Leadership Plans

Zig Ziglar said “It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action, and discipline that enabled us to follow through.” Creating a business plan is the foundation, but we must remember to share the business plan with the other people involved in the business. Carrying out a successful plan requires personal commitments from those in leadership as well as those who will do the day to day activity needed for the plan to succeed. We call this personal commitment plan a leadership plan.

Far too often, owners and managers create job descriptions and commitments for their staff or team, but seldom have anything written regarding their involvement in achieving the success of the company business plan. Too often, when the owner or manager leaves the business, the business will fail. If the leadership in a company is not disciplined and dedicated to following the business plan, the plan will often fall by the wayside and become little more than a piece of paper with some words on it.

Thus, the Leadership Plan is the document that says “I am going to do these things to assure we reach our goals.” This plan should clearly define the owner’s priorities for how time is used on the job, and should provide the team with clarity in how each role should be performed. Of course, successfully using this plan means you have to be willing to be evaluated about how well it has been executed. That level of accountability to the team sets a standard and creates an environment that leads to growth and success of the employees and the company as a whole.

HTG uses a simple worksheet to capture leadership commitments. These consist of three areas around each topic:

1. Commitments – Specific areas of focus that aligns job performance goals and objectives with the company business plan and goals. Answers the question “What areas of my job align directly with the company business plan and goals?”

2. Execution Plan – How you will achieve your commitments? This should include key milestones, priorities, and dependencies for success. Answers the question “What will you specifically do?”

3. Accountabilities – Define how you will measure success and what metrics you will use to evaluate the realization of your commitments. These will be KPI’s and metrics related to measuring success. They answer the question “How will you know you have achieved success?”

You can select a number of areas that align directly with the company business plan, but here are a few that may be good to consider:

There likely will be other areas you can include. This is not the same as a job description, but many items on this personal leadership commitment plan do need to align with the job description, as well as with the company business plan. Just make sure you are able to identify what role you play in achieving company success, and then identify the things you need to do to achieve those, and how you can measure and assess your work along that path.