Leadership Development Action Plan - [University Name] - [Semester]

This report outlines a student's leadership development action plan, focusing on the democratic leadership model. It begins by selecting the democratic leadership model and explaining its applicability, along with its strengths and weaknesses in the context of the student's leadership situation. The report then assesses the student's existing leadership skills, highlighting strengths like motivation and creativity. A gap analysis identifies areas for improvement, specifically communication skills (public speaking), flexibility, and maintaining positivity. The core of the report is a detailed action plan, providing specific steps, tasks, and timelines for developing these key leadership areas. The plan includes actions such as seeking professional help for public speaking, engaging in non-routine jobs to improve flexibility, and reading inspirational articles to foster a positive outlook. The report concludes with feedback sections for each step of the plan.

Planning on Leadership 1
LEADERSHIP PLAN
By Name
Course
Instructor
Institution
Location
Date

Planning on Leadership 2
LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT ACTION PLAN
Name: Date: 5/10/2017
Step 1: Leadership Model
1. Which leadership model have you chosen as the benchmark for your development action
plan?
Democratic Model
A democratic leadership is where everyone in a group is allowed to take an active role in making
decisions. All members in a group are given an opportunity to express their view, discussion is
also encouraged and members exchange ideas freely (Giber et al 2009). The outcome of any
decision reflects the group perspective. However, the leader of the group regulates the group
discussion by offering guidance and control of the discussions. Gastil outlined basic areas that
must be in place for democratic type of leadership to be successful:
1. Proper distribution of leadership- any democratic leader must have a power structure. The
structure must evoke strong involvement and participation of every member of the
organization. This however does not mean that all decisions must always be made within
the group(Giber et al 2009). Depending on the scope of the issue, the decision would rest
in the hands of the leader alone. The final decision should ultimately reflect the wishes of
majority members.
2. Empowerment of subordinates- subordinates should be empowered through distribution
of responsibilities across group members. It also entails developing the skills of
subordinates through training. Since democracy is about participatory, the employees
should be taught personal skills such as public speaking, organizational skills, and logical

Planning on Leadership 3
thinking to enhance the quality of debate.
3. Aiding of democratic decision-making- leadership is effective through constructive
participation while maintaining healthy relationship and possibly an emotional setting
(McCall 2010). Problem solving relies on group analysis reflecting a collective interest at
the heart of the solution.
Int
This type of leadership requires the leader to possess specific skills to ensure effectiveness in
attaining organizational goals. These skills include intelligence, fairness, proper communication,
creativity, honesty, positivity and flexibility (McCall 2010).Once the above conditions are in
place, democratic model will achieve positive results.
2. Why is this leadership model applicable to your leadership situation?
The model is applicable because this type of leadership is consistent with my ideals of
participatory decision-making process. As an individual, I find effectiveness when am working
within the group, sharing my ideas with others while learning from my peers and superiors. It
also mirrors some of my existing leadership skills of building teams through participation.
Furthermore recent research have revealed it to be one of the most efficient leadership style,
resulting in higher productivity, openness of employee views and it also boosts group morale.
3. What elements of this model (if any) are not applicable to your leadership situation?
The model can lead to slow decision making due to the type of consultations required as
everyone has to be involved. The model also depends on consensus of everyone and this may

Planning on Leadership 4
lead to compromises in some areas, which may not be the best for the organization.
4. Why are these elements not applicable to your leadership situation?
These elements are not applicable to my situation as meetings are held until a decision is made
and this is given priority hence ensuring decisions are made on time. The importance of good
decisions is communicated and despite consensus, emphasis is on what is best for the company.
Step 2: Existing Skills in Leadership
Leadership Skills/Strengths
 Ability to motivate-motivation refers to how much employees desire to perform
regardless whether they are happy or not. Employees who are adequately motivated to
perform will raise their productivity, and will become more engaged (McCall 2010). I
believe this is one of my existing skills; I can confidently impart the sense of want to
perform better. I can achieve this by making others feel that the work they do has
significant impact on the overall good of the group, that they would be rewarded for good
and to make them feel good about fair treatment.
 Creativity- this is a leader’s ability to create something appropriate and novel(Giber et al
2010). This ability has been lauded as being more important than integrity and ability to
think globally
 Time management- refers to a leadership ability to analyze how time is spent and
developing time frame essential to improving the rate of performing those jobs.
 People management- it points at the ability of a leader to understand the value of
subordinates, communicate clearly, and also express gratitude. Managing people extends

