Personal Development Plan

Your Definition of Leadership

The way you engage with leadership is influenced by how you define leadership. Before you continue your journey as a leader through this program,
we want you to take some time to reflect on what leadership means to you.
Step 1: Respond to the following questions (200-300 words) – How do you personally define leadership? How might your core values influence the way you
practice leadership?

A leader is ambitious in their goals, understanding of other people, a good listener, resilient, a good communicator, courageous, and a person who brings
people together while also bringing the best out of each individual person. They can be present anywhere in life, not just in the traditional role of being in
charge of a group. The way that people practice their leadership skills varies because of their core values. For example, I value balance, happiness, honesty,
respect, and openness. Balance is essential for me to have in my life because I have been taught from a very young age that it is never good to have too much of
any one thing. When I practice leadership, I will remember to have a balance between professionalism and fun, hard-work and relaxation, etc. Happiness is also
very important to me because if I am not happy with something, then I will not be able to move forward or give it my best. As a leader it is important to me that
everyone that I am a leader for is happy otherwise they will not be able to be the best that they can be. Honesty and respect go hand in hand because I want
people to be honest to me and I want to be honest with other people. It is important to be honest so that I am, and others are fully aware of what is going on.
This way no one is left in the dark. Without honesty there can be miscommunications and/or misunderstandings which may lead to larger problems if not
resolved at the right time. However, sometimes honesty can come off with the wrong intent which is why it is important to also be mindful of respect. You must
be respectful to everyone while also being honest. As a leader I will be honest and respectful so that I can lead by example. Lastly, I believe that openness is
essential so that you can learn more about the world and other people constantly without letting stereotypes or preconceptions sway your opinions or actions.
As a leader, I will be open to meeting and learning about new things and people. By doing this I will be able to connect with others on a deeper level.

Your Leadership Coach

We aim to match every Leadership Certificate participant with a coach to guide you in your leadership development. In order to facilitate the matching process, we
need some personal information from you.

Step 2: Please share below any personal information that might help us match you with a Leadership Coach (e.g., hobbies, personality traits, campus or community
involvement, academic or career interests). If someone you know has agreed to serve as your Leadership Coach, please share their full name and email address so
we can match you with them.

Scott Fisher from the Grainger Mentoring Program has agreed to be my coach.
Scott Fisher, s.h.fisher@outlook.com
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Your Leadership Competencies
Step 3: Select one competency from the Personal/Self level of practice and one competency from the Interpersonal/Team level of practice. Next, select two
competencies from any of the four levels of practice. Ultimately, you should have selected a total of four leadership competencies.

• Personal/Self: Self-Knowledge, Self-Management, Reflection, Empathy, Openness, Integrity

• Interpersonal/Team: Common Purpose, Communication, Relationship Management, Group Dynamics, Followership, Cultural Competency
• Organization: Change Management, Diversity Advocacy, Systems Thinking, Innovation
• Community/Society: Human Dignity, Social Justice, Global Competence, Service-Minded, Sustainability

Fill in the competencies you have selected in the spaces below and address the following three questions for each competency. We strongly encourage
participants to complete all four modules of the ILI before finalizing this step, as it will help with developing objectives.

Justification: Why did you choose this competency?

Reflection: What do you already know about this competency?
Objective: How do you plan to develop this competency? List at least three goals for each competency.

