3 Must-Read Tips for Creating Leadership Development Plans
When cultivating new generations of seasoned executives, you need the mind of a farmer. Unfortunately, many untested leaders lack the right perspective.
Farmers live to serve their fields, and nearly everything they do is done in support of the crops growing in the ground. Farmers understand that each section of the field has its own needs, its own potential, and its own shortcomings. Farmers understand that while nature and the field will bring them rewards, that is not the entire and express purpose of the process. Some plants will thrive. Some won’t. Some will flourish today to disappear entirely tomorrow. Some will bloom late, and some will be perennial fixtures in the field for years to come.
This mindset is how the most successful leaders not only serve their organization but also aspiring leaders and humanity at large. So, how do you approach development plans with the mind of a farmer? How do you create a self-sustaining environment of leadership evolution? You can start with just three simple tweaks to your perspective.
1. Don’t just ask — listen.
“As I was going to St. Ives” is an English nursery rhyme that has been around since the 1700s. It survives now as one of the most well-circulated riddles in Western civilization. At its core, the modern version of this nursery rhyme is a simple story trap based on our tendency to hear what we want to hear. The riddle assumes we are expecting a complicated problem, especially when multiple numbers get thrown out by the narrator. In fact, the answer is simple and given to the listener from the very beginning. We just weren’t really listening until we thought the important information was being dispensed.
When we begin working with up-and-coming leaders on their personal development plans, we are often so excited to arrive at the future we imagine that we don’t truly hear the answers to our initial probing questions. Start things off with a casual conversation, exploring the employee’s unique interests and talents, as well as their current satisfaction and overall goals. As the leading executive, this is your time to practice deep listening. Aspiring leaders have something to say — make sure you’re listening.
2. Weaknesses to the back — strengths to the front.
One thing you’ll always hear people say about dark rain clouds is that they have a silver lining. This natural observance became a timeless idiom when John Milton coined the phrase in the 1600s, and it is now an enduring example of focusing on the good instead of the bad. But what if I told you the silver lining in question only appears to us the way that it does because of how the sun is shining? This same cloud is still its scientifically wonderful self if the sun isn’t shining, and it is still just as important to the world’s water cycle. Ultimately, it’s just a matter of perspective.
The most helpful leadership development plans act like a sun, shining down a light that highlights the person’s talents and strengths. When our development plans focus on the weaknesses of the team members in question, we can actually weaken our staff and generate additional insecurity by pushing people down paths that are uncomfortable. Instead, our development plans should neutralize weaknesses from the beginning and redirect our energy toward a potential leader’s strongest gifts and talents. With that sort of positivity, we can create superstars!
3. Plan for their future — not your future.
Cattle egrets are small white birds that typically follow around large livestock, landing in their wake or even perching on their backs. The birds do this because the animals’ movements across the field dislodge and flush out various insects for easy feeding. In turn, the cow receives only a friend for the day and a well-balanced ecosystem to call home. This is known as commensalism. It is what happens in the absence of parasitism and mutualism, and it is a model for executive behavior when drafting leadership development plans.
When outlining the future development of an aspiring leader, everything should serve to support the individual’s growth. Their growth may benefit your organization, but this supplementary benefit should not be an essential part of the development conversation. If your development plan helps an employee make significant progress in reaching their potential, that in and of itself is a worthwhile reward. It is entirely possible this newly evolved professional will then leave your organization. In fact, it is almost inevitable. The gig economy is now a permanent fixture, and in 2022 over 49% of working professionals switched jobs or changed careers. People will prosper. People will leave. Ultimately, you must plan for the person and plan for the present.
What happens next?
Your farmer’s mindset is going to allow you to approach the entire development process with a greater degree of positivity and openness. Start things off with a conversation, then proceed with absolute intention. Don’t just ask — also listen. Focus on people’s strengths, and make sure your planning process is focused solely on the team member in question.
About Dr. Sam: Atlanta-based Dr. Sam Adeyemi (SAY: Ah Day yeh me) is CEO of Sam Adeyemi, GLC, Inc. and founder and executive director of Daystar Leadership Academy (DLA). More than 45,000 alumni have graduated from DLA programs, and more than 3 million CEOs and high performing individuals follow him on top social media sites. Dr. Sam’s new book is “Dear Leader: Your Flagship Guide to Successful Leadership.” He holds a Doctorate in Strategic Leadership from Virginia’s Regent University and is a member of the International Leadership Association. He and his wife, Nike (say Nee keh) have three children. Learn more at SamAdeyemi.com.