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to a leaders belief to trust his subordinates to get the job done well.
Self Knowledge and Leadership Skills Acquired
 Fairness- when a leader treats other people other fairly, then the subordinates will notice,
and respect the leader in return (McCall 2010). The feeling of fairness is reciprocal and
the subordinate will further transfer the concept to the leadership and fellow peers.
 Integrity- it refers to an individual’s ability to do the right thing for the right purpose
regardless of the prevailing circumstance. Individuals are deeply committed to simply
doing the right thing across the board.
 Competence- it applies to a leader’s ability to impart the right knowledge and skills in
discharging work (McCall 2010).
 Intelligence – this might take the form of cognitive intelligence, emotional intelligence or
character quotient.
Step 3: Leadership Gap Analysis
The democratic model of leadership demand certain leadership attributes that I find lacking in
my skill set. These include the ability to speak to public audience (Giber et al 2009). In this
instance, I loose composure and may fail to articulate my points concisely. Another area of
concern is maintaining positivity when unforeseen events otherwise jeopardize initial plans.
Close to this weakness is the lack of flexibility when need arise to abandon pre-planned

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activities. These are the major areas I feel represent the need to strengthen my leadership skill
set.
Step 4: Skills and Knowledge Development Areas:
# The three leadership skill and knowledge areas I need to develop are:
1
Skill/knowledge area to improve or develop:
Communication Skills
Why these areas?
The democratic leadership style requires good communication skills to drive the agenda of
the organization through to the subordinates (Giber et al 2009). Although this skill is not
entirely missing from my closet, there certain aspects that require further training. Ideally,
the art of public speaking is crucial in articulating organizational objectives and to ensure
adherence by subordinates. However, I feel my public speaking which cab become handy
during communication is not good enough and need further training.
2 Skill/knowledge area to improve or develop:
Flexibility
Why these areas?
Mishaps always happen at work. An effective leader should be flexible while accepting
changes that can happen at any time. Employees appreciates a leader’s ability to change
according to circumstances.
Similarly, it calls on leaders to be open to suggestions and feedback (Giber et al 2009).
Employees should feel comfortable to approach a leader and share the aspects that they

Planning on Leadership 7
may feel uncomfortable in their daily working situations. Unfortunately, I feel I am not
flexible enough to adjust to sudden and emerging situations. It is one aspect that requires
further molding in order to improve my leadership outcomes.
3 Skill/knowledge area to improve or develop:
Positivity
Why these areas?
A generally positive outlook on the part of a leader can have a significant impact on how
subordinates would approach a task(Giber et al 2009). However, sometimes things don’t
go the way of our expectations and leadership would call upon keeping a brave when
things do not seem to go our way. Employees who feel positive are more likely to put in
longer work hours at their own will. This area calls into question my individual ability to
maintain a positive outlook even when things are not going as per expectations.
Step 5: Leadership Development Action Plan:
Instructions:
Priority Areas to be
developed
Actions and Tasks Start/End People /Functions
- Seek
professional help
1/11/2017-
1/12/2017
- Well trained
professionals

Planning on Leadership 8
1
Communication
skills (public
speaking)
- Engage in more
practice in front
of my peers
- Read more
publications
about public
speaking
- Attend
counseling
sessions with a
view to getting
psychological
help
- Online research
and reading
materials about
the art of public
speaking
- Learning to be
comfortable in
silence
in the field
of public
speaking
- Peers
- Family
members

Planning on Leadership 9
2 Flexibility
- Engage more in
non-routine jobs
- Research more
on flexibility
using online
resources
- Organize my
personal and
work time
- Consult
professionals in
the field of
organizational
behavior
1/1/2018-
1/2/2018
- Work
colleagues
- Peers
- Friends
3
Positivity
- Read more
inspirational
articles
- Seek
professional
counseling
- Online research
on overcoming
1/3/2018-
1/4/2018
- Friends
- Family

Planning on Leadership 10
negativity at
places of work
- Focus more on
positive thinking

Planning on Leadership 11
Facilitator Feedback
Step 1: Leadership Model
Comments:
Step 2: Existing Leadership Skills, Abilities and Strengths
Comments:
Step 3: Leadership Gap Analysis
Comments:
Step 4: Skills and Knowledge Development Areas:
1
Comments:
2
Comments:
3
Comments:
Step 5: Leadership Development Action Plan
1
Comments:
2
Comments:

Planning on Leadership 12
3
Comments:
Bibliography
Giber, D., Lam, S.M., Goldsmith, M. and Bourke, J. eds., 2009. Linkage Inc's Best Practices in
Leadership Development Handbook: Case Studies, Instruments, Training (Vol. 319).
John Wiley & Sons.
McCall, M.W., 2010. Recasting leadership development. Industrial and Organizational
Psychology, 3(1), pp.3-19.