MGT360 Leadership Development Plan Part I. Business & Marketing

MGT360 - Leadership Development Plan Part I 
Length: Four pages (not including title and reference page), double spaced, Times New Roman 12-point type.
 Value: 125 points
Objective: Leaders develop through a process of self-awareness, goal-setting, and practice. These are activities that, when mindfully applied, will benefit you throughout your career. In this project, you will develop and execute a personal leadership development plan that will help you focus on developing specific leadership skills. 
Instructions: After reflecting on your leadership capabilities and where you would like to improve, choose a leadership skill that you will commit to improving this semester. Integrate knowledge gained from at least three sources (e.g., articles, TED talks) to demonstrate your expertise about your chosen skill and develop an action plan.
Respond to the following in your paper. Make sure to include (sub)headings.
Evaluation of My Current Leadership Capabilities (approximately 1 to 1 ½ pages) 
• Where in your life have you demonstrated leadership? Draw upon both formal and informal leadership experiences you have had at school, work, and/or in your personal life to help you make your points. 
• What are your leadership strengths and weaknesses? Draw from your experiences, feedback you’ve received, and/or your own perceptions, My Growing Edge (approximately ½ to 1 page) 
• Identify one leadership skill that you will work on improving this semester. See page 2 for a selection of common leadership skills that students in prior semesters have chosen
• Explain the reason for your choice and why developing this skill will benefit you as a leader. 
• Connect your discussion to your own professional or personal goals. Choose a skill that you can actually practice this semester, e.g., don’t choose “conflict management” if you are not currently experiencing conflict with anyone.
Leadership Best Practices (approximately 1 page) 
• Provide an overview of best practices/recommendations for developing your chosen skill. For this section you will have to research the skill of your choice, including best practices or recommendation on how to develop this skill.  In this section, you should demonstrate the knowledge you have gained from the resources you have collected. 
• Your description of best practices should be supported by at least three resources. You can use articles, TED talks (limit one), interviews with mentors/managers (limit one), Harvard Business Review articles etc. You may cite the course text, but this is extra does not count as one of the three required resources. Ask the professor if you are unsure about whether a resource you’ve identified is appropriate.
My Development Plan of Action (approximately 1 page) 
• Develop your action plan of at least four specific steps you will take to work on your skill this semester. Clearly describe what you will do to execute your plan (think SMART: Specific, Measurable, Actionable, Realistic and Time-bounded). Changing your mindset, or . I will give you some examples in class to help you structure this.
Paper format and other details:
a. Include a cover sheet with the title “Leadership Development Plan, Part I” along with your name, date, and class section. Do not repeat this information in the body of the paper. 
b. The body of the paper should be four pages, double-spaced, with one-inch margins and no larger than 12-point Times New Roman type.
c. Properly cite your sources in the body of the paper, as well as include a References page as the last page (does not count toward page total). Provide references in APA or MLA format.

d. Upload your paper to the assignment link on Blackboard; see syllabus for due date. 

Example Leadership Skills
If you would like to choose a skill that is not listed below, ask the professor for approval.
Interpersonal Skills
Conceptual Skills
• Assertiveness
• Public speaking
• Constructive feedback
• Coaching others
• Conflict management
• Networking
• Influencing
• Difficult conversations
• Self-awareness
• Empathy • Problem solving
• Creativity
• Strategic thinking
• Decision making
• Logical thinking
• Critical thinking
 Rubric - Leadership Development Plan Part I
 
Excellent/
Very good Good/ Developing Weak/Needs improvement
Evaluation Current Leadership Capabilities 
(25 points)
Provides an excellent analysis about their current leadership capability, supported by (in)formal experience and/or feedback they received. Includes at least three strengths and three areas of improvement.
25 - 20
19-12
11 - 1Growing Edge (25 points)
Clearly describes one leadership skills they want to work on, with a clear explanation of why that is important to them and how that fits their personal or professional goals. 
why they want to Choice and use of evidence and examples.  Action steps clearly show you have a plan in place for working on your skill this semester.
25 - 20
19-12
11 - 1
Leadership Best Practices (25 points)
Provides at clear description of best practices and/or recommendations, supported by at least three resources. 
25 - 20
19-12
11 - 1
Plan of Action (25 points)
Provides a clear plan of action, including at least four specific action steps. Action steps are in SMART-terms. 
25 - 20
19-12
11 - 1
Professionalism (25 points)
Writing is well organized, using (sub)heading. Sources are appropriate and cited properly. Good grammar, punctuation, spelling.
25 - 20
19-12
11 - 1
Total 125 points