

As Taught In

Learning resource types, leadership development, assignments.

Assignment 1: Assess, Analyze, and Reflect upon Leadership (PDF)

Assignment 2A: Group Assessment (PDF)

Assignment 2B: Self Assessment (PDF - 1.7MB)

Assignment 3: Elevator Speech (PDF)

Assignment 4: Personal Leadership Plan  (PDF)

You are leaving MIT OpenCourseWare

• Business Essentials
• Leadership & Management
• Credential of Leadership, Impact, and Management in Business (CLIMB)
• Entrepreneurship & Innovation
• Digital Transformation
• Finance & Accounting
• Business in Society
• For Organizations
• Support Portal
• Media Coverage
• Founding Donors
• Leadership Team

• Harvard Business School →
• HBS Online →
• Business Insights →

Business Insights

Harvard Business School Online's Business Insights Blog provides the career insights you need to achieve your goals and gain confidence in your business skills.

• Career Development
• Communication
• Decision-Making
• Earning Your MBA
• Negotiation
• News & Events
• Productivity
• Staff Spotlight
• Student Profiles
• Work-Life Balance
• AI Essentials for Business
• Alternative Investments
• Business Analytics
• Business Strategy
• Business and Climate Change
• Creating Brand Value
• Design Thinking and Innovation
• Digital Marketing Strategy
• Disruptive Strategy
• Economics for Managers
• Entrepreneurial Marketing
• Entrepreneurship Essentials
• Financial Accounting
• Global Business
• Launching Tech Ventures
• Leadership Principles
• Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Accountability
• Leading Change and Organizational Renewal
• Leading with Finance
• Management Essentials
• Negotiation Mastery
• Organizational Leadership
• Power and Influence for Positive Impact
• Strategic Financial Analysis
• Strategy Execution
• Sustainable Business Strategy
• Sustainable Investing
• Winning with Digital Platforms

5 Steps to Creating a Successful Leadership Development Plan

• 27 Nov 2019

Leadership development is a key initiative for many businesses. Organizations not only try to recruit candidates with leadership potential but cultivate their current employees’ leadership skills.

In a survey by global research and advisory firm Gartner , 60 percent of human resources executives said they’ll focus on cultivating leader and manager effectiveness for their company in 2023. In doing so, they intend to nurture the professional development of potential leaders by developing specific leadership qualities, such as authenticity, empathy, and adaptiveness—representing a new kind of “human” leadership.

Additionally, a report by the World Economic Forum projects leadership and social influence to be among the fastest-growing workplace skills through 2022, which ties into a burgeoning trend for all workers to become lifelong learners to address emerging skills gaps.

For motivated professionals who want to advance their careers and assume leadership positions, creating a leadership development plan is vital to staying ahead of the curve and rising to the demands of the job market. According to Harvard Business School Professor Ethan Bernstein, the path to effective leadership is more fluid now than in the past.

“Once upon a time, you would enter a leadership development program in a company that might put you on a 20-year track to becoming an executive,” Bernstein says. “Many of us can’t even fathom that today. But that should be freeing in that it gives us license to develop ourselves and create our own individualized leadership development plans.”

As you plot your career trajectory and consider how you can maximize your professional influence and impact, here are five steps to creating a successful leadership development plan.

How to Design Your Leadership Development Plan

1. assess where you are professionally.

Mapping your leadership development starts with understanding yourself and where you stand professionally. Taking stock of your strengths, weaknesses, and workplace tendencies can help identify areas for improvement and anticipate pitfalls that could arise on your journey to becoming a more capable leader.

“In the process of identifying how what you’ve done before may or may not make you successful going forward, you raise your awareness about how what you already know will contribute to, or undermine, your capacity to successfully lead others in the future,” Bernstein says.

Completing an assessment can be a valuable way to reflect on your motivational drivers and limitations and gain a more holistic view of your personal leadership style . Pairing self-reflection with a 360-degree assessment enables you to solicit feedback from colleagues and peers, which can provide greater insight into how others experience you. In turn, you can build and leverage a keener sense of emotional intelligence throughout your leadership development journey.

Related: 4 Tips for Developing Your Personal Leadership Style

2. Set an Attainable Goal

Goal setting is an essential component of any leadership development plan.

