Leadership Development Plan for Advertising Industry

This article discusses the importance of leadership in the competitive business world and provides a detailed analysis of the author's leadership journey. It also includes a two-year leadership development plan for the advertising industry, focusing on improving technical skills, communication, time management, and assertiveness.

Dynamic Leadership

Executive Summary
Given the competitive scenario that we live in, every industry and every business is growing
rapidly. In the face of this competition, in order to grow, it is important to be an excellent
leader. Someone who can lead a team and drive them to work towards achieving common
goals. My first experience as a leader was when I was appointed the captain of the football
team in high school. Following which, I have led the creative arts team in college and have
also had the opportunity to lead some short term projects in my small career span.
This course has offered me an opportunity to reflect upon my leadership journey so far,
identify my goals and a leader and devise a plan to achieve them. In order to do that, I looked
back upon my leadership and tried to analyze my strengths and weaknesses. I also took online
tests to dig deeper into my personality and I also reached out to my partner to seek feedback
regarding my leadership style.
The report below consists a detailed analysis of my personality as a leader including my
strengths and shortcomings. I have also devised a two year leadership development plan with
an aim to lead the team in an advertising firm as a manager. The plan and the detailed
analysis below helped me identify my weaknesses and I am sure this is just the right first step
in the direction to improving my leadership journey.

Table of Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................1
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Leadership style.........................................................................................................................3
Feedback from partner...............................................................................................................4
Leadership plan..........................................................................................................................5
Technical Skills......................................................................................................................6
Information.............................................................................................................................6
Communication......................................................................................................................6
Time Management..................................................................................................................7
Assertiveness..........................................................................................................................7
Whitman GROW model.........................................................................................................7
Conclusion..................................................................................................................................9
References................................................................................................................................11

Introduction
Leadership is the action or the ability to lead a team, a group of people or an organization.
Leadership has always been a vital part of my life and I feel fortunate that through this course
I have been able to dig deeper into my skills and reflect upon my leadership journey so far.
Since my school days, I have been an athlete and have affinity towards playing sport. In high
school, I was appointed as the captain of the football team and this was the first leadership
experience I had my life. The entire experience was extremely gratifying as well as full of
learning.
Communication plays a significant role in any leadership journey. It is the backbone upon
which leadership functions (Komives & Wagner, 2016). Therefore the primary thing that I
tend to focus upon is to consistently improve upon my communication skills. This helps two
purposes, first I am able to create transparency within the team and secondly whenever
required, I am able to motivate my team in an effective manner. Primary responsibility of the
leader is to be able to motivate team members and inspire them to work hard towards
achieving team goals and targets.
Through the course I have been able to understand that there are several ways in which
leaders can inspire their team to work hard. Similarly, despite the famous notion about
‘leaders are born’, there are several leadership aspects that can be learnt and developed
during the leadership journey. This reflective essay throws light on my leadership
experiences, my learning through the course and thereby a devised plan for the future of my
leadership journey. The idea behind creating this plan was to ensure that I am able to improve
my abilities as a leader. At present, I serve the position of an intern at an advertising start-up.
My aim is to become director of advertising in a multi-national agency and I am sure that this
leadership reflection and plan will help me be a better leader in the span of my career.
Leadership style
Different leaders adopt different leadership styles. There is no leadership style that has
proven to be correct in every situation and it is impossible to state one leadership style better
than the other (Storey, 2016). As a leader I believe I adopt a democratic leadership style. A
democratic leader is a participative leader wherein members of the team participate together
towards taking team decisions.

Through the reflection, I realized the reason behind adopting this approach. I consider myself
a more creatively bent person than technical. My aim is to work at a senior position in
advertising and create unmatched content with art. I strongly believe that art cannot be
demanded from people. Therefore in order to successfully work in advertising, I feel that a
democratic leadership style will help me find a greater creative edge within the team and as a
team we will be able to generate better results.
A democratic leader is often able to create a conducive environment within the team by
encouraging team members to participate in the decision making process. This allows team
members to have an enhanced sense of ownership towards the team and thereby encouraging
them to work harder towards achieving results (Antonakis & Day, 2017). It is a major
responsibility of the leader to make sure that the communication environment within the
organization is transparent and encouraging. A democratic leader makes sure that team
members are allowed to be critical in a manner that leads to achieving better results without
creating any demotivation within the team.
Having spent a few months here as an intern I have come to realize that advertising is a
creative industry. Therefore when many people participate in the decision making process,
the result is often optimistic and efficient. Discussion forums turn into learning centers and
all the members feel close and connected because they are all trying to work towards the
same goal. This is only possible if the leader adopts a democratic leadership style.
Feedback from partner
This reflective process also allowed me to seek feedback from people regarding my
leadership abilities. I have tried my best to encourage my partner to share a transparent
feedback regarding my skills as this will help me in improving upon my leadership skills. My
partner mentioned that as a leader I create a very comfortable around my team members and
hence they are easily able to trust me with their problems. This makes it easy for me to lead
the team. Moreover, I ensure that all my team members respect each other. This makes it
easier for them to coordinate around each other without any differences.
Another feedback that I received from my partner was that because I create a very
participative environment within the team, sometimes there is in inefficiency and tasks get
delayed. A leader must be able to ensure that team goals are achieved in a timely manner
(Herman, 2016). Therefore I need to strictly work upon this ability and make sure that if

