Speaker 1: What is a leadership development plan? Hey there, my name is Josh. I'm the founder of HR University, and before we dive into what a leadership development plan is, make sure to go ahead and subscribe to our channel, and that way you can keep up to date with everything on how to become a great management professional. Leadership is an integral part to every organization, however, there's often a lack of understanding of leadership, and there's ineffective leadership development training programs, and poor communication between management teams. This is where a leadership development plan comes into play. To really understand it, we need to first define what it is, and discuss why you should create one. So, a leadership development plan, or LDP, is an action plan, and LDPs can take one of two forms. So, a formal LDP, or a non-formal LDP. And formal LDPs are created during the recruitment process, usually in the form of a questionnaire, whose results help determine the type of leader a candidate would become, and after hiring, can also be used to discuss areas where your employee can improve. And a formal LDP has a clear goal and objective, but in a non-formal LDP, you don't necessarily know what you're trying to achieve. It is a flexible and adaptable process that allows individuals to identify their own strengths and weaknesses, set goals for their personal and professional growth, and take actions to improve their leadership skills. And when creating a non-formal LDP, it's often helpful to draw up a list of potential objectives, and then select the most relevant ones for your business. And whether formal or non-formal, be sure to include the following elements when writing your LDP. So, you want to include your vision statement, objectives, goals, key performance indicators, professional development, training needs analysis, action plans, measurable milestones, deadlines, and measurement methods, as well as feedback mechanisms, and appropriate resources. You may also include the following here, HR policies and procedures, strategic planning, leadership styles, performance management systems, communication styles, team building, motivational techniques, change management, and reward and recognition programs. But why is it important to create a leadership development plan? Well, first, a strong LDP helps you develop better leaders by imparting leadership qualities, ensuring that you give them the tools and opportunities to grow. And second, a strong LDP ensures that you keep track of progress throughout the year, and shows you any changes or improvements that you may need to make to your approach. And third, an LDP can offer the following benefits, it can produce more agile leaders, it drives innovation, it can yield better business results, and it can result in good employee engagement, as well as cause high employee retention, and it can increase customer loyalty and can produce effective communication. And there are seven steps to creating a leadership development plan. Now let's go through each one here. First, you must understand your organization's culture. Culture defines the way people work together, communicate, behave, and interact. It is also one of the hardest things to change and takes a lot of time and effort to build up and maintain. It's therefore essential that you know what your organization's culture is before you start working on your LDP. And second here, define what you want people to achieve. And once you have defined your organization's cultural values, you should think about what you want your employees to achieve. But make sure that it aligns with your organization's goals. And third here, identify your employees' strengths. This will help you get a better idea of which type of leader your employees are and whether they are suited to specific roles within the company. You may find these out through several methods, including personality tests, such as the Myers-Briggs Indicator or DISC, D-I-S-C. Fourth here, you want to ensure that everyone is on board. And when trying to implement a new leadership development plan, ensure that everyone is happy with the changes. Make sure to talk to them and get their feedback. And fifth, you must set goals and objectives for each employee, both short-term and long-term. And do this by defining what success looks like for each individual, setting realistic deadlines for achieving goals, and making sure that goals are measurable. And sixth, choose an appropriate training method. After identifying your employees' strengths, decide on a training method that will nurture their leadership skills. And you may train them yourself or hire coaches or experts. Whatever you choose, make sure it fits into your overall plan. And last here, track your progress. Create a spreadsheet that includes the following. So a column for each employee, columns for different types of training, and columns to record results after training, as well as columns in which you will note down any achievements. It's also beneficial to create a leadership development plan for yourself. A personal LDP is a roadmap that creates a clear overview of your leadership development goals. So let's go ahead and look at the seven steps in creating a compelling personal LDP. So the first step is to define your goals. And before you begin writing your leadership development plan, you need to decide what you hope to achieve and define it clearly. And second here, decide who leads. It's essential to understand which employees need to participate in your LDP. And third, identify problems. Once you've identified the areas you'd like to improve, you'll need to consider why these issues exist. Is there something specific that's causing the problem? Or is it more general? And fourth here, choose your objectives. And this happens after you've identified the problems. So these should be measurable and realistic. And fifth, set deadlines. If you want to get things done quickly, you'll need to establish clear deadlines. Otherwise you risk spending too much time on one project without seeing any results. And sixth here, write an action plan. Now that you know what you're trying to achieve, you'll need to work out how you will implement a successful leadership development plan. And seventh, you want to review the plan. So finally, once you've written your leadership development plan and goals, you'll need to review them periodically to make sure they still align with business goals and the overall organization. It'll help you ensure that everything is working correctly and that you're making the most of all the opportunities available. And becoming a strong leader is essential for any professional and for professional development overall. It's never too late to develop yourself as a leader as long as you have the will. And as an HR management professional, it is your duty to help this process get instilled in your company to ensure your employees turn into leaders. And figuring out how to create a robust leadership development plan and acting on it is the best step for all future leaders. And I wish you the best of luck in this process. And if you feel like you have a better understanding of how to create a leadership development plan and what it is, make sure to go ahead and like this video and subscribe to our channel. And that way you can keep up to date with everything on how to become a great management professional. And again, my name is Josh. I'm the founder of HR University. And I'll go ahead and tune in some of our other lessons and videos here. Cheers.