“Just like anything else: If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re probably not going to get there,” Bernstein says. “It sounds overly simplistic, but that summarizes why goals are important."

Bernstein teaches the PACE model, an acronym for:

• Pick a leadership goal
• Apprise others in your inner circle of the goal
• Collect specific ideas on how to improve
• Elicit feedback on how you’re doing

PACE is employed by learners to select leadership development goals and chart a course of action for achieving them. The first step in the process, Pick, is centered on identifying and prioritizing a goal you can strive toward to boost your professional effectiveness. When setting this goal, take an agile approach and consider both the short and long term.

“You can’t lose sight of where you’re trying to go over the span of a decade—or even a career—which is why making long-term goals is important,” Bernstein says. “But we can’t, as human beings, make progress if we make the milestones so grand and far away that they seem unachievable. A little bit of progress each day keeps the frustration at bay.”

As you define and establish your key goal, consider how you’ll measure progress along the way to ensure you stay on track.

3. Engage in Leadership Training

Leadership training can benefit you no matter your career stage. Beyond the opportunity to gain and practice the technical skills needed to empower employees and influence others , you’re exposed to faculty and peers you can lean on for support and learn and grow from. It can also equip you for future leadership roles.

According to Bernstein, honing your leadership abilities in a classroom setting is advantageous because it provides a low-risk environment for reevaluating and fine-tuning goals when you encounter setbacks.

“It’s helpful to have a group of people—we call it your ‘inner circle’—who’ve heard and embraced your leadership goals, and whose conversations helped inform how you would go about achieving them,” Bernstein says. “In moments of challenge and relapse, you can go back to them for encouragement and courage. You can revise your goals in a safe environment because you have a level of openness and vulnerability with those people built into the course.”

4. Interact with Your Network

A professional network is one of the most valuable resources in any leader’s arsenal, so make it a point to grow yours . Throughout your leadership development journey, connecting with like-minded peers can have a positive impact by providing opportunities to employ the knowledge you’ve gained and receive feedback on your progress.

These kinds of interactions are core tenets of the online course Leadership Principles , in which learners practice delivering feedback through video exercises that allow them to evaluate their effectiveness in various business scenarios.

“Ensure your leadership development includes some interaction with other learners and also with the people who are benefitting and suffering from your current capabilities as a leader,” Bernstein says. “We try to teach people to be good protégés, as well as good leaders. It’s an ongoing process. That interaction is important in making things that seem very theoretical ultimately become very practical.”

5. Hone Your Soft Skills

Effective leadership requires a unique blend of characteristics and skills .

“There are skills you need as a leader that you don’t necessarily develop in any other context, at least in a focused way,” Bernstein says. “These include communication; career planning; knowing how to create and evaluate authentic change in a person, including yourself; and negotiating career transitions. These are things you typically won’t do many times in your career, but they will be very important to continuing your leadership trajectory.”

As you chart your leadership development plan, consider how you can bolster essential soft skills like actively listening , practicing empathy , and creating value in a negotiation to ensure you’re prepared to tackle any organizational challenges that come your way.

Developing Your Leadership Skills

Striving to become a strong, capable leader is a commitment you can make at any stage of your career —although doing so sooner means you can reap the benefits longer. By assessing where you are professionally and thinking deeply about where you want to go, you can design a leadership development plan that enables you to channel your passions and build the skills needed to be more impactful in your role.

Do you want to enhance your leadership skills? Download our free leadership e-book and explore our online course Leadership Principles to discover how you can become a more effective leader and unleash the potential in yourself and others.

This post was updated on December 21, 2022. It was originally published on November 27, 2019.

About the Author

Have a question about the presentation or People School? Email Science of People support.

Align Your Leadership Program with Business Priorities

Generic programs lead to generic results, and let’s face it—your organization is anything but generic. Let’s dive into how you can create a leadership development program that’s as unique as your company’s fingerprint, starting with…

• Identify Your Business North Star

First things first – what’s driving your need for leadership development? Is it to:

• Boost profits?
• Slash costs?
• Mitigate risks?
• Or maybe disrupt your industry?

Pro Tip: Gather your leadership team and brainstorm to drill down to your core business priority.