needed I can take a strong stand and take decisions on behalf of the team in order to ensure
that as a team, we are efficient and deliver our goals on time.
Lastly, my partner also said that even though I am extremely motivated about working in
advertising, I lack the technical knowledge of the industry. He mentioned that advertising is a
dynamic industry and it is imperative that I am consistently up to date with the latest ongoing
within the market. He mentioned that given the competitive nature of the industry, it is even
more important for me to be on my toes and ensure that my goals are achieved on time.
Therefore I will keep in mind that I need to be more updated with the industry and also make
sure that I am able to lead my team in a manner that gives them significant room to be
creative while ensuring that they deliver results on time. Feedback from my partner has
helped me identify my weaknesses and I will make sure that I work upon them in order to
enhance my leadership skills.
Leadership plan
After reflecting upon my leadership journey and seeking feedback from my partner, I have
been able to devise a plan for my personal development as a leader. At present I serve the
position of an intern but the small size of the start that I work in has created a rather flat
structure. Therefore all of us get to participate in the decision making process. For my
leadership plan, I have decided to take the time period of 2 years.
Reason for the time period chosen to be 2 years is because a long term plan is motivating for
me to work hard. Advertising industry is very dynamic and fast moving and hence in the
present time it would be inefficient to make a plan for the next five years. Therefore the span
of two years seems like the perfect fit for improving my leadership skills.
A leader must always lead by example. If a team cannot look up to their leader then it will be
difficult for team members to trust and follow the leader with honesty and respect (Diamond,
2019). Hence to begin with I have tried to jot down the hard skills and the soft skills that I
need to excel in as a leader in the advertising industry and what are the steps that I can take in
order to improve upon the same.

Technical Skills
There are several hard and soft skills that I need to improve as a part of my leadership
development plan. It is extremely important that a leader, within any industry, knows the job
and does it very well. Therefore as a part of this industry, I need to consistently improve upon
my technical skills. This includes predominantly creative designing and creative writing.
Every few weeks there are new technologies being introduced within the industry. There are
various online courses that help learn these technologies and tools of advertising. As a leader,
I will make sure that besides on the job learning, I also keep enrolling myself for online
courses as and when required.
Information
Secondly, it is important that a leader is up to date with the news of the industry. In order to
consistently widen my horizons, it is important that I read more and more about the industry
every day. Reading books on advertising is also an essential part of my leadership
development program. In fact, I have shortlisted three books that I need to begin with.
1. Start with why by Simon Sinek.
2. The Brand Gap by Marty Neumeier
3. Creative strategy and the business of design by Douglas Davis.
I would make sure that I inculcate the habit of reading on a regular basis.
Communication
I would also like to improve further upon my communication skills. I would achieve that my
communicating in a manner that is comfortable and easy to understand. I have always been
an introvert and hence it is often difficult for me to get very easy with people. Hence, I would
make sure that I put conscious effort to talk to members of the team and voice my opinions as
and when required. As an introvert, it is also difficult for me to take the first step and initiate
conversation with someone new. However, as a leader it is important that the leader has a
unique and comfortable relationship with all members of the team. Hence, I need to make
sure that I can begin conversations with people and I would work towards achieving that. In
the previous step I mentioned that I would be working towards gaining more knowledge

about the industry. More knowledge also helps in improving communication abilities as it
offers more content that can be shared with the team.
Time Management
Time management is one of the most important things that I need to work upon. I have often
realized that I get late for meetings. This is because I start my day late and then everything
gets delayed. As a step towards improving my leadership skills, I would work towards
managing my time better and ensuring that my tasks are better managed. Therefore I have
decided to have a to-do list ready a day before. This would help me understand the work that
is needed to be done and the goals that must be accomplished. I would also work towards
creating a disciplined schedule and following it on a daily basis. I would make sure that the
schedule I devise is tight enough to help me achieve my targets but not too strict that I am
unable to follow it.
Assertiveness
Lastly, a leader must also have an assertive personality. As stated before that I adopt a
participative or democratic leadership approach. However, as my partner pointed out that
such an approach can often delay the decision making and make it difficult for the team to
achieve their goals. Hence, it is important that the leader has an assertive personality and can
singlehandedly take a strong decision for the team as and when required. In order to become
assertive, the first and foremost thing that I need to do is practice assertiveness. I will start
doing the same within my current team. I will work towards voicing my opinions and taking
decisions for myself and sticking to them. I need to make sure that I don’t go on guilt trips
and take a solid stand for my own good. I am also sure that my steps towards improving my
communication skills will also help me in being more assertive and strong.
Whitman GROW model
Whitman GROW is a renowned leadership development model that works towards
structuring the process of coaching and mentoring. This model was originally developed in
1980s by business coaches Alan Fine, Graham Alexander and Sir John Whitmore. This
model has four different stages that help in identifying the goal, the current position or the
reality, the obstacles that can be there in achieving the goal and the way forward in order to
achieve the goal.

