Personal Leadership Development Plan: Essay Introduction
Managerial leaders drive an organization with the kind of decision they make; the quality of decision creates a competitive advantage to a firm. Leaders have the role of implementing strategies, entrepreneurial and mandated with the role of creating a winning team. This paper is a self-evaluation of my leadership traits and weaknesses.
My strengths and weaknesses as a managerial leader and the basis for your assessment
One character of a leader is decisiveness. A saying goes “better make a wrong decision than not decide at all”. I am a person who is decisiveness and I do not hesitate, however, I realize that it is not always that I am right so I consult before I make a decision. I have good listening skills as well as communication skills. This attribute assists me in listening to people’s points of view but I still am aware that the final decision comes from me. This character also boosts my team roles. I am creative and innovative. When faced with a problem I do not sit back and observe things go wrong I rise to the occasion and look for a solution. I have undergone through formal and informal education where I have gained attributes that help me understand various issues and developments in society. I have a college degree and am almost to finish my Masters’s education where I will come out a professional in my field.
What weaknesses or areas do I need to improve upon?
Human beings are not perfect they have weaknesses. One of my weaknesses that can affect my leadership is being a perfectionist. I find myself dictating how I want things done. This character makes me gauge other people’s performance levels not recognizing that different people have different capabilities. I sometimes find myself pushing other people to perform beyond their limits.
Another area that I think is a weakness is an extreme peacemaker and keeper; sometimes may find it not worth confronting someone on a certain issue he or she has done to me; this can make my communication skills be hampered. To keep the peace of mind that I always look forward to having; I ensure that I intervene in issues when I am wanted to; this can result in a late intervention.
Options for improving my skills in the next three month
Having undergone through the course successfully; I have decided to start a program that will improve my skills in the next three months, I will engage in activities and take some side courses with the main aim of improving my skills. The following are the activities that I will undertake:
Develop informal and formal groups
Within the three months, I will mobilize my classmates and we make informal groups to address different issues in the communities. The activities include cleaning the city, planting trees, educating the youth, and visiting old people’s homes. In the groups, I will ensure that I take some leadership roles and have my peers evaluate my skills; I will also allow the teams to criticize my skills as well as the strengths that I have. This approach will assist me to know the areas that I need to improve as well as know those areas that I have a strong point that needs to be reinforced.
Short management courses
Within the three months, I will look into any management program taking place somewhere with the guidance of a professional and enroll in the program; I will ensure I listen to what the scholars have to advise on certain issues and aim at improving the areas portrayed. When in the programs, I will take note of the advice to improve my specific weaknesses given by the facilitators.
Use of information technology
Currently, there are several computer videos through you-tube and other applications; I will search for documentaries and videos that advise on how to improve one’s self more so in my area of weakness. I will also use media articles to learn the stand of the management in the current trends; the articles will update me with the trend in the market and probably the skills that are required for proper leadership.
Sustainable improvement process (next 30 days, 60 days, and 180 days)
To ensure that I remain relevant and effective in my leadership, I will ensure that I continuously improve my skills through learning, and attending educative seminars; the materials I will be learning will be those that can improve my skills and make me a better leader. Occasionally, there are seminars operated by scholars in leadership, I will make a point of attending them and learning a thing or two. I will ensure that I attend these training and seminars at least once a month.
In the modern computer world, there has been the invention of computers; they offer chances for virtual teams that can be of great use especially getting information on leadership and updating myself on what is happening in the business arena. I will enroll in the teams and become an active member; from the study; I have come to realize that leadership skills can only be grown when a person practices the art; every time there is a chance to lead, I will be volunteering and ensuring that I get a chance to learn something new. Leadership can be improved further through enrolling in a management course; I will enroll in the courses to ensure that my skills have been sharpened further.
Detail plans on how you will evaluate your improvement efforts and adjust as needed
Occasionally, I will be appraising myself and look into the areas that I need improvement; in the current leadership set up, leaders do not wait to fail before they perform appraisals on their skills. There are certain questions that leaders should always embrace when they want to evaluate their skills. As people who influence others, they should ask themselves how and where they do influence by actually knowing their level of influence. The next question is how they should improve on people’s skills that would enable them to have the ability to solve problems. The question should be how you are with others and do you have a healthy relationship. Another question that I will be asking myself is whether I have a positive outlook and attitude because a negative attitude will affect the leadership potentiality of an individual and therefore the question should be whether you see possibilities or obstacles. The above are among the questions that I will be using to evaluate my skills.
Another important evaluation of strength and weakness is the ability of a leader to see evidence in him as able to have growth in personal or self-discipline. Certain questions that can be asked include the ability to manage time well and achieve worthwhile goals. The other way to evaluate your strength or weakness as a leader in your ability to have proven records of your past exemplary performance in your field. A leader should also be able to predict future success while backdating on the previous achievements, able to accept the status quo, and at the same time have the ability to spot a problem in an organization. A leader should be able to have a large pictured mindset that would enable him to think in a wider perspective. I will be using this approach from time to time to ensure that my skills are growing.
Personal Leadership Development Plan: Essay Summary
If the self-evaluation, I have realized I have strong leadership potential that I need to develop. My decisiveness and courage are the strongest strengths that I have. To improve my strengths further, I will be reading leadership articles published in periodicals and dailies. To get a wider perspective and develop better management skills, I will use the internet to access international news, articles, and participate in virtual teams.
In later days, I am looking forward to being an article writer in local and international Media like the internet, newspapers, magazines, and journals, when I write them, I will seek to get feedback from my leaders that I will constantly review and see whether I can improve my skills. When I strengthen my leadership skills, I believe every day will be a day of renewed strength.