• Define Your Leadership Superpowers

Once you’ve nailed your business priority, it’s time to identify the leadership superpowers that’ll get you there. Ask yourself:

• Do we need leaders who are more agile?
• More innovative?
• More inclusive?

Here’s a quick comparison of how different business priorities might align with leadership superpowers:

• Identify the Kryptonite

Now, let’s get real. What’s holding your leaders back from unleashing these superpowers? Is it:

• Digital competency gaps?
• Difficulty navigating complexity?
• Lack of cross-functional collaboration?
• Talent development challenges?
• Bad guidance?

Action Step: Gather your team and:

• List your top 3 business priorities
• For each priority, identify the key leadership behaviors needed
• Brainstorm the top obstacles preventing these behaviors
• Rank the obstacles by impact and addressability

“The goal is not to be perfect by the end, the goal is to be better today.”—Simon Sinek

Set Holistic Goals

Now that we’ve aligned our leadership program with business priorities and embraced a whole-person approach, it’s time to set goals that will make your CFO do a happy dance and your leaders thrive in all aspects of life.

Specifically, your leadership development program should deliver in three areas:

• Learner Experience: How your leaders feel about the program
• On-the-Job Performance: How they apply what they’ve learned
• Business Impact: How it affects your bottom line

For each impact area, define success indicators that reflect your organization’s unique DNA. Here are some examples:

Learner Experience

• Program engagement rates
• Self-reported confidence levels
• Personal growth satisfaction

On-the-Job Performance

• Decision-making effectiveness
• Team collaboration scores
• Innovation output

Business Impact

• Revenue growth
• Employee retention rates
• Customer satisfaction scores

Here’s the secret sauce: For each success indicator, define clear metrics. Remember, what gets measured, gets managed! Here’s a mini case study:

Business Priority: Increase market share through innovation

Success Indicator: Increase in innovation output

Metric: Percentage increase in new products or services launched

Method: Product launch data and innovation pipeline reports

Action Steps:

• Gather your team for a 1- or 2-hour session
• Break into small groups, each focusing on one impact area (Learner, Job, Business)
• Have groups brainstorm success indicators, metrics, and measurement methods
• Come together to share and refine ideas
• Ensure at least 25% of your goals reflect whole-person development aspects

Conduct a 360° Leadership Ecosystem Assessment

First things first – is your organizational soil fertile for leadership growth? A study by Deloitte found that 82% of respondents believe culture is a potential competitive advantage. Your company’s culture consists of many things, including…

• Stories & Myths
• Power Structures
• Organizational Structures
• Control Systems
• Rituals & Routines

If these elements don’t align with your leadership development goals, it’s time for some cultural pruning!

One of the best ways to gather feedback is to implement a 360° feedback system. Include feedback from:

• Self-assessment
• Peer reviews
• Direct reports
• Supervisors
• Gather key clients, team members, and/or stakeholders for a full-day session
• Present findings from each assessment area
• Conduct interactive workshops or deep-dive brainstorming sessonsto dive deeper into key insights
• Collaboratively prioritize focus areas for your leadership development program
• End the day by drafting an action plan

Craft Bespoke Leadership Learning Journeys

Forget one-size-fits-all training. It’s time to get personal with your leadership development. Here’s how to create learning experiences that hit hard and stick:

• Know Your Audience : C-suite needs differ from frontline managers. Tailor content accordingly or risk losing engagement.
• Mix It Up : Blend virtual simulations, peer coaching, and real-world projects. Variety truly is the key to learning that lasts!
• Go Micro : Bite-sized learning modules pack a powerful punch. They’re perfect for busy leaders who need to learn on the go. Prioritize many smaller modules over a lengthy one.
• Make It Real : Tie learning directly to current business challenges—even better if you can implement learnings right away. Leaders should be able to apply new skills immediately.
• Keep It Fresh : Leadership evolves, and so should your program. Regularly update content to stay relevant and cutting-edge.

Pro Tip: Create a “Learning Board of Directors” with leaders from all levels, from beginner to advanced!

