Creating Your Individual Leadership Development Plan
Dear Phenomenal Woman,
If you’re struggling to create your Individual Leadership Development Plan (ILDP)--don’t sweat it, you’ll get through this! Here are 7 easy steps that really helped me get over my writer’s block and move through my ILDP as stress-free as possible. I know it’s hard to talk about yourself or it can be scary thinking of the future without knowing if you will succeed or fail. You won’t know until you try, and the best part is that this is YOUR personal ILDP. You can go back and tweak this any time you wish.
While completing this project, I did so in parts. I get overwhelmed easily with big projects and I knew to give myself enough time to break it down into smaller tasks so that it could be exactly how I want it.
Take some time to self-care and unwind. When I had to sit down and think about my mission, vision, and goals, it was really hard to talk about myself and my dreams unless I was in a good mood so make a cup of tea, take a relaxing bath, or cozy up on the couch and light a candle. Do something that puts you in a good mood right before starting this project. Having a clear mind helps.
Go through photos and memories of your various accomplishments. I started with my accomplishments to begin my ILDP with where I’ve been because it was easier to get to my “where do I want to go,” which essentially is what your leadership development plan is. A personal roadmap.
Start a rough draft, add all your thoughts, and comb through making changes and edits. If you tend to be scatterbrained or just simply don’t know where to start, open up Canva (free) or other platform and begin putting your thoughts and incomplete ideas on this rough draft. You are literally dumping everything in here and will come back to it later to organize and create your flow for presenting.
Use the tools and resources given. One of the things I appreciated about the YCF Learning Community is the intentionality, down to the order that the sessions are presented. Our sisters did this as a guide to get to the bigger picture. During the session, “ Personal Assessment,” you learn a bit more about yourself and your leadership style. I used parts of “The PeopleMap Professional Development Report,” and incorporated what I now know to help work through my planning.
After the session, “Building your profile,” facilitated by Melody I used the tools she provided in the PowerPoint slides that help with creating your personal mission statement, building your personal brand, and promote your brand in professional settings. I also used Gwen’s amazing tool, “Individual Leadership Development Plan,” (handout) that helped me write down my goals, identify actions steps, organize my achievements, even questions to consider.
Organize and get the creative juices flowing. After completing my first rough draft of my presentation and dumping all my thoughts and actions into slide, its time to organize them and create your flow. I came back to my presentation and started looking over everything I poured into my first few slides. I started with a theme/template that I felt represented my by the colors and font styles on the template. I wanted even the colors to represent me. After that I started organizing and began with my achievements/what have I accomplished, what my vision and mission statements are, what my goals are, and how do I plan to get there. Other individuals had their own businesses or directions they wanted to go in and that is completely fine, do what works for you and represents you the best. Remember this is YOUR leadership plan.
Lean on your sisters and mentors. During my You Can’t Fail journey, I was assigned a mentor and I connected with my mentor to get her honest feedback on my presentation prior to submitting it. I was able to connect with her and set time on our calendars to meet virtually and I did a mock presentation, acting as if it was the real deal. She was able to point things out I didn’t notice and called me out when she thought I wasn’t giving it my all, which pushed me to go hard for me, and I got it done. Also, lean on your cohort sisters—my cohort connected outside of our bimonthly meetings to practice our presentations and get honest feedback.
Dedicate the time and don’t cut yourself short! Although public speaking and sharing your personal dreams and goals can be a very vulnerable moment, you don’t want to sell yourself short and cut corners on this project. Take the time to gather your thoughts, be intentional, and practice showcasing your achievements so that you can build your confidence. If you must, get yourself an accountability partner and lean on your sisters and mentors when stuck or feeling overwhelmed.
And lastly…celebrate your wins! You did it, now go out there and get it!
Your Sister,
Emily Melendez
You Can’t Fail 2023 Leadership Learning Community Graduate
