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    • Action plan

    Creating a roadmap to evolve as a leader

    Medium effort

    High impact

    It might seem like successful business people have a natural talent, but scratch beneath the surface and you’ll find they have all invested a considerable amount of time in self-improvement. Creating a roadmap for your evolution is a great way to make sure you develop the capabilities you need, when you need them.

    • We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
    • Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
    • Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
    • A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline
    What's involved? Ways to use this action plan Measuring impact
    1

    Figure out what skills gaps you have – and what you’re going to need at the next stage of your business

    Impact: medium

    Why will this help?

    Completing a skills gap analysis will help you identify the skills you need to work on and any skills you’ll need to develop to support your business in the near future.

    Identifying the skills gaps you have as a leader

    Being self-aware empowers business leaders to grow and improve. Our easy-to-follow checklist can be used to identify your skills gaps.
    2

    Look for skills gaps in the management team and assess how this is likely to change

    Impact: medium

    Why will this help?

    Your role in the management team will evolve over time, particularly as you bring in specialist expertise, such as a HR manager. Figuring out what skills you will need at different points shows what you need to do to evolve.

    Finding skills gaps in your leadership team

    Completing a skills gap exercise, like the one in our template, will rate your leadership team’s ability to perform against key competencies.
    3

    Develop a clear sense of what you want the business to achieve and how your role will evolve as you move towards that goal

    Impact: medium

    Why will this help?

    Business owners normally have a vision of where they want the business to be in three, five or ten years time. Thinking about what the leadership role will look like at that point is a good way to see where your evolution needs to head.

    How to run a workshop on business aspirations

    Use our free template to plan a workshop on businesses aspirations and get input from your team.

    Writing a statement that defines your vision for success

    Defining your vision for success gives you a clear destination to work towards when you’re making decisions and setting goals.
    4

    Align the steps you need to take with the company’s financial forecasts

    Impact: medium

    Why will this help?

    The complexity of a business and the role of its leader are closely tied to financial performance. Aligning the steps you’re going to take with the milestones you have in your forecast gives you a more accurate timetable.

    5

    Turn the points you’ve identified into a clear roadmap, which identifies exactly what’s needed at each stage, and then book time in your diary to work through it

    Impact: medium

    Why will this help?

    You should have a good idea of how your role needs to evolve to meet the immediate and future needs of the company. Now’s the time to identify what training or support you need to address each of those points.

    Holding yourself accountable to goals as a leader

    Your goals are crucial to moving the business forward, but it can be hard to stay focused. Our checklist will help you build a structure.

    What can I do with this Action Plan?

    Start this Action Plan

    Add some extra information to this plan and we’ll help you get it done.

    • We’ve designed our action plans to be completed in the order of steps laid out and explained why each step is important
    • Customising your action plan lets you set your own completion dates, assign tasks to others and get notifications
    • Helpful tools are provided for certain steps while a tracking metric at the end will help you determine the long-term success of your effort
    • A downloadable PDF version of each action plan is available if you’d like to compete it offline

    Download and print

    Get a printable template for this Action Plan, fill it in with some target dates, and share it with your team. Pin it on the wall where everyone can see it.

    Get the printable Action Plan

    Learning Groups

    We also run Learning Groups on these topics where you can join other leaders tackling the same challenges.

    Find a Learning Group

    How will I know if my action plan is working?

    Number of steps completed in your roadmap

    The progress you have made in your personal development

    Why this metric?

    If you’re completing steps on your roadmap, it’s likely you’ve properly embedded the habit of continual improvement.

    How do I start tracking?

    Revisit your roadmap every quarter and check what you’ve made progress on.