Running Head: LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1

Leadership Development Plan: Part 1

Student Name

Course Name/Number

Affiliated Institution

Date
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Section 1: My Current Leadership Experiences

Successful leaders are founded on their self-awareness skill, which implies that a person

must consider their overall best attributes and drawbacks.  My primary leadership attribute,

derived from experience, is collaboration, while my shortcoming is the ability to build effective

teamwork. While my leadership experience stems from my early days in school, it was while in

high school that I was able to adequately explore this side of me. During this experience I served

as a class president, group leader for several projects and was in charge of other responsibilities

as well. As a group leader, I was able to efficiently guide my teammates towards completion of

several projects. One of my key strengths during this experience was to delegate tasks, which

helped me understand more about teamwork. Therefore, by assigning a task to teammates and

providing them guidance for completing the project, I was developing and growing my

leadership skills, both through collaboration and forming relationships.  

I place high emphasis towards achievement, which implies that performance is among

my characteristics. Due to this focus on achievement, thus, I have high degree of reliability and

competitiveness, as well as a strong sense of commitment for tasks, which generates my

motivation. I have borrowed most of these attributes from Warren Buffet, whose leadership style

is a source of my inspiration. Buffet is best known for his leadership approach, Laissez-Faire

also referred to as a delegative leadership (Financhill, 2021). Subsequently, Buffet advises that it

is important for a leader to focus on the fundamental value of their aspirations. Based on this

context, I can argue that I am a relationship-oriented leader, who focuses on collaboration,

through delegation and communication and teamwork to achieved the set objectives and goals.

Section 2: Developing trust

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Trust, according to Mineo (2014), is a glue that strengthens the relationship between a

leader and their followers. Therefore, following this aspect, for a leader to achieve efficiency,

they should be able to build a sense of trustworthiness. The LinkedIn Learning Course on

Building Trust, has been instrumental in shaping my understanding and idea of trust in

leadership. According to the course’s instructor, Brenda Bailey-Hughes, building trust is founded

on believing on one another’s abilities, for instance, when a leader delegates a task to an

individual, they are betting on them and hope that they won’t be failed (Bailey-Hughes). As a

leader, you win confidence in the similar manner that anyone other individual would: by

showing a deliberate commitment towards leading by example, honoring promises, and

coordinating actions with the perceptions of others. Therefore, as a leader, by   sticking to

my core values, I will be able to earn and build my team's trust over time. Therefore, from this

understanding, trust is an important aspect in every leadership approach, and I believe that by

embracing it will help me become a better leader. 

Section 3: My Additional Skill: Developing Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence, otherwise known as emotional quotient, involves the capacity to

perceive, utilize, and control an individual's sentiments in a constructive manner in order to ease

tension build relationships, understand the feelings of others, mitigate impediments, and alleviate

dispute. According to studies, emotional intelligence is the core element that differentiates high-

performing personalities and successful achievers from the majority of the group.  From this

perspective, Gemma Leigh Roberts introduced me to some facets that she pointed to as the four

main elements of emotional intelligence in the LinkedIn learning course on developing

emotional intelligence. These contexts would help me apply what I had learned to practically

enhance both my personal and professional performance in the workplace and in life. By
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developing better emotional intelligence skills, I will be able to effectively manage conflicts.

According to Harms and Crede (2010), emotional intelligence leadership skill plays a role in

solving conflicts within teams and groups. Examples of these disagreements include,

disagreements to solutions and doubting leadership abilities. Patient explanation is my strategy,

in order to complete the work, I must let my teammates understand my task and the results of the

work.

Section 4: Action Plan for Developing trust and emotional intelligence as a leader

Step 1: Building trust: Short-term goal

My plan to build trust as a leader is establishing dependable and consistent personality across the

semester. During this semester, I will start by undertaking a task from a project with my team

and ensuring that I meet the deadline. As such, I will show my teammates that being dependable

is important in developing a trust-based relationship.

Step 2: Building trust: Long-term goal

To establish an effective trust-based relationship, I will give credit to my teammates whenever

they perform a task. This approach in my leadership will be practiced throughout the coming

year, and during this period I will practice being appreciative of a group member’s efforts.

Step 3: Developing emotional intelligence: Short-term goal

As a leader, listening is an important skill. Therefore, to develop my emotional intelligence in

leadership, I will focus on listening to various individuals, particularly on their ideas and input

regarding a project. I will build this skill over the course of the semester, when I meet with a
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group to discuss a project. I will assess the progress of this initiative by addressing questions to

different members of my team on what they thought about the skill in my leadership.

Step 4: Developing emotional intelligence: Long-term goal

To effectively develop my emotional intelligence skills as a leader, I will maintain a positive

attitude across a year. During the year, I will often engage in optimistic outlook approaches, such

as meditation and having a positive mantra. Through quotes asserting my positive attitude, I will

be able to build my emotional intelligence across the stipulated period.

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References

Golhar, A. (2018, September 21). 10 ways to increase your emotional intelligence.

Inc.com. https://www.inc.com/young-entrepreneur-council/10-ways-to-increase-your-

emotional-intelligence.html

Harms, P., & Credé, M. (2010). Emotional intelligence and transformational and transactional

leadership: A meta-analysis. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 17(1), 5-

17. https://doi.org/10.1177/1548051809350894

Mineo, D. L. (2014). The Importance of Trust in Leadership. Research Management

Review, 20(1), 1-5. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1038828.pdf

Warren Buffett Leadership Style. (2021). Free Stock Tools -

Financhill. https://financhill.com/blog/investing/warren-buffett-leadership-

style#:~:text=Buffett's%20style%20of%20leadership%20is,resources%20for

%20employees%20and%20teams