Free kit · Leadership and transition
Leadership Development Plan Template: free individual development plan in Word and PDF
Build a two-page development plan in four weeks, for your own growth or for a staff member you are developing. You look at where you are, picture the leader your mission needs, narrow the gaps to three priorities, plan activities on the 70-20-10 model and keep a monthly check-in that survives a bad month.
Word and PDF · 10 pages · For executive directors and the staff they develop
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What is inside
- Current state assessment. Eight areas to mark as a strength or a gap, the feedback you keep hearing and input from two colleagues.
- Future role vision. The leader your mission needs you to become in two to three years, tied to what is coming for the organization.
- Gaps and three priorities. Every gap between the two, narrowed to three priorities, with success written as behavior someone else could see.
- Development activities. One activity in work, relationships and training for each priority: nine actions in all, starting with the work.
- The plan on one page. The plan on one page, with your check-in partner, review dates and what you keep doing in a bad month.
- Check-in and debrief log. A log for the monthly check-ins and a debrief for each stretch assignment.
How to use it
- Week 1: block 90 minutes to look at where you are, and ask two colleagues for input (Form A).
- Week 2: spend 60 minutes on the leader your mission needs you to become (Form B).
- Week 3: list every gap and narrow them to three priorities (Form C).
- Week 4: pick the activities, write the one-page plan and book the first check-in (Forms D and E).
- Every month: check in with your supervisor, board chair or a trusted peer; every third check-in reviews your milestones (Form F).
Questions
Is the kit free?
Yes. Enter your name, email and organization once, and every kit in the library opens on this browser.
Can I edit it?
Yes. The Word file is fully editable: change the areas you assess, the activities and the check-in schedule to fit you or the person you are developing.
Does it work in Google Docs?
Yes. Upload the Word file to Google Drive and open it with Google Docs; the tables and ruled lines carry over.
Can I share it inside my organization?
Yes. Copy it, adapt it and share it with your board and staff.
Read the guide
More kits for executive directors
Fund Your Leadership Coaching KitCost and return worksheet, board memo, grant budget and grant language
First 90 Days Workbook for New Executive DirectorsListening tour, stakeholder map, first board chair meeting and a 30/60/90 day plan
One-on-One Meeting and Delegation KitA one-on-one agenda and notes log, a delegation matrix with four levels of authority, a handover sheet and a first-conversation guide
With a development plan, the template is rarely where it goes wrong. The bad month is, when a funding crisis or a board resignation pushes the plan aside. A coach is someone whose job it is to ask how the plan is going, in that month too.
Six sessions of executive coaching: $300, $400 or $600, set by your organization's yearly operating expenses.
