5-Step CEO Leadership Development Plan (That Works)

Executive Summary

Welcome back to The Kinetic Insight Newsletter—an advanced leadership course straight to your inbox. Thanks so much for your feedback from last time, I take every word to heart to make this as valuable as possible for you.

Today we’ll cover:

• Where most founders fail when it comes to leadership development.

• The 5-Step CEO leadership development plan that works.

Want to Skip Straight to the Action?

Brain Food 🧠 🥗 

Where Most Founders Fail 😨 

It’s cliche because it’s true: “Failing to plan is planning to fail.” Most founders create strategic plans for their companies, and yet too many leave their own leadership development completely to chance.

One definition that I love is:

And just like your company won’t become a 🦄 on its own, the same is true for your personal growth and development. Too many people rely on your leadership to leave it up to chance.

Before we get into the specifics, a reminder from our first edition:

Leadership isn’t one-size-fits-all. The point here isn’t whether my approach is objectively “right” (I don’t claim it is). The goal is to invite you to reflect on your own experience so that you can customize this approach to work for you.

5-Step CEO Leadership Development Plan That Works ✅ 

If you haven’t yet, reply to this email to get your free Kinetic Leadership Development Plan template. Read on to make sure you’re getting the most out of it—we’ll start high level and drill down into the specifics to ensure it’s a plan you’ll stick with.

• This plan is designed to be holistic, starting with a deep dive into self-assessment to understand your current leadership capabilities and the perceptions of your stakeholders.

• From this foundation, we will define your aspirational goals—those that push you beyond your comfort zone.

• Next, we'll set specific, measurable success metrics to track your progress.

• Your actions and behaviors will then be aligned with these goals and metrics, ensuring that every step you take moves you closer to your leadership aspirations.

• We'll identify potential obstacles and strategize on overcoming them.

• And finally, establish a routine for regular reviews and updates to keep your plan relevant and responsive to changes.

Key Ingredients

0. Self Assessment. Like we discussed in a previous edition, self-awareness is the foundation of all leadership development. However, true “self”-awareness extends beyond personal introspection. It also encompasses the perspectives of those around you—your key stakeholders. 
   
   Integrating their feedback provides a broader, more accurate view of your leadership impact and areas for growth. Working with a coach is the most reliable way of getting truly candid feedback (including those things that are hard for your team to say to your face—in case you missed it, our last edition was on How to Get Honest Feedback When You’re the Boss).
   
   The assessment piece is important here because it will help you identify what your organization most needs from you as a leader to ensure its continued success. You’ll get a clear picture of your strengths, weaknesses, and leadership brand. If you’d like to know what your team secretly thinks about you and don’t know where to start, schedule your free coaching discovery session here.
   

1. Your Goals. Of course, this is the whole reason you have a development plan in the first place! But it’s important to take some time to reflect on what you truly want for yourself. I’ve seen CEO’s create a plan based solely on their team’s feedback and what ends up happening is they’re not motivated by it, and therefore not committed to it, and that’s a recipe for failure.
   
   Make your goals aspirational. This is the time to think big & dare I say, allow yourself to dream a bit.
   
   This should be something that ignites the fire inside your belly, something that you feel pulled out of bed in the morning to go create in the world. AND it should also be something that feels a bit scary. That you’re not quite sure you’re capable of—yet. Aim for a 10% stretch beyond your comfort zone.
   
   And most importantly, keep this focused on yourself. Who is the leader you aspire to become?

2. Your Success Metrics. These should answer the question “how will I know I’ve been successful?” These can sometimes be hard to pin down when talking about your personal leadership, but it’s worth the time to really think through “what would the observable results be if I become this type of leader?”
   
   If you use the OKR framework (Objectives & Key Results) at your company, your goals above are your Objectives and the Success Metrics are your Key Results.
   
   Be as specific as possible—often looking back on this a year later I find that CEOs tend to forget exactly what they were referring to in the moment 😉. An outside observer should be able to verify if this was achieved or not.
   

3. Key Behaviors. What will you do, specifically, as a result of these goals and metrics? Keep it simple and make a list of actions and behaviors that you will
   
   Continue:
   Start:
   Stop:
   
   Contextualize this to your company’s strategic projects so that you have specific areas to practice these behaviors in a way that impacts your mission & bottom line.
   

4. Obstacles. What’s most likely to get in your way? You know life doesn’t always go according to plan, so do your best to get ahead of it so you’re not blindsided.
   
   Make sure to focus on both external & internal obstacles.
   
   Think of it this way: if in one year you fail to reach your goals, what is most likely to have stopped you?
   

5. Support & Resources. What or who can help? When you inevitably come up against these obstacles, how will you make sure to stay on track?
   
   Again, think about both external & internal resources. Who is your support system? What are your internal skills & characteristics that will help you achieve these goals?
   

6. Review & Iterate. This should be a living document that you refer back to and update as things change.
   
   Just like you do a Quarterly Business Review, take some time to prioritize your own development and make adjustments as needed. Bring this to your coach to get supported as you clarify your priorities and figure out the path as you go.

There you have it! Your CEO Leadership Development Plan that works.

Feel free to send me your first draft if you’d like some feedback. I’m excited to see how you apply this!

What did I miss? Shoot me a reply and let me know how to improve this—I read every comment.

Ready for your next level of success, fulfillment, and impact? 🚀

If you’re curious about reaching your full potential as a leader, I’ve opened up a few spots for Coaching Discovery Sessions. I’ll help you get crystal clear on your leadership blindspots, uncover your biggest developmental opportunities, and create an action plan to help you get there faster. If you’re interested in fast-tracking your success, click the link to schedule your time now.

Sneak Peak 👀 

Next week: How to Identify & Uncover Limiting Beliefs That Keep You Stuck