Leadership Development Plan

Leadership Development Plan

Great leadership is often obvious in hindsight, when history reveals the end of a particular event or story. Predicting the types of leaders needed to take public health into the future, however, remains elusive. Many theories and types of leadership abound, from situational to adaptive to transformational and beyond. As a future public health professional, it is important to grasp these frameworks, but within these are leadership competencies that are constantly evolving and shifting as the landscape of public health shifts.

Developing into an effective leader is a lifelong process. Shi and Johnson liken it to the Native American symbol of the ever-ascending spiral (2014) with upward progress based on goals. The critical need for leadership training has long been noted. Yet, any training must begin with a baseline of self-awareness of leadership competencies an individual possesses as well as a plan for developing those competencies still needed to effectively lead. But with any journey toward a goal, one must have a clear destination in mind. The National Public Health Leadership Network has developed the “Public Health Leadership Competency Framework,” which provides a good starting point for gaining self-awareness. 

For this week’s Assignment, review the Learning Resources. Complete one of the assessments (e.g., Turning Point Assessment) of your leadership style and competencies. Use the results from the assessment as a starting point for developing your leadership development plan.

The Assignment (3–5 pages):

Complete a leadership development plan that includes the following:

Section I

• Your current strengths and weaknesses as a leader
• Opportunities and threats to developing and further enhancing your leadership capacity as a change agent (e.g., social change)

Justify your responses with specific examples.

Section II

Using the “Public Health Leadership Competency Framework,” developed by the National Public Health Leadership Network as a guide (refer to the article posted in the weekly Resources), describe a leadership plan to develop the following over the next 3–5 years. Include the following:

• Your core transformational competencies (visionary leadership, sense of mission, effective change agent)
• Political competencies (political processes, negotiation, ethics and power, marketing and education)
• Organizational competencies
• Team-building competencies
• Personality factors
• Crisis abilities

Justify your rationale for your selections.

Readings

• Shi, L., & Johnson, J. A. (2014). Novick and Morrow’s public health administration: Principles for population-based management  (3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.
• Chapter 12, “Leadership for Public Health” (pp. 241–246, 248–265)
• Association of Schools of Public Health. (n.d.). Public health leadership competency framework. Retrieved October 6, 2014, from
• Center for Creative Leadership. (2011). Addressing the leadership gap in health care: What’s needed when it comes to leader talent? [White paper]. Retrieved from
• Rabarison, K., Ingram, R. C., & Holsinger, J. W., Jr. (2013). Application of situational leadership to the national voluntary public health accreditation process. Frontiers in Public Health, 1(26), 1–4.
  Retrieved from the Walden Library databases.

·  Turning Point. (n.d.). Collaborative leadership: Self-assessment questionnaires. Retrieved November 05, 2015,

Media

• Laureate Education (Producer). (2009a). Organizational development and leadership: Leadership [Video file]. Baltimore, MD: Author.

  Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 10 minutes.

·  ·  50 Lessons (Producer). (n.d.). Warren Bennis: A leader is shaped by his team [Video file]. Nashua, NH: Skillsoft.

Note: The approximate length of this media piece is 4 minutes.

Please proceed to the Assignment.