The Leadership Learning Plan
In order to create your personalized Leadership Learning Plan, you will be asked to spend
time in self-reflection and complete assessments in order to discover where you currently are
and where you would like to be in the future in regards to your leadership development. The
plan will:
 Outline your learning needs and goals
 Identify activities to meet those learning needs and goals
 Include a self-evaluation to determine whether goals are met
The first draft of the Leadership Learning Plan will be created using information from the
following sources:
 Multi-rater leadership profile results
 Kolb’s Learning Style Inventory results
 Interviews with three Penn State leaders
 Self-reflection activities
 Other sources you have identified (YOU@PSU feedback, current goals, etc.)
 Feedback from supervisor and program leader
The Leadership Learning Plan is intended to be a flexible working document that will help
you stay focused on your leadership learning needs and goals during and after the program.
You will be supported throughout the process by the program leader.
You will check in with the program leader and your supervisor several times throughout the
program to discuss your progress, as well as to review updates to the plan. This guide is
provided for you to capture your learning and track your progress.
Consider: Leadership Learning Plans: The Bottom Line
Source: Learning Matters is a free newsletter filled with ideas, practical tools and suggestions to kick-start your
learning and help you develop others by Graham Hart, http://www.leopard-learning.com/
We are all weighed down by almost daily new books on leadership theories and we seem to
have a rabid hunger for more information on leadership. And yet at the same time, many of
our organizations struggle with change and have chronic low levels of employee engagement.
As a leader, your skills must now more than ever before match the needs of the changing
situation. This presents a personal challenge to all leaders—of adapting and recreating
yourself—in response to profound changes in the workplace. The leadership development
and learning plan bottom line: how to take on the “learning for life” paradigm, and make it a
reality that works for you.
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When you are ready to start thinking about developing a Leadership Learning Plan for
yourself, it is helpful to think about what leadership is and what it isn’t. In general terms,
modern leadership theories cite the themes of visioning, strategic thinking, decision making
and communication and influencing skills.
Modern theories also mention different leadership styles like participative, consultative,
directive and negotiative, and the situational dependence of such leadership styles.
This in recent years is increasingly being underpinned by notions of character, integrity,
authenticity and service being seen as critical for effective leaders.
So before you start your Leadership Learning Plan, it begs the questions:



What kind of leader do you want to be?
What are your natural leadership styles?
What kind of leader does your organization need right now?
On the next page is a leadership development model to keep in mind as you build your
Leadership Learning Plan.
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Assessment
Practice
Practice
Reflect
Leadership
Learning Plan
Declare
Publically
Source: Adapted from Learning Matters is a free newsletter filled with ideas, practical tools and suggestions to
kick-start your learning and help you develop others by Graham Hart, http://www.leopard-learning.com/
Assessment
Assessments can be done through a variety of methods. The bottom line is that this process
must provide good data from a mix of sources and others’ opinions. This is important because
of a natural tendency we have to rationalize our existing behavior. This can get in the way of
our learning.
John Kenneth Galbraith is quoted as saying “Faced with the choice between changing one’s
mind and proving there is no need to do so, almost everyone gets busy on the proof.”
Leadership Learning Plan
There are two critical components here: First, the leader is the one who gets to identify what
they want to work on. Second, the leader should focus on two or a maximum of three things to
work on.
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Declare Publically
Most goals in one’s Leadership Learning Plan can be declared publically and if done, will
provide multiple benefits to the leader:
 It motivates the leader to stay committed to attaining their goals
 Disclosure can help improve the relationship with the leader and others
 Others can help the leader with ideas, suggestions, and feedback
 It is a public endorsement and reinforcement of individual development and
continuous improvement
Practice and Reflect
This is the implementation phase of the Leadership Learning Plan, and is really the engine of
any behavioral change. The leader thinks about what to do, tries out some different leadership
styles and behaviors, and then reflects on what has worked. It is also useful to check in with
any of the original feedback participants from the assessment phase, for suggestions or more
feedback.
This is an active learning approach which is based on frequent and small amounts of attention
over a period of time—and is a natural way of learning for most people. The cycle continues
on to further assessment of change, and further refinement of the plan. This is how you can
refine your leadership style overtime.
Last tip: Don’t forget to celebrate any achievements—not only is it fun to do, but it also helps
consolidate your learning.
Source: Learning Matters is a free newsletter filled with ideas, practical tools and suggestions to kick-start your
learning and help you develop others by Graham Hart, http://www.leopard-learning.com/
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My Leadership Learning Plan: The Penn State Emerging Leader
Learning Goal
Why This Learning
Goal
is Important
Actions I Will Take to
Achieve this
Learning Goal
Support Needed
I will be able to…
By (date):
How will I know when I get
there?
I will be able to…
By (date):
How will I know when I get
there?
Obstacles to Reaching Goals
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Steps to Overcome Them
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