Revolutionize Your Feedback Loop

Does your leadership development program feel like an annual chore? Transform it from a chore to a fun, ongoing process! Here’s how:

• Set up “leadership labs” for risk-free skill practice. These are dedicated spaces or sessions where leaders can experiment with new techniques, make mistakes, and receive feedback without real-world consequences! Think fun and experimental.
• Encourage peer-to-peer coaching. For a step-by-step guide on creating effective peer coaching programs, check out MindTools’ “How to Set Up a Peer Coaching Program” .
• Use pulse surveys for quick team checks. These can be short, frequent online questionnaires (typically 5-10 questions) that gauge team morale, engagement, and responses to leadership initiatives. If you get negative feedback, no harm in doing a 360 and reverting.
• Explore practical ways to use data in leadership development with SHRM’s “How to Use Data to Improve Leadership Development” .
• Gamify the Process. Create leadership leaderboards (like a visual corkboard or virtual leaderboard). You can even offer rewards for consistent improvement, too.

Quick Win: Try the 5-5-5 Feedback Method

• 5-minute daily self-reflection
• 5-minute weekly peer feedback
• 5-minute monthly manager check-in

Feedback isn’t a verdict—it’s a compass for peak performance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) About Leadership Development

Leadership development is an ongoing process that continues throughout one’s career. While some skills can be acquired relatively quickly, mastering leadership typically takes years of practice, reflection, and continuous learning.

While some individuals may have natural leadership tendencies, research overwhelmingly supports that leadership skills can be taught and developed. However, effective leadership development requires a combination of formal training, practical experience, and personal reflection.

Some common challenges in leadership development include: 1. Lack of self-awareness 2. Resistance to change 3. Time constraints 4. Lack of feedback or mentoring 5. Difficulty in measuring progress 6. Balancing day-to-day responsibilities with development activities 7. Overcoming ingrained habits or behaviors Recognizing these challenges is the first step in overcoming them and making meaningful progress in your leadership journey.

Lead With Greatness

Remember, leadership development is not a destination but a continuous journey! Stay curious, remain open to feedback, and never stop learning. Your growth as a leader will not only benefit you but also inspire and elevate those around you. Keep these points in mind:

• Leadership development is a continuous process of enhancing one’s ability to influence, motivate, and enable others, involving skills like mentoring, real-world experience, self-reflection, and skill-building.
• Effective leadership development is crucial for organizational success, improving performance, ensuring future leadership, enhancing adaptability, retaining talent, and gaining competitive advantage.
• Key strategies for successful leadership development include focusing on “whole person” growth, aligning programs with business priorities, setting holistic goals, conducting comprehensive assessments, and crafting personalized learning journeys.
• Implementing a robust feedback loop is essential, involving leadership labs for practice, peer-to-peer coaching, pulse surveys, data-driven improvements, and gamification of the learning process.
• Challenges in leadership development include lack of self-awareness, resistance to change, time constraints, and difficulty in measuring progress, but recognizing these obstacles is the first step in overcoming them.

Ready to take your leadership skills to the next level? Check out our article on 10 Effective Ways You Can Improve Your Communication Skills to enhance one of the most critical aspects of effective leadership.

Article sources

Popular guides, how to deal with difficult people at work.

Do you have a difficult boss? Colleague? Client? Learn how to transform your difficult relationship. I’ll show you my science-based approach to building a strong, productive relationship with even the most difficult people.

Related Articles

Science of People offers over 1000+ articles on people skills and nonverbal behavior.

Get our latest insights and advice delivered to your inbox.

It’s a privilege to be in your inbox. We promise only to send the good stuff.

Leadership development plan

Learn how to improve leadership skills training in your organization, and get actionable tips for building a leadership development plan.

Ivan Andreev

Demand Generation & Capture Strategist, Valamis

February 2, 2022 · updated October 4, 2024

11 minute read

After reading this guide, you will understand how to improve leadership skills training in your organization, and get actionable tips for building a leadership development plan.

What is leadership development?

Why is leadership development important, leadership development goals.

• Define what type of leaders do you need
• Align an employees career vision with your business needs
• Create a list of leadership development goals and skills
• Identify which methods of development to use
• Measure and analyze the program results

Leadership development is the process of improving leadership skills and competencies through various activities.

In leadership development, staff at all levels are taught the invaluable leadership skills that allow them to properly lead, inspire and guide their teams to success.

This type of development is important to properly cultivate a culture of leadership throughout an organization.