1. Personal/Self Level: Self-Knowledge 2. Interpersonal/Team Level: Cultural Competency

Justification: I chose this competency because it is important to fully
understand yourself before you can even begin to understand others. To be an
effective leader you must understand yourself and others. Additionally, Self-
Knowledge will help me figure out what path I want to go down in my life. I am
currently interested in many different areas career-wise. I want to help narrow
this down so that when I am job hunting, it will be easier for me. Additionally,
having a good grasp on my interests, values, and goals, before applying to a
job will allow me to find a job that I am able to contribute the most to while
also learning and enjoying every moment of it.
Reflection: Self-Knowledge is having an accurate sense of your current
interests, values, and goals. This knowledge is helpful in guiding your path and
finding your interests. Currently, I am aware of some of my interests; however,
I do not feel that I have explored everything that I might be interested in, so it
Justification: I chose this competency because I want to be educated on how
different cultures can influence a person’s values, interests, and goals. These
three things can tell a lot about a person’s personality, strengths, and
weaknesses. If I can identify a person’s strengths, weaknesses, and personality
from the start, I will be better able to modify my leadership style so that I can
bring out the best from that person.
Reflection: Cultural Competency is having the skills, knowledge, and attitude to
create the best relationship possible with people from different cultures.
Connecting with someone else’s culture can teach you a lot about them.
Objective:
- I will take a religion and/or culture class to learn more about the
different cultures present in the world along with some values that
people from these religions/cultures might have.
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is difficult to know exactly which one or few interests I want to focus on for my - I will try to ask people that I meet from other cultures more about
future. their culture. It is not a common question so it will take some getting
used to, but the knowledge I will gain will only improve my cultural
Objective: competency by allowing me to know more about the vast array of
- I will continue to explore topics with various classes and by joining a people in the world along with their backgrounds.
variety of clubs throughout my college career. This will expose me to - I will also attend the openness Wednesday Workshop.
many different things which will allow me to really explore all my
interests and find the select few that I may want to have my career
centered around.
- I will also continue to do things that might be out of my comfort zone
and applying for things that I thought I never would do because
exploring the most things until something clicks will only be beneficial
to me finding my own path.
- Having internships or jobs and talking to mentors, specifically my
coach, will allow me to receive professional advice about my career.
This will help me figure out where I might be the best fit in the
workplace or where I would be able to contribute the most, or
possible I will receive the answer to both.

3. Organization Level: Diversity Advocacy 4. Community/Society Level: Social Justice

Justification: I want to learn how to change a group environment based on the
diversity present. I know at times, sometimes people feel excluded even when
they are a part of a group; however, it is never brought up because that
person may not want to cause any problems. I want to be able to identify
possible exclusions that group members may not speak up about and be able
to change the group setting in a way that that person is able to feel just as
included as the rest of the organization.
Reflection: Diversity Advocacy is embracing each person’s differences as a
group so that the best can be brought out of everyone, creating the best
organization/team possible. In the past I have been a part of Special Olympics
Justification: I personally have lived in a place where people are all from the
same or a similar economic, political, and social status, so I would just like to
learn more about the inequalities present in these three categories. Once I
am education about the various ways that people can be treated unequally, I
want to be able to find ways to apply this knowledge to a community so that I
am able to create better living conditions for other people.
Reflection: Social Justice is having prior knowledge about privilege and
distribution of wealth and resources within a community and applying them
to your leadership style to reduce economic, political, and social inequality. I
don’t have very much prior knowledge on this competency.
Objective:
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and Best Buddies, so I know how important it is for people to feel like they are - I will try to find a class that is centered on the foundations of social
accepted for who they are. justice so that I can start learning the basics.
- I will also try to watch films that explore the differences in economic,
political, and social statuses around the world. This will open my eyes
Objective:
up to many new perspectives.
- I will start to be more observant in group settings to pick up on the - By learning more about social justice I will be able to identify the
small details. I will also start talking to my team members about how possible inequalities present in a group and find ways to reduce this
they feel in particular settings. This will help me identify the places and inequality through my leadership style.
things that may make people feel different or excluded.
- I will also plan to go to the Inclusion iProgram because it is centered
on how one can be more inclusive and accepting of people around
them. This iProgram will also help me learn how to change leadership
in order to include everyone in the group to create the best
environment possible.
- I will continue with my involvement in Women in Engineering so that I
can advocate for females in STEM.

Your Timeline
Step 4: Use the chart below to map out your timeline for completing the Leadership Certificate Program. This plan is intended to serve as a guide to get started
and approach your journey through the program with intentionality!

Requirements: Cohort and coach meetings, one academic course (AGED/LEAD 260), two i-Programs, two team experiences, 10 hours of leadership trainings &
workshops, and an ePortfolio

Semester 1: Spring 2020 Semester 2: Fall 2020 Semester 3: Spring 2021

- Take ENG 177 Leadership class
- Attend one iProgram
- Attend one Wednesday Workshop
- Attend workshop to help develop PDP
- Find and connect with a coach
- Complete one team experience
- Complete & submit PDP
- Take academic course
- Attend another iProgram
- Attend two Wednesday Workshops
- Meet with cohort and coach
- Complete second team experience, meet
with cohort and coach
- Finish left over hours of leadership
trainings
- Complete & submit Leadership ePortfolio
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Step 5: Please include a copy of your current resume when you upload your PDP to the ILC website! It will help us match you with a
Leadership Coach.