Imagine you coaching a group of leaders. Certainly you can hold regular one-to-one sessions that explore key challenges they face. If it is appropriate, however, you can also work with each leader to enable them to create a longer-term development plan. This can then become a working document that you revisit together during the coaching sessions. Let’s explore the following topics that can be explored in such a development plan.

1) You can invite the person to clarify their leadership legacy.

Start by asking the person to focus on their legacy as a leader. They are to begin by picking a date in the future and then do three things. First, to describe the 3 top line results they want to deliver by that date. Second, taking each goal in turn, to describe the specific things that will be happening then that will show they have reached the goal. Third, to describe the actual words they want to hear people saying then that will show they have reached the goal. This is key exercise – because it is about the big ‘What’ they are aiming to achieve. The exercise is reproduced in full here, even though it is lengthy, to give an ideas of the detail that is involved.

My leadership legacy

 

The specific results I want to deliver
as a leader by ____________ are:

1) To

The specific things that will be happening then
that will tell me I have achieved this goal will be:

*

*

*

The actual words I want to hear specific people –
my sponsors, colleagues, customers & others – saying
then that will show me I have reached the goals are:

*

*

*

2) To

The specific things that will be happening then
that will tell me I have achieved this goal will be:

*

*

*

The actual words I want to hear specific people –
my sponsors, colleagues, customers & others – saying
then that will show me I have reached the goals are:

*

*

*

3) To

The specific things that will be happening then
that will tell me I have achieved this goal will be:

*

*

*

The actual words I want to hear specific people –
my sponsors, colleagues, customers & others – saying
then that will show me I have reached the goals are:

*

*

*

2) You can invite the person clarify their leadership strengths.

Invite the person to describe their strengths and weaknesses - where they deliver As, Bs and Cs. They are focus on where they deliver these as a leader – rather than as a sole-contributor. Ask for specific examples that bring each point to life. It’s also vital to get a reality check. So ask them to get honest feedback from 3 - 4 people who they respect. Such people are to give their views on where they believe the person delivers – or has the potential to deliver – As. This feedback is to be added to the list. Finally in this section, invite the person to describe how they can build on their strengths and manage the consequences of their weaknesses. Here is the exercise in full.

My leadership strengths

As. The specific activities in which I deliver As are:

1)

For example:

*

2)

For example:

*

3)

For example:

*

Bs. The specific activities in which I deliver Bs are:

1)

For example:

*

2)

For example:

*

Cs. The specific activities in which I deliver Cs are:

1)

For example:

*

Building on my strengths

 

The specific things I can do to build on where I deliver As are:

1)

2)

3)

The benefits of doing these things will be:

*

*

*

The specific things I can do to manage
the consequences of my Bs and Cs:

1)

2)

3)

The benefits of doing these things will be:

*

*

*

3) You can invite the person to clarify their action plan for achieving their legacy.

Move onto the person’s action plan for delivering their leadership legacy. Bearing in mind the answers they have given to the previous exercises, invite them to do several things. First, to describe what they see as their responsibility in working towards achieving their leadership goals. Second, to describe the support, ideas, knowledge, coaching or other resources they would like to help them to achieve their goals. Third, to again describe the top line goals they want to deliver – then outline their specific action plans for delivering this leadership legacy. Finally, to complete the exercise by describing some early successes they can get on the road towards achieving their goals. Here is the exercise in full.

My leadership legacy – the action plan

 

My leadership legacy – the different responsibilities

 

The specific things I see as my responsibility
in working towards achieving the goals are:

*

*

*

The specific support, knowledge, tools, coaching and other
resources I would like to help me to reach the goals are:

*

*

*

My leadership legacy – the concrete action plan
The specific results I want to deliver are:

1) To

The specific things I will do to deliver this result are:

*

*

*

2) To

The specific things I will do to deliver this result are:

*

*

*

3) To

The specific things I will do to deliver this result are:

*

*

*

“Sounds a lot of work,” somebody may say. Yes, it is, but the more specific the plan, the more likely somebody is to achieve their goals. The key is focusing on the ‘What’ – the leadership legacy. Everything stems from this destination. It also acts as a compass to refer to when times get tough or when the person falls into focusing only on tactics. Lift their sights to remember the real results to achieve. You can then encourage, educate and enable them to fulfil their leadership development plan.