Leadership development training can take on many forms, both on-site, such as internal training and mentorship programs, and off-site, such as training seminars, conferences, online training, or graduate programs.

To effectively action leadership development, an organization should create a leadership development plan.

This plan will lay out the steps that the organization will take, what is expected of staff who undergo this development, and how the development will help both the organization and the staff.

Read : Leadership and Executive onboarding: 5-step plan

Career development plan template

This template helps employees and leaders plan together for career growth: set goals, assess skills, and make a plan.

Leadership development benefits an organization in a multitude of ways.

1. It drives better business results

Including higher financial performance and more consistent achievement within departments guided by proficient leaders.

2. Skilled leaders are more agile

An organization with empowered leaders can navigate today’s complex business environment and solve problems quickly and effectively.

3. Good leadership drives innovation

A workforce with effective leaders will be inspired to believe in, and work for, a greater vision.

4. Skilled leaders attract and keep employees

Good leadership can inspire higher engagement from their staff and reduce turnover. A great leader will attract talented new employees and will be able to keep the ones that they have, which leads to better work satisfaction.

5. Improves employee engagement

More than half of American workers are disengaged at work. Effective leadership that knows how to increase engagement within teams using purpose and recognition has been shown to increase profitability within an organization.

6. Improves communication inside and outside the organization

Good communication can make or break a company. If the leaders within a company make effective communication a priority, it leads to increases in productivity, better speed of execution of tasks, and a more positive organizational culture.

7. Improves Customer retention

Customers will be more loyal when leaders are effective in engaging employees. Leading by example improves the customer experience.

8. Increases employee loyalty

Inhouse leadership development inspires loyalty from employees, as it shows that there are growth opportunities available for them. It is also cheaper, and requires less time, than finding, hiring and training leaders from outside.

9. Proper leadership development strategy fuels business strategy

A properly developed leadership development strategy is an invaluable tool for driving and achieving the organization’s business strategy. In taking the time to understand what your organization needs from its leaders, you will better understand the business strategy that will work best for you. These two strategies go hand-in-hand, developing one will help in achieving the other.

No matter the industry, every organization can benefit from developing leadership skills from within their organization and prioritizing leadership in their company culture.

For a leadership development program to be effective, there must be clear goals that are set at the beginning of the process. Some, or all, of the following goals can be used as a starting point.

1. Demonstrate personal responsibility

A true leader owns their actions and the consequences of them, whether good or bad.

They are able to look at the outcomes of their decisions, and appreciate the lessons that both success and failure teach.

Employees notice if a manager never takes responsibility for their actions, or worse, pushes the responsibility for their failures onto their subordinates.

2. Practice self-discipline

When making decisions, it can be tempting to make ones that benefit the individual, rather than the team or organization.

A good leader considers all options then chooses the one that is best for the company, rather than themselves. This practice involves shedding bias and developing integrity.

3. Develop active listening skills

Sometimes leading means listening, rather than speaking.

Every member of a team has some valuable input and experience that they can share, and a good leader takes the time to create a space for discussion and actively listen to each person.

4. Expand and diversify knowledge

Leaders need to be well-rounded, with a wide array of skills in different areas of competence.

In taking the time to study fields that may be outside of their direct role, a leader will be better able to handle issues as they arise in a creative and agile fashion.

5. Focus on time management

A leader is not going to be much use to anyone if they are consistently running behind on projects and don’t have enough time to actually lead.

In focusing on proper time management, a leader can make sure that they set a good example and are available for their team.

6. Creating a culture of mentorship

A key role of a leader is to foster leadership in others.

Being able to identify and develop those skills in team members is an important aspect of a leader’s job, and is essential in the development of a leadership culture within an organization.

This involves coaching, giving actionable and constructive feedback , and paying attention to how team members are approaching challenging projects.

7. Improve communication practices

A leader is only as effective as their communication.

Great ideas and active mentorship won’t go far if a leader’s communication style lets them down.

Developing communication skills takes time and effort and includes building rapport with team members, understanding how, and when, to use persuasion, and improving conflict management skills .

8. Practice big-picture thinking

Leaders shouldn’t think small. Problem-solving and effective team management are dependent on a leader who can make decisions that will benefit the team not just immediately, but down the road as well.