Given below is the Whitman Grow model devised for my leadership journey. The model has
been developed considering the time span of two years.
Goal – Manager at Advertising firm.
Reality – Intern at Advertising firm
Obstacles – Competition, newness to the industry,
rapidly growing industry
Way Forward – Online courses, soft skill development,
reading, personality development and
practice.
At present I am working as an intern in an advertising firm. My journey within the industry is
just 6 months old and within the next two years my aim is to become a manager at this
company. I have ensured that with the right steps, my goal is real, achievable and sustainable.
My current firm is a startup and based on performances we have appraisals and promotions
every six months. My manager has confirmed that I can have a permanent job in this
organization after two months. Therefore after six months, I can have my first promotion and
be a team leader.
The obstacles that I would face in my journey are competition, newness to the industry and
rapidly growing nature of the industry. Competition is a part of every industry. I feel
advertising is suddenly witnessing a boom and hence there are a lot of candidates who are
willing to work in this industry and working hard towards it. Some employees within my
organization have a lot of experience and hence they stand better chances of promotions.

Within two years I need to make sure that in the face of this strong competition, I am able to
stand out and make my mark within the organization.
As compared to my other colleagues, I am relatively new to the industry and lack knowledge.
This is a major obstacle in my journey because there is a lot of information that is out there
and it is extremely crucial that a leader has sufficient knowledge about the industry.
Lastly, the dynamic nature of the industry makes it imperative to be consistently up to date
with the information as well as skill. I am sure that this ever changing role and nature of the
advertising business will consistently keep me on my toes to work hard and create a
sustainable position in the industry.
As discussed before, the way forward includes be working upon both my hard and soft skills.
In order to gain technical knowledge, I will be taking online courses and make sure that as a
leader I can proudly lead my team by example. It is extremely important that I know my job
very well in order to lead a team with it. Hence I am sure these online courses will help me
enhance my knowledge and widen my horizons.
In terms of soft skills, I will work on my communication and assertiveness by practicing the
same and putting conscious efforts towards ensuring that I am able to improve upon the same.
Moreover, if needed, I will also take short term offline courses on personality development.
A leader must have a strong charisma and personality in order to be able to effectively lead a
team (Sy, Horton & Riggio, 2018). Besides this, I will make sure I regularly read and develop
my habit as a good reader. I will also make schedules and to-do lists in order to manage my
time better. For a personal growth, I would also make sure that I start my day early with vigor
and take out at least 45minutes a day to work out and keep myself physically fit.
Most importantly, this leadership reflection has been extremely helpful for me and I will
make sure that throughout this journey, I take consistent feedback from those around me in
order to be able to identify my shortcomings as a leader and make sure that I am able to
improve myself. Hence I would seek feedback by personal reflections and by communicating
with others. I understand that leadership development is slow process and I will take it day by
day to see a long term improvement.

Conclusion
Leadership has always been an essential aspect of my life. At present, I work as an intern in
an advertising agency and my goal is to become a manager at the same within a span of two
years. This particular course has helped me reflect upon my leadership journey so far and
understand my personal leadership style, its advantages as well as drawbacks. In this course, I
have also been able to receive feedback from my partner regarding my leadership skills and
that has also helped me in devising my leadership development plan.
Upon reflection, I realized that I follow a democratic leadership approach which is
participative in nature. This approach creates a positive work environment and encourages
team members to be a part of decision making. This style enhances a sense of responsibility
and ownership among team members but can often slow the decision process. As a leader, I
need to understand that I should be able to change my leadership styles as per the
requirements of the situation.
Being a part of the advertising industry, I need to work upon learning the technicalities of the
industry to be able to stand in the face of strong competition. Several online courses can help
me achieve that. Moreover, as a leader I also need to work upon my communication skills,
ability to be assertive and time management.
As a part of my leadership development plan, I have decided to read more, keep myself up to
date with the industry insights, consistently enhance my technical abilities, improve my
communication skills and work towards managing my time effectively. I will also seek
consistent feedback and take steps to improve further. The entire process of reflection has
helped me gain a deep insight regarding my leadership abilities and the plan devised has also
helped me pave a way to my future leadership journey.

References
Antonakis, J., & Day, D. V. (Eds.). (2017). The nature of leadership. Sage publications.
United Kingdom.
Diamond, R. (2019). Promoting Sensible Parenting Policies: Leading by
Example. Jama, 321(7), 645-646.
Herman, R. D. (2016). Executive leadership. The Jossey‐Bass handbook of nonprofit
leadership and management, 167-187. United States
Komives, S. R., & Wagner, W. (Eds.). (2016). Leadership for a better world: Understanding
the social change model of leadership development. John Wiley & Sons. United
States.
Storey, J. (2016). Changing theories of leadership and leadership development. In Leadership
in Organizations (pp. 33-58). Routledge. United Kingdom.
Sy, T., Horton, C., & Riggio, R. (2018). Charismatic leadership: Eliciting and channeling
follower emotions. The Leadership Quarterly, 29(1), 58-69. United Kingdom.