Using these goals as a starting point will help an organization dial in on what is important, what changes need to be prioritized, and what kind of training will be most effective in developing the leadership that they would like to see within their organization.

Leadership development plan template

So, how to improve leadership skills within your organization? You should start with a leadership development plan.

It is the roadmap of how your organization is going to nurture leadership skills in employees of all levels. It should cover goals that align with both strategic business needs and interpersonal, or more human, needs.

It should address the needs of leaders of all levels within the organization, both current leaders and those you wish to train for future leadership positions.

An example of a good leadership development plan is one that has followed the following steps:

1. Define what type of leaders do you need

First of all, you need to understand what type of leaders you need, what set of skills are most essential for your business, and will be valuable in the future.

To do so, it’s better to take a step back and review your key business objectives, if you don’t have a clear list, then it is time to make it.

• Create a list of skills that you are expecting to see in a good leader that fits your company. It should be aligned with your business.
• If you have a different department that requires improvements in leadership, create a separate profile for them.
• Assess where your leadership is. Create a leadership assessment for your employees. Using a variety of methods, including anonymous, email, and face-to-face feedback, your organization can develop a clear idea of where the leadership currently is.
• Also, it might be good to have a list of employees who demonstrate an interest in management roles and are talented enough to take leadership roles.
• Maybe you need a leader with a specific Management style . In such cases would be good to check them and prepare some questions for an interview.

2. Align an employees career vision with your business needs

Talk to the employees who will participate in this leadership development and try to align their career vision and path with your ideas and business path.

Having the same direction in development will affect final results dramatically.

• Of course, a culture of leadership is easier to develop with engaged employees who view the organization in a positive light. So, sometimes it will be better not to focus on people who are going to leave the company.
• One-on-one meetings will be the most beneficial tool for discovering what your employee’s career vision is. Make the time to meet with employees on a regular basis to ensure that the two paths are in accordance.
• Be willing to listen to your employee’s ideas about what is needed both in leadership development and business strategy. You might get unexpected insight into your organization and ideas for the future.

3. Create a list of leadership development goals and skills

As discussed above, leadership development goals are an important part of this strategy. Without clear goals, it will be hard to understand what to do and how effective your plan is.

The required qualities and skills of your organization’s leadership will determine the relevant leadership development goals.

• These goals must be achievable, measurable, and should correlate with the key business objectives.
• Take a look at leadership skills , it might help you.
• Create a list of goals and skills required for each individual or role.
• Rank their importance so people will focus on the most valuable or important goals for them.
• Define a clear timeline for each goal, it will motivate people to act.
• Be clear about what success for each goal looks like. The clearer this list is, the more successful employees will be in reaching their goals.
• Look within your organization for examples of success. It is better to show, rather than tell.

How to conduct a skills gap analysis and what to do next

Start building your foundation for strategic workforce development.

4. Identify which methods of development to use and create a development plan

There are many different methods that can be used for leadership development:

• mentorship programs,
• formal training,
• volunteering,
• task forces,
• working groups and committees,
• changing the way the responsibility is taken,
• and others.

You can read more about ideas on how to develop leadership skills in this employee development article.

Some companies will develop these methods in house, while others bring in a third party company who specializes in this type of development, it’s up to you what to choose.

• We recommend creating a separate leadership development plan for each role or individual. It will make it more personal and role oriented, and as a result, it will be much more engaging and relevant.
• Focus on those methods that fit you, some of them are expensive, while others require experience.
• Think about the realization stage .

5. Measure and analyze the program results

As mentioned the development plan must be measurable, otherwise, it will be impossible to quantify its success.

By using measurable goals, concrete criteria, feedback from employees, and data, your organization will be able to measure the success of the program and make adjustments where necessary. Get more ideas from the Reviewing & Monitoring Results chapter of this employee development article.

• Set timeframes and review results frequently.
• Communicate with employees, their feedback will be really important.
• Come back to the plan and adjust it if necessary.

Using these steps, your organization can create a leadership development plan template to follow. In doing so, a culture of leadership and positive development will be established, and beneficial results will follow.

Use learning data to accelerate change

Understand learning data and receive a practical tool to help apply this knowledge in your company.

You might be interested in

Key areas of employee development

Learning and development fundamentals

The meaning of Learning Management System (LMS)